Showing that increased trading activity of Nymex contracts through the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s (CME) electronic Globex platform is not denting the volumes on its own exchange (see NGI, Nov. 6), rival electronic energy marketplace IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) reported Monday that volume and commissions during the month of November more than doubled from levels in November 2005.

Adding to the busy week, the company also leased office space at 2 World Financial Center in the downtown financial district of New York City where it plans to host a “state-of-the-art” electronic trading center that will provide access to ICE’s electronic markets as well as host training and marketing activities. Also during the busy week, the company said it successfully launched its ICE eConfirm Broker Matching Service to help reduce the potential for trade data errors in the over the counter (OTC) markets.

ICE Futures, ICE’s London-based regulated futures subsidiary, boasted that for the month of November it averaged 50% market share in global crude futures as measured by volume of light sweet crude oil.

Average daily volume (ADV) for ICE Futures was 451,676 contracts, an increase of 144.9% over ADV in November 2005. Average daily commissions in ICE’s over-the-counter (OTC) business segment in November reached $723,323, a 101.3% increase over November 2005’s $359,311. ICE said the growth in average daily commissions was driven by ICE’s cleared OTC contracts and new market participants.

The Atlanta-based company noted that total monthly futures volume in November rose 144.9% to 9,936,879 contracts, compared to 4,057,749 contracts in November 2005. ADV in November 2006 rose 144.9% to 451,676 contracts compared to ADV of 184,443 contracts in November 2005.

On Nov. 30, ICE reported that open interest for ICE Futures stood at a record 1,515,376 contracts, compared to 648,585 contracts back on Dec. 31, 2005. ICE Brent Crude futures, ICE WTI Crude futures and ICE Gas Oil futures also established new open interest records during the month.

ICE Natural Gas futures monthly volume totaled 66,165 contracts in November 2006, up from 53,775 contracts in November 2005. ICE Gas Oil futures monthly volume totaled a record 1,983,258 contracts, and ADV was a record 90,148 contracts, an increase of 68.6% compared to November 2005. After not even being offered a year ago, ICE WTI Crude futures during the month of November totaled 3,454,015 contracts.

Also during the month of November, the company set a new daily volume record of 280,152 contracts in the ICE Brent Crude futures contract on Nov. 30. Open interest in the ICE Brent Crude futures contract reached a new high of 599,190 contracts on Nov. 13. ICE WTI Crude futures also set a new open interest record of 456,437 contracts on November 13, while the ICE Gas Oil futures contract established a new open interest record of 317,599 contracts on Nov. 3.

The New York City electronic trading center is located at the lobby level in the Winter Garden of the World Financial Center. The ICE facility, expected to open in the first quarter of 2007, will be accessible by authorized market participants and qualified trainees. In September, ICE announced its planned acquisition of the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) (see related story), the leading soft commodity exchange in the world, which is located at 1 North End Ave. (see NGI, Sept. 18).

With its competitive exchange, the pending NYBOT acquisition, the new trading center and ICE offices already at 7 Times Square Tower in midtown Manhattan, ICE continues to move into territory long held by the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex). Nymex’s partnership with CME was seen by the industry as a defensive response to the significant success of ICE’s electronic trading activity. In February, Nymex’s board of directors voted to offer side-by-side open outcry and electronic trading of its benchmark, physically settled energy futures contracts (see NGI, Feb. 13). In April, Nymex solved the dilemma of how to take its electronic energy trading to “virtually 24 hours a day” through a technology services agreement with CME, under which CME’s Globex electronic trading platform became the exclusive electronic trading services provider for Nymex’s energy futures and options contracts (see NGI, April 10).

“We are excited to expand our presence in New York to include what we believe will be a unique opportunity to address the demand expressed by commodity market participants to access our global electronic marketplace. As we look toward the acquisition of the NYBOT, we will continue to seek ways to welcome the membership and support their continued growth by offering training and a high-quality environment to conduct business,” said ICE CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher.

In launching its broker matching service for ICE eConfirm, which is designed to facilitate fast and accurate post-trade confirmation, the exchange said the platform has now extended its reach to the interdealer broker community, bringing on broker IVG Energy as the first firm to utilize the service, which launched in November. The addition of the broker matching service automates the broker checkout process and is designed to increase back-office efficiency.

ICE said the service allows participants to resolve discrepancies with brokers via the website, reducing reliance on phone calls, faxes and e-mails. ICE eConfirm also offers brokers the ability to complete auto-matching of all trade information for each transaction. At the end of the month, the auto-matching of the brokerage invoice allows participants to speed processing of accounts receivable.

“In response to numerous requests from our ICE eConfirm user community, we are pleased to introduce the Broker Matching Service,” said Chuck Vice, ICE’s president. “IVG Energy recognized this service as a way to make its customers’ lives easier. We believe this unique service offers value-added tools and operational efficiencies that will benefit brokers and their customers alike.”

ICE eConfirm is Internet-based and allows counterparties in the OTC markets the ability to complete accurate and legally binding trade confirmations, regardless of whether the trade was executed bilaterally on the ICE platform or away from the ICE platform. The company said ICE eConfirm has 129 participant firms enrolled.

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