New York, N.Y., October 21, 2005 — The New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc., today announced that its copper futures contracts set an annual volume record.

As of October 20, 3,196,448 contracts have been traded, exceeding the previous record of 3,190,625 contracts traded in 2004.

Exchange President James E. Newsome said, “This record reflects the continued interest in our metals complex contracts. We are pleased that the Exchange has met the needs of this market, which has seen unprecedented demand from Asia this year.”

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