“This has been a pivotal year for ICE,” said Chairman and CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher. “We successfully completed the transition to electronic trading at ICE Futures, leading to a record volume year and significant expansion of our global customer base. The introduction of 11 new cleared OTC contracts further strengthened our OTC business, resulting in a record volume year in our cleared OTC business as well. The further integration of ICE Futures and the completion of our initial public offering in November have enhanced our competitive position. Finally, the summary judgment in favor of ICE in the litigation with the New York Mercantile Exchange was a significant victory for both ICE and the broader energy marketplace.”
December and Full-year Trading Activity
In the OTC business segment, average daily commissions reflect daily trading activity in ICE’s OTC markets. In December 2005, ICE’s average daily commissions rose to $309,926, an increase of 79.7% compared to average daily commissions in December 2004. For the year, ICE’s OTC average daily commissions were $311,579, an increase of 79.6% compared to 2004, primarily due to strong growth in ICE’s cleared OTC volume and the addition of new participants in the company’s OTC marketplace. ICE’s cleared OTC contracts, which include natural gas, power, and crude oil, set a new annual volume record of 47.9 million cleared contracts, exceeding the prior year’s record of 18.1 million contracts by 164.4%.
OTC Segment: Average Daily Commissions
| Dec. 2005 | Dec. 2004 | % Change | FY 2005 | FY 2004 | % Change | |
| ICE OTC Average Daily Commissions | $309,926 | $172,425 | 79.7 | $311,579 | $173,506 | 79.6 |
At ICE Futures, the company’s futures business segment, average daily volume (ADV) in December 2005 increased 43.5% to 172,826 contracts compared to 120,476 contracts in December 2004. Total monthly futures volume rose 43.4% to 3,627,532 in December 2005 compared to monthly volume of 2,530,015 in December 2004.
Total volume in the IPE Gas Oil futures contract grew 52.7% in December 2005 compared to December 2004. In addition, traded volume in the benchmark IPE Brent Crude futures contract increased 40.9% in December 2005 compared to December 2004.
At December 31, 2005, total open interest in ICE Futures contracts stood at 648,585 contracts, with open interest in the IPE Brent Crude futures contract at 390,615. This compares to total open interest of 515,787 and IPE Brent Crude futures open interest of 319,479 at December 31, 2004.
Futures Segment: December Volume Statistics
| Contract | ADV Dec. 2005 | ADV Dec. 2004 | ADV% Change | Total VolumeDec. 2005 | Total Volume Dec. 2004 | Volume % Change |
| IPE Brent Crude futures | 121,071 | 85,955 | 40.9 | 2,542,492 | 1,805,069 | 40.9 |
| IPE GasOil futures | 49,088 | 32,147 | 52.7 | 1,030,851 | 675,081 | 52.7 |
| Other contracts* | 2,667 | 2,374 | 12.4 | 54,189 | 49,865 | 8.7 |
| Total ICE Futures | 172,826 | 120,476 | 43.5 | 3,627,532 | 2,530,015 | 43.4 |
In 2005, exchange-wide volume for ICE Futures reached a record 42.1 million contracts, marking its eighth consecutive annual volume record, and exceeding the prior year’s record of 35.5 million contracts by 18.3%. Total futures volume since the April 2005 electronic transition increased 25.6% compared to the same April through December period in 2004.
The IPE Brent Crude futures contract set an annual volume record of 30.4 million contracts, surpassing the previous annual record of 25.5 million contracts set in 2004 by 19.5%. In addition, the IPE Gas Oil futures contract set an annual volume record of 11.0 million contracts, exceeding last year’s record volume of 9.4 million contracts by 17.3%.
Futures Segment: Annual Volume Statistics
| Contract | ADV 2005 | ADV 2004 | Y/Y ADV % Change | Total Volume 2005 | Total Volume 2004 | Volume % Change |
| IPE BrentCrude futures | 120,206 | 100,229 | 19.9 | 30,412,027 | 25,458,259 | 19.5 |
| IPE GasOil futures | 43,366 | 36,834 | 17.7 | 10,971,719 | 9,355,767 | 17.3 |
| Othercontracts* | 2,821 | 2,861 | -1.4 | 671,254 | 726,732 | -7.6 |
| Total ICE Futures | 166,393 | 139,924 | 18.9 | 42,055,000 | 35,540,758 | 18.3 |
* “Other contracts” include IPE Natural Gas Futures, IPE ECX CFI Futures, IPE Electricity futures and IPE Brent Options and IPE Gas Oil Options.
Additional historical futures volume and OTC commission data can be found at: Records and Volumes
