{"slug":"continuous-futures-contracts-explained","qid":"expiry_liquidity","label":"Options volume by time left to expiry, AAPL, April to June 2026","post_title":"How Continuous Futures Contracts Are Built","post_url":"/blog/continuous-futures-contracts-explained#q-expiry_liquidity","columns":["time_to_expiry","contracts_traded_m"],"rows":[{"time_to_expiry":"under 1 week","contracts_traded_m":28.52},{"time_to_expiry":"1 to 4 weeks","contracts_traded_m":9.18},{"time_to_expiry":"1 to 3 months","contracts_traded_m":6.14},{"time_to_expiry":"3 to 6 months","contracts_traded_m":2.56},{"time_to_expiry":"over 6 months","contracts_traded_m":2.71}],"shape":"ranking","sql":"SELECT\n    multiIf(days_to_expiry <= 7,   'under 1 week',\n            days_to_expiry <= 30,  '1 to 4 weeks',\n            days_to_expiry <= 90,  '1 to 3 months',\n            days_to_expiry <= 180, '3 to 6 months',\n                                   'over 6 months') AS time_to_expiry,\n    round(sum(volume) / 1e6, 2)                      AS contracts_traded_m\nFROM global_markets.options_greeks\nWHERE underlying_symbol = 'AAPL'\n  AND date >= '2026-04-01'\n  AND date <= '2026-06-30'\n  AND volume > 0\nGROUP BY time_to_expiry\nORDER BY min(days_to_expiry)","computed_at":"2026-08-10T14:56:19.326377+00:00","elapsed":0.00221407}