Seat Sales At Chicago Mercantile Exchange Include New Record High For IOM Division

Seat sales in three divisions of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) late yesterday included a new record high price of $345,000 for an Index and Option Market (IOM) division seat. Yesterday's sale prices of $700,000 for a full CME seat and $495,000 for an International Monetary Market (IMM) division seat were also significantly above recent levels.

The previous record price for an IOM seat was $320,000 for a seat sold July 6, 1995. The most recent IOM sale prior to yesterday was for $305,000 on March 24. Following the sale, bid and offer prices were $310,000 and $400,000, respectively.

The sale of a CME seat for $700,000 yesterday surpasses the previous sale price of $555,000 on March 20 by 26 percent. A CME seat most recently sold at this level on Oct. 6, 1995, when a membership changed hands for $705,000. Following yesterday's sale, a full membership was bid at $630,000 and offered at $750,000.

The IMM sale for $495,000 is $35,000 higher than the previous sale for $460,000 on March 24. Three years ago to the day-March 27, 1997-was the last time an IMM seat sold at that price. Currently, an IMM seat is offered at $500,000 and bid at $420,000.