Fueled by uncertainty and concern about energy supply following the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina, energy trading volumes on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) continue to soar.

On Tuesday, Nymex reported that it set daily records for overall exchange volume, exchange-wide options, Nymex Division futures and options, crude oil futures, gasoline futures, Nymex ClearPort clearing, overall Nymex miNY futures, and Nymex miNY crude oil futures.

Overall, Nymex said volume on its exchange on Tuesday reached 1,383,616 contracts, shattering the previous record of 1,201,461 contracts traded on Aug. 11.

Crude oil futures hit 406,314 contracts traded on Tuesday, beating the 383,589 contracts traded on Aug. 11. October crude notched a new high at $70.85/bbl on the day before closing at $69.81/bbl, up $2.61.

A record 95,733 gasoline futures contracts traded on Tuesday, breaking the previous record of 89,418 on April 7. Gasoline futures, which are normally used to seeing less than a cent gain or loss on a daily basis, saw its September contract on Tuesday settle 41.39 cents higher at $2.4745/gallon.

Nymex ClearPort clearing volume reached 238,544 contracts, exceeding the 226,653 contracts cleared on August 24.

“We are pleased that the industry values the liquidity, price transparency, and stability that our markets provide,” said James E. Newsome, president of Nymex. “In these tragic times of uncertainty, the Exchange will continue to provide a fair and balanced marketplace.”

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