IntercontinentalExchange (NYSE: ICE), a leading operator of global derivatives exchanges and over-the- counter (OTC) markets, today reported volume growth in all of its business segments for the month of February, including record volume growth at ICE Futures U.S.(TM) and record OTC commissions.
— Total average daily volume (ADV) for all ICE Futures contracts reached
993,819 in February 2008, an increase of 30% over February 2007.
— ADV at ICE Futures Europe(TM) reached 588,048 contracts in
February 2008, an increase of 19% over February 2007; monthly ADV
records were set for Brent Crude and Gas Oil futures.
— ADV at ICE Futures U.S. increased to 385,430 contracts in February
2008, up 50% from February 2007; volume records were achieved in
several benchmark contracts.
— ADV at ICE Futures Canada(TM) in February 2008 was 20,341 contracts, an
18% increase year-to-year.
— Average daily commissions for ICE’s global OTC business were a record
$1,366,566, a 71% increase over February 2007, and the second
consecutive month surpassing $1 million per day.
European Futures Volume and RPC
ICE Futures Europe reported total volume in February 2008 of 12,349,016 contracts, up 25% from 9,847,062 contracts in February 2007. ADV was 588,048 contracts, up 19% from 492,353 the prior February, including monthly ADV records in ICE Brent Crude and ICE Gas Oil futures contracts.
The three-month rolling average rate per contract (RPC) for the period of December 2007 through February 2008 was $1.27. RPC is calculated by dividing transaction revenues by contract volume, and can vary based on pricing, customer and product mix. RPC also averaged $1.27 for each of the rolling three month periods ended January 2008 and December 2007, respectively.
On February 29, 2008, open interest for ICE Futures Europe was 1,684,469 contracts, compared to 1,641,399 contracts at December 31, 2007.
North American Futures Volume and RPC
Total futures and options volume at ICE Futures U.S. increased 58% to a record 7,720,079 contracts in February 2008, compared to volume of 4,882,926 contracts in February 2007. February 2008 ADV rose 50%, to a record 385,430 contracts, compared with 256,268 contracts in February 2007.
Electronic trading represented 89% of total ICE Futures U.S. agricultural commodity futures contracts traded in February 2008, compared to 90% in January 2008. ADV for electronically traded agricultural commodity futures was a record 244,849 contracts; total agricultural commodity futures ADV was 275,078 contracts in February 2008. As of March 3, 2008, all futures markets at ICE Futures U.S. are conducted electronically.
The three-month rolling average RPC for the three months ended January 2008 was $2.08 for agricultural futures and options. RPC averaged $2.03 for the fourth quarter of 2007 and $2.08 for the rolling three months ended November 2007. RPC for ICE Futures U.S. is reported one month in arrears.
On February 29, 2008, open interest for ICE Futures U.S. was 3,708,369 contracts, compared to 3,389,923 contracts at December 31, 2007.
ICE Futures Canada recorded February 2008 contract volume of 406,830 contracts, up 25% over February 2007. ADV was 20,341 contracts, an increase of 18% over the prior year. An exchange-wide open interest record of 199,145 was set on February 29, 2008.
Global OTC Markets
In February 2008, ICE’s average daily commissions reached a record $1,366,566, an increase of 71% compared to $800,446 in February 2007. Average daily commissions reflect daily trading activity in ICE’s global OTC energy markets.
Additional February 2008 Information:
— As of March 3, all futures trading at ICE Futures U.S. is conducted on
the ICE electronic platform. ICE expects to record a compensation
charge of between $2 million and $3 million in the first quarter of
2008 in conjunction with the closing of the ICE Futures U.S. trading
pits.
— On February 25, ICE announced that electronic options on futures will
be offered for the Sugar No. 11, Cotton No. 2, Coffee "C", Cocoa, FCOJ-
A and the Russell 1000(R) Index mini and Russell 2000(R) Index mini
contracts beginning Friday, March 28.
— On February 13, ICE completed its acquisition of YellowJacket Software,
Inc, a financial technology firm that operates an electronic trade
negotiation platform offering a range of trading tools including
instant communication, negotiation and data.
— Through its alliance with Natural Gas Exchange, ICE began offering
clearing and settlement services for physical OTC natural gas contracts
for two U.S. trading hubs on March 3, 2008, including PG&E Citygate
and GTN Malin.
