NYMEX Sets Monthly Volume Records In May

The New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. today announced monthly volume records for Exchange–wide futures and options, futures, and options; NYMEX Division futures and options; NYMEX Division futures; COMEX Division futures and options; gold futures; and NYMEX miNY^TM crude oil, natural gas, and heating oil futures contracts in May.

Exchange–wide futures and options monthly volume reached 24,795,205 contracts, topping the record set in January of 21,609,426 contracts. heating oil futures contracts in May.

Exchange–wide futures volume reached 19,623,360 contracts, surpassing the previous monthly record of 17,429,165 contracts set in March. A record 5,171,845 options contracts were traded Exchange–wide, surpassing the previous record of 4,567,381 contracts set in January. heating oil futures contracts in May.

Total NYMEX Division contracts hit a monthly record of 21,268,424, exceeding the previous record of 18,773,330 contracts set in August 2005. NYMEX Division futures also set a daily volume record with 16,777,933 contracts traded, surpassing the record 15,055,365 contracts traded in August 2005. heating oil futures contracts in May.

Total COMEX Division futures and options volume reached 3,526,781 contracts, surpassing the previous monthly record of 3,481,177 contracts set in March. heating oil futures contracts in May.

Gold futures monthly volume reached 2,070,973 contracts, exceeding the record set in March of 2,052,651 contracts. heating oil futures contracts in May.

Total NYMEX miNY^TM volume totaled 1,437,908 contracts in May, surpassing the 1,267,822 contracts traded March. heating oil futures contracts in May.

A record 1,080,466 NYMEX miNY^TM crude oil futures contracts traded last month, topping the record of 983,304 contracts traded in March. heating oil futures contracts in May.

The NYMEX miNY^TM natural gas futures reached 301,628 contracts, exceeding the 262,692 contracts traded in April. heating oil futures contracts in May.

NYMEX miNY^TM heating oil futures traded 41,810 contracts in May, exceeding the 20,489 contracts traded in April. heating oil futures contracts in May.

James E. Newsome, NYMEX President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "We have reached a milestone with NYMEX miNY^TM crude oil futures crossing the one million contract mark and seen continued growth across the board. It is rewarding to see the sustained confidence of the energy and metals industries in our secure, liquid and transparent marketplace."