Total January Futures And Options Volume Up 39 Percent YTD At NYBOT

Trading volumes at the New York Board of Trade® (NYBOT®) continued their upward climb during January 2006, registering a 39% Year-To-Date (YTD) increase in combined futures and options volume, just 40,000 shy of the all-time monthly record.

In addition to big YTD gains in total futures and options volume, the futures market category grew 30% during the month and options were up 64%. Additionally, agricultural futures products were up 30% and Ag options 66%; currency futures saw a 26% growth, index futures 19%, and index options 7% (all YTD). Open interest records were established for Sugar No. 11sm Options (778,178 contracts on 1/30) and Cotton No. 2sm Futures (129,766 on 1/20). Volume records went up for sugar options (97,609 on 1/21); sugar futures (153,201 on 1/20) and total sugar futures and options (232,560 on 1/20).

“Our ongoing string of monthly and yearly volume increases continues,” said C. Harry Falk, NYBOT President and CEO. “January’s remarkable activity was led by the huge volume in our sugar contract, due to the fact that more sugar in Brazil is now being used for ethanol production in that country. We’re seeing a major shift in the way sugar is consumed, as sugar becomes energy to fuel cars.”

Some individual January 2006 product volume increases (all YTD):

• Sugar: NYBOT’s Sugar No. 11 contract (symbol SB) saw great increases during the month of January, with the futures contract gaining 47% and the options 163%. NYBOT’s Sugar No. 14sm (symbol SE) futures contract jumped 25%.
• Coffee: Coffee “C”® (symbol KC) futures grew 27% and the options 43%.
• USDX: the U.S. Dollar Index® (USDX®, symbol DX) had a futures market growth of 29%.
• Cocoa: Cocoa (symbol CC) futures increased 27%.
• Frozen Concentrated Orange Juice (FCOJ): the Orange Juice (symbol OJ) futures contract increase was 22%.

NYBOT also saw the value of a full seat on the exchange hit several records during January, the latest being $650,000 established January 31.

The full NYBOT Volume and Open Interest Report is available at www.nybot.com.

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.