Trading activity of VIX futures and options around FOMC announcements

This research investigates the information content of volatility trading in VIX derivatives under a high-frequency framework. We provide empirical evidence that the abnormal order imbalances of VIX futures and call (put) options are significantly negative (positive) during FOMC embargoes. Our results remain robust under various empirical approaches for examining FOMC announcements. We also find that the VIX return (trading volume) is negatively (positively) associated with FOMC announcements. Overall, we document short-lived informational advantages in the VIX derivatives market and provide evidence of potential information leakage during FOMC embargoes.