Trading will be extended in gold options on a June/December cycle, adding contracts for June and December 2006, June and December 2007, and June and December 2008.
Silver options trading will be extended on a July/December cycle, with contracts added for July and December 2006, July and December 2007, and July and December 2008.
This contract listing was originally scheduled for February 26, but postponed for technical reasons.
Exchange President J. Robert Collins, Jr., said, "By expanding the availability of gold and silver options contracts to match the available long-dated futures contracts for these key precious metals, the Exchange will make available additional opportunities for risk management and investment in these markets. Trading activity in the gold and silver futures and options markets continues to be strong this year after record performance on our COMEX Division in 2003, as market participants increasingly look to the Exchange for liquidity, market transparency, and protection from counterparty credit risk."
