CBOT Announces Holiday Fee Waiver For Precious Metals; Complex's Volume Experiences Steady Growth

The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) today announced that with the strong volume growth of the exchange's Full- and mini-sized Gold and Silver futures, the CBOT will offer a holiday fee waiver for all Precious Metals futures beginning November 22, 2004 through January 31, 2005. CBOT President and CEO Bernard Dan said, "Clearly, the CBOT's 100 percent electronic Precious Metals complex has been embraced by market users, who value the straight through processing, virtually around-the-clock accessibility, and the narrow bid/ask spread of CBOT Precious Metals. Participation in trading the complex has come from a wide range of market profiles, indicating the complex's broad appeal to the industry at-large. As a result of the support we have received from CBOT market users, the exchange is pleased to offer the holiday fee waiver."

Since the launch of Full-sized Gold and Silver futures on October 6, average daily volume for the CBOT Precious Metals complex has jumped to over 5,000 contracts per day, with open interest reaching a record of 11,206 contracts on November 4. Average daily volume of mini-sized Gold and Silver contracts have increased 106 percent and 60 percent respectively, compared with ADV prior to the contract's launch. Mini-sized gold open interest is up 15 percent since October 6.

CBOT Precious Metals trade exclusively on the exchange's electronic trading platform, powered by LIFFE CONNECT. The Full-sized Gold and Silver contracts, which have up to six market makers providing a liquid trading environment, are physical delivery basis New York or other locations designated by the exchange. Trading hours for all CBOT Precious Metals contracts run from 7:16 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Central Time, Sunday through Friday.

For more information on CBOT Precious Metals products, visit the exchange Website at www.cbot.com/metals.