“Numerous market participants came together and produced the best volume year in the history of our exchange, including a sizeable surge in commodity investing, particularly from the hedge fund industry,” said Frederick W. Schoenhut, NYBOT Chairman. “This record activity is proof that more and more people in the global investment and hedging communities are realizing the reliability and integrity of our vibrant markets. We look forward to continued growth in the coming year as more groups look to our exchange to help manage their price risk exposure and pursue investment opportunities.”
Total 2005 volume for the 135-year old exchange was a record 37,945,585 futures and options contracts, 20% more than the previous yearly record volume of 31,729,591 contracts. The 2004 record volume was surpassed after only ten months of trading in 2005.
The NYBOT futures market hit a high-water mark during 2005 with 29,013,416 contracts being traded, up 21% over the previous year; the options market also set a record with 8,932,169 contracts traded, up 15%. Ag futures and options both set new records, with 24,486,440 futures being traded, a 19% increase, and 8,663,470 options contracts, up 15%. Currency futures (including the U.S. Dollar Index® (USDX®), symbol DX) also established a new record with 3,604,877 contracts changing hands, an increase of 53%.
NYBOT’s President and CEO C. Harry Falk said: “We are very happy with our volume growth for 2005. Our open outcry markets have never been healthier, and this record activity highlights the liquidity and service our exchange offers. We are grateful to the NYBOT Board, Members and Staff, and all those who used our markets during the previous year, and we look forward to working together in the future.”
Individual 2005 product volume records and increases include:
- Sugar: the Sugar No. 11sm contract (symbol SB) achieved a combined futures and options record of 16,639,011; futures rose 33% and the options 27%. On December 29, 2005, sugar futures open interest hit 540,168 contracts, an all-time high.
- Coffee: Coffee “C”® (symbol KC) realized a combined futures and options record of 6,357,939 contracts; options rose 20%.
- Cotton: Cotton No. 2sm (symbol CT) had a combined futures and options record of 5,558,335 contracts; the futures contract saw a 22% increase.
- Cocoa: Cocoa (symbol CC) had a combined futures and options record of 3,095,186 contracts; options climbed 19%.
- USDX: the USDX had a combined futures and options record of 1,159,938 contracts; the futures market was also up 55%.
- Currency Pairs: the market saw solid growth, with Euro/Yen, Euro/Pound, Euro/Swiss and many others setting new records.
- Russell 1000® Index: Russell (symbol R) combined futures and options record of 142,299 contracts; options up 37%. The Russell 1000 Index is a trademark and service mark of the Frank Russell Company, used under license.
- New Products: on March 4, NYBOT successfully launched its Pulp futures contract (symbol P), with the Options on Pulp Futures contract starting March 7. The Pulp market has traded approximately 27,000 contracts to date; the contract is for pulp derived from a natural plant material that is used to make a wide range of products such as paper and paperboard. On July 12, NYBOT began trading the Reuters/Jefferies CRB (RJ/CRB) Futures Price Index futures contract (symbol CR), with options available the next business day. The previous version of the Reuters CRB Index was renamed the “Continuous Commodity Index” and trades under the symbol “CI.”
- Contract Modifications: throughout the year, NYBOT updates its contracts to keep them current, by adjusting trading hours, contract specifications, and more – a key strength to the flexibility of the NYBOT markets. Among the many modifications throughout the year, NYBOT added the ports of Albany and Baltimore as delivery points for the Cocoa futures contract, commencing with the May 2006 delivery.
- Seat Prices: on December 5, a full NYBOT seat sold for the record amount of $490,000, $21,000 more than the previous high of $469,000, set on November 15. Seat values surged 40% in 2005 from an early January price of $350,000.
- New York Clearing Corporation (NYCC): During 2005, the NYCC, NYBOT’s designated clearinghouse, launched its new website, as well as implemented several new systems, including: Extensible Clearing System (ECS), which now processes all Exchange trades; FIXML transmissions, which gives members the ability to access all their transactions in real-time; and implemented the use of the Continuous Linked Settlement (CLS) system, a global banking system which streamlines and improves the efficiency of currency deliveries.
- eCOPS®: NYBOT’s fully electronic commodity delivery system set a new high in June 2005 by issuing 21,439 Electronic Warehouse Receipts (EWRs) covering 5,026,753 bags of Arabica coffee, worth approximately $814,333,986. Cocoa began using eCOPS in March 2005 for the July ’05 delivery, which now has 3,915 EWRs covering 42,160 metric tons of cocoa, worth approximately $61,764,400. FCOJ will likely be the next product to begin using eCOPS.
- NYBOTLive: NYBOTLive, the Exchange’s real-time market data service which provides product prices and a package of support capabilities directly over the Internet, has seen its revenue and the number of subscribers double in 2005.
- EOR/OBMS: NYBOT’s Order Book Management System (OBMS) saw successes during the year, with R.J. O'Brien (RJO) becoming a new user, and Prudential Financial Derivatives, LLC (Prudential) using the Electronic Order Routing (EOR) system. EOR 2005 volume increased 45% in orders and 50% in fill volume.
- NYBOT.COM: an all-new look was added to the NYBOT website during 2005, including a complete overhaul of the homepage. The new site also has enhanced functionality and numerous new features such as NYBOTV.
- Partnerships: on June 1, the leaders of the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange in China and NYBOT signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
- NYBOT Futures & Options for Kids: in June, Futures & Options for Kids and NYBOT announced that the non-profit was now directly associated with the Exchange, and was renamed the “NYBOT Futures & Options for Kids.” The nonprofit organization raised over $1,000,000 during the year, a record. In response to the disaster caused by Hurricane Katrina, the Exchange also pledged $250,000 in relief aid to the states of Louisiana and Mississippi.
The New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) is New York’s original futures exchange, where the world trades food, fiber and financial products. For well over a century, the New York Board of Trade has provided reliability, integrity and security in a global marketplace for cocoa, coffee, cotton, ethanol, orange juice, wood pulp and sugar, as well as currency and index futures and options. Information about the New York Board of Trade can be found at www.nybot.com and www.nybotlive.com. To learn more about New York Board of Trade Futures & Options for Kids, the Exchange’s non-profit group, please go to www.futuresandoptionsforkids.org.
