Nymex Gold Futures Set Monthly Volume Record

Gold futures set a monthly volume record of 1,581,320 contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc., in January, exceeding the record of 1,397,296 contracts traded during November 2003.

Exchange President J. Robert Collins, Jr., said, "We are gratified to end the month of January with a continuation of the strong trading activity we saw in the COMEX Division gold futures market during 2003, when 12.2 million contracts broke a 21—year record. This is an affirmation of market participants' reliance on the liquidity, transparency, and financial security of our risk management and investment products."