LIFFE Volume Up 13% On August 1999

The average daily total exchange volume traded during September 1999 at the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (LIFFE) was 481,924 contracts, 13% up on August 1999. Average daily nominal value of £203 billion was up 11%, month on month. Hugh Freedberg, LIFFE's Chief Executive, said "In September, LIFFE continued to provide its customers with unrivalled liquidity in euro money market derivatives, retaining 90% of the global market. With the launch of LIFFE CONNECT™ for Short Term Interest Rate Futures (STIRs) now complete, LIFFE's customers are able to trade euro money market futures on LIFFE's world-beating new electronic trading system, in depth and in size. We are pleased with the FT-SE Eurotop 100 Index future's volume in September, which reached its highest level yet for a single month". The STIR contracts listed on LIFFE CONNECT™ started well, up 10% in September from August 1999, showing that the market is quickly becoming familiar and comfortable with trading on the new system. In the first week of parallel trading, the Three Month Euribor future's volume averaged 22% on LIFFE CONNECT™. This has now increased to over 30%. The Three Month Short Sterling future's volume on LIFFE CONNECT™ has now increased to 28%. From January to September a total of 94,608,192 contracts were traded on the Exchange. Total exchange open interest, a key indicator of liquidity as well as long term use of the market, stood at 5,853,491 contracts at 30 September 1999.