New Margin Requirements For NYBOT's Cotton Contract

The New York Board of Trade® (NYBOT®), the world's leading "softs" commodities exchange, announced today that effective with the opening of business on Wednesday, October 22, 2003, the margin requirements for its cotton contract are as follows:

COTTON (CT)
	Initial	Maintenance
Spec (Per Contract)	1,960 USD	1,400 USD (+200)
Hedge (Per Contract)	1,400 USD	1,400 USD

Margin rates for all other NYBOT products remain unchanged. A complete grid of margin rates for all NYBOT products is available upon request.

The New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) is the parent company of the Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange, Inc. (CSCE) and the New York Cotton Exchange (NYCE). Through its two exchanges, NYBOT offers an expanding range of agricultural and financial products. Information about the New York Board of Trade can be found at www.nybot.com and www.nybotlive.com.