IPE Volumes Soar to Record Highs
Date 11/03/1999
Volume of trade on the IPE, Europe's leading energy futures and options exchange, set a new record on March 10, as speculation about OPEC production cuts increased price volatility. Overall 154,594 lots were traded, breaking the previous record of 154,201 lots set on January 11, 1996. Trade in Brent Crude futures made up two-thirds of the volume, and the contract only just failed to set a new record in its own right. Brent traded 105,040 lots, equivalent to more than 100 million barrels of oil or one third more than total daily world oil consumption. Lynton Jones, Chief Executive of the IPE said "in times of uncertainty about future supply, with the spectre of production cuts appearing and retreating, the benefits of hedging are clearly demonstrated. The record volumes seen yesterday at the IPE are a tribute to the quality of our contracts, and the professionalism of our Members.
