Notice to Members
Notice No. 08 01/06/2003
New York Mercantile Exchange Records Highest Annual Volume
The Exchange set an annual volume record of 133,689,935 futures and options contracts in 2002, smashing the previous record of 109,538,831 contracts set in 1999. The 2002 volume also represented 30% increase over the 103,025,093 contracts traded in 2001. The volume records include 116,138,192 futures and options contracts traded on the NYMEX Division, far surpassing the previous record of 89,189,928 contracts traded in 1999. There were 17,551,743 contracts traded on the COMEX Division. Total energy futures and options reached a record 115,876,912 contracts, topping the record of 88,536,120 contracts set in 1999. Records were also set for electronic trading on the NYMEX ACCESS® system with the annual volume of 4,902,947 futures contracts, up from the record 2,612,527 contracts traded in 2001. Other annual volume highlights included: A record of 107,305,219 futures contracts, surpassing the record of 92,415,006 set in 1999. Futures trading on the NYMEX Division reached 92,270,186 contracts, topping the record of 75,769,318 futures contracts traded in 1999. NYMEX Division futures volume of 4,455,683 contracts on NYMEX ACCESS® exceeded the previous record of 2,435,559 NYMEX Division futures and options contracts set in 2001. Total options trading set a record for the sixth consecutive year, with volume totaling 26,384,716 contracts, exceeding the 2001 record of 17,985,109 options contracts. NYMEX Division options trading reached a record 23,868,006 contracts, breaking the record of 15,475,878 set in 2001. Energy futures trading set a record of 92,009,362 contracts, topping the record 75,126,656 energy futures contracts set in 1999. Light, sweet crude oil futures established a record of 45,679,468 contracts, exceeding the previous record of 37,860,064 contracts set in 1999. The total included 2,892,134 contracts traded on NYMEX ACCESS®, which broke the previous electronic trading record of 1,572,477 crude oil futures contracts in 2001. Light, sweet crude oil options reached 11,460,857 contracts, surpassing the 1999 record of 8,161,976 contracts. Natural gas futures volume of 24,357,792 contracts broke the previous record of 19,165,096 contracts set in 1999. The total included 1,103,015 contracts traded on NYMEX ACCESS®, which surpassed the previous electronic trading record of 805,621 natural gas contracts in 1999. Natural gas options trading actively totaled 10,966,023 contracts, smashing the previous record of 5,974,240 contracts set in 2001. Aluminum futures volume of 74,000 contracts surpassed the previous record of 46,099 contracts in 2000. Heating oil futures reached 10,695,202 contracts, topping the previous record of 9,631,376 contracts in 2000. Unleaded gasoline futures reached 10,979,736 contracts, exceeding the previous record of 9,223,510 set in 2001. Energy options trading reached 23,867,550 contracts as versus the previous record of 15,474,065 contracts set in 2001. COMEX Division futures on NYMEX ACCESS® set a record of 447,264 contracts, breaking the previous record of 316,584 contracts in 1999. Gold futures activity on NYMEX ACCESS® set a record of 331,965 contracts, exceeding the previous record of 195,443 contracts in 1999. The record volumes of 2002 are all the more remarkable when viewed in the context of the accompanying record seat values and corporate profitability – all indicative of the energy industry's recognition of the Exchange as the most reliable source of risk management, market efficiency, liquidity, and price transparency. The year not only marked a flight to the quality of the Exchange's well-established markets but also the successful extension of the Exchange's core values and standards of excellence into new realms of business including services for the over-the-counter and retail sectors.
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