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IntercontinentalExchange (NYSE: ICE), the leading electronic energy marketplace and soft commodity exchange, today reported volume increases for the month of August 2007 in each of the company's three execution venues compared to last August.
- Average daily volume (ADV) for ICE Futures Europe was 521,339 contracts in August 2007, an increase of 28.4% over ADV in August 2006.
- ADV at ICE Futures U.S. (formerly the New York Board of Trade), was 186,285 contracts in August 2007, up 12.5% over August 2006.
- Average daily commissions in ICE's over-the-counter (OTC) segment were $875,032, a 9.6% increase over August 2006.
- In September, ICE will begin including the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange (WCE) volume in the monthly volume reports. ICE closed on the transaction to acquire WCE on August 28, 2007. Yesterday, WCE reported August contract volume of 205,376, an increase of 16.4% over August 2006.
ICE Futures Europe Volume and RPC
ICE Futures Europe reported total volume in August 2007 of 11,990,805 contracts, up 28.4% compared to 9,338,903 contracts in August 2006, representing its second highest volume month. ADV also rose 28.4% from 406,039 contracts in August 2006 to 521,339 contracts in August 2007. Several ICE Futures Europe contracts traded at or near record levels during August.
The ICE WTI Crude futures contract posted its third highest total volume month at more than 4.4 million contracts, an increase of 33.8% over August 2006. The ICE Gas Oil futures contract established a monthly volume record of more than 2.2 million contracts, and record ADV of more than 99,000 contracts. The ICE UK Natural Gas futures contract had record volume in August of 143,190 contracts, and record ADV. The ICE-ECX CFI emissions futures contract posted its second highest total volume of 94,369 contracts in August, with the ICE-ECX CFI options on futures contract also setting new volume records.
In August 2007, rate per contract (RPC) for ICE Futures Europe averaged $1.24, compared to RPC of $1.27 in June 2007 and $1.30 in July 2007. The variance is primarily due to new market maker programs that have been implemented in recent months to build liquidity in newer `products. RPC is calculated by dividing transaction revenues by contract volume, and can vary based on pricing, customer and product mix.
On August 31, 2007, open interest for ICE Futures Europe was 1,796,990 contracts, compared to 1,416,470 contracts at December 31, 2006.
*"Other contracts" include ICE Middle East Sour Crude futures, which began trading May 21, 2007; ICE Heating Oil futures; ICE Unleaded Gasoline Blendstock (RBOB) futures; ICE UK Natural Gas futures; ICE-ECX CFI futures; ICE UK Electricity futures; ICE Coal futures; ICE Brent options; ICE WTI options, and ICE Gas Oil options. The ICE-ECX CFI futures contract is the result of a cooperative relationship between ICE Futures and the Chicago Climate Exchange, Inc. and its subsidiary, the European Climate Exchange. ICE Futures shares in the revenue derived from the ECX CFI Futures contract.
ICE Futures U.S. Volume and RPC
Total futures and options volume at ICE Futures U.S. in August 2007 increased 12.5% to 4,284,552 contracts, compared to volume of 3,807,485 contracts in August 2006. August 2007 ADV rose 12.5%, to 186,285 contracts.
Electronic trading in soft commodity futures accounted for 80% of the total ICE Futures U.S. soft commodity futures contracts in August, compared to 82% in July. In August 2007, ADV in electronically traded soft commodity futures was 98,606 contracts; total soft commodity futures volume averaged 123,194 contracts per day. ICE Futures U.S. set a volume record in August 2007 in the Cocoa futures contract with 378,897 contracts traded.
In July 2007, ICE Futures U.S. reported an aggregate RPC for soft commodity futures and options of $1.92, compared to $1.57 in July 2006. RPC for June 2007 was $2.07. RPC for ICE Futures U.S. is reported one month in arrears.
* "Other contracts" for ICE Futures U.S. are additional markets for food, fiber, foreign exchange and index products.
**ADV % Electronic calculation excludes products that were not available for electronic trading at any time during the month.
OTC Business Segment
Average daily commissions reflect daily trading activity in ICE's OTC markets. In August 2007, ICE's average daily commissions increased 9.6% to $875,032 compared to $798,163 in August 2006. August 2007 average daily commissions were the second highest ever recorded by ICE.
Additional August 2007 Highlights:
- On August 29, ICE announced that Thomas J. Hammond will become President of ICE Clear U.S., Inc., ICE's wholly owned U.S. clearing house, effective September 17. George Haase will become Executive Vice Chairman.
- On August 28, ICE completed its acquisition of the Winnipeg Commodities Exchange (WCE).
- On August 27, ICE announced that a new Robusta Coffee futures contract will trade electronically at ICE Futures U.S. beginning September 28. The new contract will trade alongside the world's largest coffee futures contract, the ICE Futures U.S. Coffee "C" Arabica futures. Options on the new Robusta contract will begin trading via open outcry on October 1.
- On August 17, the Russell 2000® Index full-size and mini-size futures listed by ICE Futures U.S. began trading on the ICE platform.
- Effective September 3, 2007 the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) was renamed ICE Futures U.S. ICE's London-based futures exchange was renamed ICE Futures Europe.
- Several ICE Futures U.S. futures contracts set new electronic monthly volume records during August, including Cocoa, Coffee "C", US Dollar Index, Frozen Concentrated Orange Juice and the Russell 1000, Russell 1000 Mini, Russell 2000 Mini Index and the Russell 2000 Index.
Historical futures volume and OTC commission data can be found at: www.theice.com/marketdata/recordsAndVolumes/volumes2007.jsp
