Year-To-Date Volume At NYBOT Rises Thirty-Nine Percent Over 2003

Trading activity at the New York Board of Trade® (NYBOT®), the world’s leading “soft” commodity exchange, continues at a rapid pace, with year-to-date (YTD) total futures and options volume hitting 21,472,498 contracts, an increase of 39% over the same period from 2003.

Since returning to lower Manhattan on September 2, 2003, NYBOT has traded at a record pace for the twelve months through August 2004, with a total of 30,824,715 combined futures and options contracts volume, easily surpassing the 2003 volume record of 24,832,158.

Many new trading records were also set during the month of August, including: a cocoa futures daily volume record of 36,681 contracts, set on August 11; a monthly volume record for FCOJ options of 83,323 contracts, set August 2004; and a Sugar No. 11 futures daily open interest record of 330,232 contracts, set on August 9, and an options open interest record set on August 31 of 393,490 contracts.

NYBOT’s individual products saw substantial volume increases during the month. For example:

• Frozen Concentrated Orange Juice (FCOJ, symbol OJ) saw a 66% rise in futures trading (YTD), and experienced a 183% spike in options (YTD).
• Coffee “C” futures (symbol KC) climbed 42%, while the options (symbol KO) are up 53% (both YTD).
• The Sugar No. 11 futures increased 39% (YTD), and the options 81% (YTD).
• Cotton futures volume was up 21%, and the options rose 44%.

NYBOT’s financial marketplace also grew during August, as the U.S. Dollar Index futures (symbol DX) jumped 41% and the options were up 136% (both YTD). The Russell 1000® futures contract (symbol R) saw an increase of 51% (YTD) and the options 127% (YTD).

Finally, NYBOT’s cocoa futures rose 16% during the month (YTD).

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 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.