Business was booming in the trading exchange market in 2006 as evidenced by volume records from some of the major energy exchanges. Following IntercontinentalExchange’s (ICE) record volume announcement last week, the New York Mercantile Exchange Inc. (Nymex) announced Tuesday that it set an annual total volume record of 276,152,326 contracts in 2006, crushing the previous record of 204,610,365 contracts set in 2005.

The annual total includes a record 216,252,995 exchangewide futures contracts and a record 59,899,331 exchange-wide options contracts, which beat the 2005 records of 166,607,470 futures contracts and 38,002,895 options contracts.

Last Wednesday, ICE reported annual volume and commission records in its futures and over-the-counter (OTC) businesses. For the ninth consecutive year, the Atlanta-based company reported that ICE Futures — the company’s futures business segment — established an annual volume record, with traded contract volume in 2006 exceeding the previous record set in 2005 by more than 120% (see Daily GPI, Jan. 4).

Total Nymex division annual volume set a record of 246,080,283 futures and options contracts, surpassing the previous record of 175,038,840 contracts set in 2005. The 2006 total also includes a record 191,611,887 futures contracts traded on the Nymex division, surpassing the previous year’s record of 141,201,169 contracts. Nymex division options traded a record 54,468,396 contracts, surpassing the 2005 record of 33,837,671 contracts.

Nymex said that crude oil futures reached 71,053,203 contracts in 2006, surpassing the record 59,650,468 contracts traded in 2005. Crude oil options set a record with 21,016,562 contracts, surpassing the record 14,726,263 contracts traded in 2005. In 2006, heating oil futures traded 13,990,589 contracts, exceeding the 13,135,581 contracts traded in 2005.

Crude oil calendar spread options, which traded 1,209,952 contracts, surpassed last year’s volume of 440,234 contracts. Crude oil 12-month calendar spread options traded 24,750 contracts last year, surpassing the 2005 volume of 12,267 contracts.

“Nymex has continued to set records year after year, and last year was no exception,” said Nymex CEO James E. Newsome. “In 2006, we experienced the continued expansion of our products and services, growth in global ventures, and the highly anticipated IPO in November. It was a historic year for the exchange as a whole.”

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