NYBOT'S Futures And Options Monthly Volume Breaks Five-Year Record - Also A Cotton Open Interest Record And Increases In Cotton, Coffee, And Sugar Futures And Options, Currency Futures, And Index Options

The New York Board of Trade® (NYBOT®) announced yesterday that the September 2003 total trading volume of 2,576,173 contracts established a new all-time monthly volume record, eclipsing the previous record of 2,452,174 contracts set in June of 1998. Through the end of September 2003, total NYBOT year-to-date volume rose to 18,056,114 contracts, a 14% increase over the same period last year.

Cotton daily open interest broke a record on October 1, 2003, with 100,266 contracts. The previous daily OI record was 95,556 contracts set on January 28, 1998.

NYBOT's strong year-to-date performance is being led by a broad range of products, including:

Futures volume increases

• Overall Ag futures experienced a 12% year-to-date increase (2003 = 12,199,046 vs. 2002 = 10,847,628)
• Cotton futures (symbol CT) saw a 26% increase for the year-to-date over 2002 (2003 = 2,109,498 vs. 2002 = 1,673,581)
• Coffee futures (symbol KC) had a 15% increase for the year-to-date (2003 = 2,367,324 vs. 2002 = 2,052,990)
• Sugar #11 futures (Symbol SB) had a 12% increase year-to-date (2003= 5,587,956 vs. 2002 = 4,998,287)
• Overall currency futures experienced a 34% increase year-to-date (2003 = 1,309,656 vs. 2002 = 977,707)
• US Dollar Index (symbol DX) saw a 39% increase (2003 = 396,609 vs. 2002 = 285,000)
• Euro/Japanese Yen (symbol EJ) contract rose 16% year-to-date (2003 = 292,696 vs. 2002 = 252,079)

Options volume increases

• Overall Ag options rose 21% year-to-date (2003 = 3,899,837 vs. 2002 = 3,210,241)
• Coffee options jumped 51% (995,028 = 2003 vs. 2002 = 659,210)
• Cotton options rose 31% year-to-date (2003 = 1,149,782 vs. 2002 = 875,100)
• Sugar #11 options rose 14% (2003 = 1,216,314 vs. 2002 = 1,069,374)
• Russell 1000® experienced a 3,303% increase (2003 = 38,592 vs. 2002 = 1,134)

"These historical highs and increases represent the vibrancy and opportunity our markets offer to the institutional as well as the mid-sized investor," said Charles H. "Harry" Falk, President and CEO of NYBOT. "We're very pleased that volume in our contracts continues to increase and we're looking forward to continued growth and volatility in the future."

The new volume and open interest records and increases were highlighted in the exchange's Monthly Volume Report, which was released today and is available on the NYBOT website at www.nybot.com.

Contract specifications and other information on NYBOT's products can also be found 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.