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Today, Liffe announced that, effective 1 October 2007, and for existing Contract delivery months only, Exchange transaction fees for Robusta Coffee Futures will be cut from 50p to 25p per side, per lot, matching the fees payable on the Exchange's highly liquid, screen-traded Options contracts. In addition, the opening time for the Robusta Coffee Futures Contract will move to 08:00 hours London time, with the close being extended to 17:30 hours.
Liffe is also planning a number of important enhancements to the Contract, further details of which will be announced in the near future.
These moves follow in the wake of 7 consecutive years of record growth - January to August 2007 futures volumes have increased by 26% compared with the same period in 2006, and are currently averaging 17,400 contracts daily. Options volumes have also shown dramatic increases in recent years, with January to August 2007 recording a rise of 54% against 2006, as Liffe’s customers increasingly appreciate the efficiencies of trading options electronically on LIFFE CONNECT®.
Ian Dudden, Director of Commodities at Liffe said: "There has been a long-standing commitment to our customers to reduce the cost of trading and delivery. With the sustained growth in Robusta Coffee futures and options volumes, we are now at a stage where such changes can be introduced, without risk to the ongoing efficiency and liquidity of the Contracts. In addition, the future enhancements we will be introducing will ensure that our Robusta Coffee Contract remains the benchmark for the underlying physical market".
