The S&P 500 Short-term VIX Futures index surged nearly 60% in the week ended August 8, India Infoline reports. The S&P 500’s almost 13% loss due to the European debt crisis caused a spurt in exchange-traded notes (ETNs) activity on the volatility index.

On August 8, Barclays’ iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN witnessed $4.8 billion of trades compared to $553 million on July 8. The day saw almost €9.2 million of trades against less than €1.55 million in the prior month.

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