The New York Mercantile Exchange Inc. (Nymex) said it will roll out its new electronic trading platform at 3:15 p.m. EST Thursday, with 34 futures contracts listed for trading at launch. The platform will be part of its new Clearport network, which also will include messaging architecture, a clearing services web site, confirmation services and future extensions of the exchange’s technological services.

Exchange President J. Robert Collins, Jr. said he expects Clearport to serve as the central industry portal for a broad range of futures services. “The Nymex Clearport network will also offer standardized formats, language and connectivity for both back and front office needs,” he said. “It will provide open standards, including Financial Information Exchange 4.2 protocol and an xml schema that the industry can use for all of its business needs including invoicing, confirmations, straight-through processing, and, of course, trading and clearing.”

The initial contracts listed for trading will include the 32 futures contracts currently listed for a 90-minute session on Nymex Access as well as the Exchange’s financially settled Henry Hub swaps and West Texas Intermediate crude calendar swaps futures contracts. Nymex spokeswoman Nachamah Jacobovits said the exchange plans to launch trading and clearing on 23 other futures products, including multiple natural gas basis swaps, once it gains certain regulatory approvals and overcomes some technical issues with price dissemination. She also clarified that Nymex will not be offering over-the-counter products for electronic trading.

“For any contract listed on this platform, any participant will have an opportunity to bid and offer and the result will be the best price. They will trade through the exchange. It’s not bilateral trading,” she said.

The Thursday afternoon start will mark the beginning of the Jan. 17 trading day. The 32 futures contracts, which are currently offered from 7:30 a.m. through 9 a.m., will cease trading on Nymex Access on Thursday morning. However, the open-outcry contracts currently trading on Access will continue. Clearport Trading will be offered from 7 p.m. Sunday through 2:30 p.m. on Friday, with a 45-minute break each day from 2:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.

In addition to providing a means for competitive execution, the Exchange will continue to allow exchange of futures for swaps and exchange of futures for physicals transactions in these contracts to be posted directly to the Nymex Clearport clearing web site.

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