RTS Stock Exchange March Futures Contracts Settlement

FORTS (Futures & Options on the RTS) March futures contracts were settled on March 15, 2004 with total volume reaching 563 million rubles, compared with 572 million rubles in December 2003. The most popular contracts among those settled were the contract for the USD/RUR exchange rate (230 million rubles). "Gazprom" single stock futures contract (157 million rubles) and S&P/RUIX Investment Index - 89 million rubles.

FORTS, a unified derivatives market operating since September 19, 2001, is based on trading and settlement technologies and software that were implemented at and have been successfully used by St. Petersburg Stock Exchange for 8 years. RTS acts as the trading system and the clearinghouse on the integrated market. 84 companies from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Ekaterinburg, Samara, Rostov-on-Don, Kazan and Abakan FORTS participants trade 8 futures contracts and 3 options.