NYMEX Sets Weekly, Monthly Trading Volume Records

A monthly volume record was established in September on the New York Mercantile Exchange for Henry Hub natural gas futures and weekly volume records were also set for COMEX Divison gold futures and options last week. Natural gas volume reached 1,978,582 contracts by month's end, surpassing the 1,892,091 contracts traded in August 1999, and 491,793 gold futures contracts and 234,522 gold options contracts were traded last week, exceeding the 419,850 gold futures contracts traded during the week beginning January 22, 1996, and the 107,982 gold options contracts traded during the week beginning October 23, 1987. Exchange President R. Patrick Thompson said, "These records, coupled with recent daily volume records and monthly NYMEX ACCESS® volume records stand as further evidence of the commercial and investment sectors' heavy use of the Exchange as their primary source of price discovery and risk management."