NYBOT Announces New Margin Requirements For Cocoa And Cotton Contracts

The New York Board of Trade® (NYBOT®) announced today that effective with the opening of business on Wednesday, March 3, 2004, the cocoa and cotton margin requirements are as follows:

COCOA (CC)

	Initial	Maintenance
Spec (Per Contract)	1,190 USD(-210)	850 USD(-150)
Hedge (Per Contract)	850 USD(-150)	850 USD(-150)

COTTON (CT)

	Initial	Maintenance
Spec (Per Contract)	2,240 USD(+280)	1,600 USD(+200)
Hedge (Per Contract)	1,600 USD(+200)	1,600 USD(+200)

Margin rates for all other NYBOT products remain unchanged.

A complete grid of margin rates for all NYBOT products is available on the NYBOT web page at www.nybot.com . 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 .