NYBOT Rings In 2004 With Another High Volume Month - Coffee, Cotton, FCOJ, And The Financial Markets Lead The Way

On the heels of an all time record year in 2003, the New York Board of Trade® (NYBOT®) rang up another big month of market activity, setting a hectic pace and more records to open 2004. Total futures and options for January saw a 23% increase over last year, with 2,187,403 contracts in 2004, versus 1,777,378 in 2003 Year-To-Date (YTD).

Old records continued to fall by the wayside. The Coffee "C" market hit several new high marks: a new all-time monthly total volume record of 586,339 contracts; monthly futures record of 389,864 contracts; monthly options total of 196,475 contracts; futures open interest on February 3 of 109,783 contracts; and options open interest of 119,966 on February 6. The options open interest mark was one of a series in the month. NYBOT's Sugar #11 contract also established a new options open interest record of 268,346 contracts on February 6 (the previous record was 267,325 contracts from February 4).

"These impressive volume figures are a testament to the vigor and liquidity that our markets offer investors and hedgers," said Charles H. "Harry" Falk, NYBOT President and CEO. "The exchange experienced record volumes throughout last year, and we look forward to continued growth in the months ahead."

After recording the largest-ever total futures and options volume in the 134-year history of the exchange for 2003, NYBOT posted numbers in the first month of the new year showing significant growth in several markets.

Total futures were up 21% YTD (2004 = 1,595,237 vs. 2003 = 1,319,189), total Ag futures increased 17% (2004 = 1,413,744 vs. 2003 = 1,204,777), and Currency futures rose 61% (2004 = 152,584 vs. 2003 = 94,728).

Options at NYBOT also registered volume spikes, up 29% total YTD (2004 = 592,166 vs. 2003 = 458,189). Ag options increased 27% (2004 = 566,598 vs. 2003 = 447,889), Currencies are up 287% (2004 = 8,822 vs. 2003 = 2,278), and Index options had a 109% YTD increase (2004 = 16,746 vs. 2003 = 8,022).

Selected January 2004 volume increases:

Coffee: Coffee "C" futures saw 90% increase YTD (2004 = 389,864 vs. 2003 = 205,420)
Coffee: Coffee "C" options on futures were up 79% YTD (2004 = 196,475 vs. 2003 = 109,999)
Cotton: Cotton futures were up 35% YTD (2004 = 272,948 vs. 2003 = 202,615)
Cotton: Cotton options were 100% higher than 2003 (2004 = 182,054 vs. 2003 = 90,947)
FCOJ: FCOJ futures rose 15% YTD (2004 = 52,908 vs. 2003 = 45,945)
USDX: the US Dollar Index futures are up 113% (2004 = 49,976 vs. 2003 = 23,455)
USDX: US Dollar Index options contract had a 306% increase (2004 = 8,639 vs. 2003 = 2,128)
Reuters CRB: the CRB futures rose 8% (2004 = 2,477 vs. 2003 = 2,289)
Russell 1000®: the futures contract was up 70% YTD (2004 = 22,942 vs. 2003 = 13,478)
Russell 1000: the Index options were up 425% YTD (2004 = 8,516 vs. 2003 = 1,622)

The full NYBOT Monthly Volume and Open Interest Report is available 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.