NYMEX Natural Gas Futures Set Daily Volume Record

Natural gas futures set a daily volume record on the New York Mercantile Exchange this past Friday when 203,807 Henry Hub contracts were traded, surpassing the record 168,057 contracts traded on September 26, 1997. Exchange President R. Patrick Thompson said, "This record is particularly significant in that, three days earlier, light, sweet crude oil futures set a record at 274,975 contracts. The two records set so close together stand as evidence of the continued growth and vitality of the Exchange's broad spectrum of energy markets." The natural gas record is the second highest daily volume record of any contract at the Exchange including the COMEX Division metals contracts. In 1998, natural gas futures trading surpassed gold futures to become the second most actively traded contract at the Exchange, behind light, sweet crude oil futures. Year-to-date, the contract is averaging volume