Notice to Members
Notice No. 245
06/09/2003
New York Mercantile Exchange and Tokyo Commodity Exchange Finalize MOU on Cooperation
The New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc., and the Tokyo Commodity Exchange today announced that they have signed a memorandum of understanding on exploring areas of cooperation for the mutual benefits of their memberships.

These include:
  • Cooperation in making available trading in each exchange's contracts available via computer terminals in the opposite country.
  • Cooperation in securing the appropriate regulatory approvals from the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry in Japan and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in the United States
  • Cooperation in establishing a procedure to communicate and share information on conditions that could effect the other marketplace, reinforcing the ability of each exchange to operate in a fair and orderly manner
  • Exploring areas of cooperation that will enhance the liquidity, efficiency, and integrity of each market, including new business opportunities as they arise

There are many synergies between the products offered by both exchanges and this alliance can only benefit both of our memberships as well as our customers. Both exchanges welcome the opportunities that will be created through this relationship.

About the New York Mercantile Exchange
The New York Mercantile Exchange is the largest physical commodity exchange in the world, offering futures and options trading in energy and metals contracts and clearing services for off-exchange energy transactions. Through a combination of open outcry floor trading and the NYMEX ACCESS® and NYMEX ClearPortsm electronic trading platforms, a wide range of crude oil, petroleum product, natural gas, coal, electricity, gold, silver, copper, aluminum, and platinum group metals markets are available virtually 24 hours each day.

About the Tokyo Commodity Exchange
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) is the world's second largest commodity futures exchange, and by far the largest futures exchange in Japan. TOCOM offers crude oil, gasoline, kerosene, gold, silver, platinum, palladium, and aluminum futures contracts on its electronic platform, and a rubber futures contract on its trading floor. TOCOM's energy futures contracts constitute Asia's first successful energy market, recording 33 million lots in 2002. TOCOM has more than ten years of experience in electronic trading, and updated its system into a state-of-the-art-platform at the beginning of 2003.
Should you have any questions or require any further information, please contact exchangeinfo@nymex.com