On 27 February trading commenced on the new platform, built by IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. (ICE), completing the transfer of all current IPE electronic trading sessions to the ICE platform. The IPE Natural Gas futures contract began trading on the new platform on 4 October 2002 and has set volume records each successive month since.
The ICE platform has been significantly enhanced with additional broker functionality and the ability to complete settlement trades. New features plus ease of access over the Internet has attracted a significant number of new users. The volume of users logged on for trading on 27 February was almost double the usual number for the extended hours sessions.
During the 08.00 - 09.45 session for IPE Brent Crude futures 2324 lots were traded and 652 lots were executed during the 08.00 - 09.00 IPE Gas Oil futures session.
Dr. Richard Ward, IPE CEO said "The 27th February was an important date in the Exchange's history as IPE leading benchmark futures contracts began trading on the world's fastest growing electronic platform. This marks the successful completion of the first stage in the IPE's transition to electronic trading."
As well as the success of transitioning IPE Brent Crude and IPE Gas Oil futures to the ICE platform, February was also another record month for the IPE.
All three IPE futures contracts posted record volumes, making February 2003 the most successful February ever at the Exchange. IPE Brent Crude futures traded a total of 1,901,191 lots, IPE Gas Oil futures traded a total of 768,966 lots and IPE Natural Gas futures traded a total of 84,800 lots. The previous record set in February 2002 was exceeded by 491,898 lots or 21.6%.
IPE Natural Gas futures marked a record trading day on 26 February trading a total of 11,080 lots, and exceeding the previous record set on 26 March 2002 by 10%.