— Trading days in February 2008:
* ICE Futures Europe: 21
* ICE Futures U.S. Agricultural: 20
* ICE Futures U.S. Currency and Index: 21
* ICE Futures Canada: 20
* ICE OTC: 20
— ICE Futures Europe product records achieved for the month:
* The ICE Brent Crude and ICE Gas Oil futures contracts set all-time
monthly ADV records of 258,784 and 118,116, respectively.
* The ICE Gas Oil futures contract also set a daily volume record of
200,908 on February 13.
— ICE Futures U.S. product records achieved for the month:
* Total futures volume reached a record 5,731,089 for the month of
February.
* ICE Coffee "C" futures set a monthly volume record in February of
729,397 contracts, including a daily volume record of 59,868 on
February 19, and the Coffee "C" options contract set a monthly
volume record of 405,656.
* ICE Cotton No. 2 futures achieved a monthly volume record of 971,319
contracts, including a daily volume record of 85,945 on February 15.
* ICE Cocoa futures set a monthly volume record in February of 434,965
contracts.
* Open interest records were established in February for the Cotton
No. 2 futures contract and for the Coffee "C" futures and options
contracts.
— ICE Futures Canada product records achieved for the month:
* An open interest record of 196,270 was set for all futures contracts
on February 29.
* ICE Canola futures established an open interest record of 179,685
contracts on February 29.
ICE Futures: February 2008 Average Daily Volume by Product
ADV ADV ADV ADV
February February % %
Product Line 2008 2007 Change Electronic (8)
ICE Brent Crude futures 258,784 214,566 20.6 n/a
ICE WTI Crude futures 196,761 186,325 5.6 n/a
ICE Gas Oil futures 118,116 81,521 44.9 n/a
Other contracts (1) 14,387 9,941 44.7 n/a
Total ICE Futures Europe 588,048 492,353 19.4 n/a
Sugar No. 11 futures 164,041 115,247 42.3 90.4
Other agricultural commodity
contracts (2) 209,912 127,182 65.0 87.0
Currency futures (3) 5,777 9,582 -39.7 41.7
Index futures (4) 5,153 3,567 44.5 82.8
Other contracts (5) 547 691 -20.8 n/a
Total ICE Futures U.S. 385,430 256,268 50.4 88.0
Total ICE Futures Canada (6) 20,341 17,191 18.3 n/a
TOTAL FUTURES CONTRACTS (7) 993,819 765,812 29.8 n/a
(1) "Other contracts" include ICE Middle East Sour Crude futures; ICE Heating Oil futures; ICE Unleaded Gasoline Blendstock (RBOB) futures; ICE UK Natural Gas futures; ICE-ECX CFI futures; ICE UK Electricity futures; ICE Coal futures; ICE Brent options; ICE WTI options, and ICE Gas Oil options. The ICE-ECX CFI futures contract is the result of a cooperative relationship between ICE Futures Europe and the Chicago Climate Exchange, Inc. and its subsidiary, the European Climate Exchange. ICE Futures Europe shares in the revenue derived from the ECX CFI Futures contract.
(2) "Other agricultural commodity contracts" include futures and/or options for Cocoa, Coffee "C", Cotton No. 2, Orange Juice, Sugar No. 14 and Sugar No. 11 options.
(3) "Currency futures" include futures for foreign exchange products.
(4) "Index futures" include futures for the US Dollar Index, Russell 2000, Russell 2000 mini, Russell 1000, Russell 1000 mini, the Continuous Commodity Index, the Euro Index, and the NYSE Composite.
(5) "Other contracts" include options on foreign exchange futures and options on index futures.
(6) "ICE Futures Canada" includes futures and options for Canola, Feed Wheat and Western Barley.
(7) ICE Futures U.S. was acquired by ICE on January 12, 2007, and ICE Futures Canada was acquired by ICE on August 27, 2007.
(8) ADV % Electronic calculation applies to ICE Futures U.S. and excludes products that were not available for electronic trading at any time during the month. ICE Futures Europe and ICE Futures Canada are fully electronic exchanges.
ICE Futures: Rolling Three-Month Average Rate per Contract
Three Months Three Months Three Months
Ending Ending Ending
February January December
Product Line 2008 2008 2007
ICE Futures Europe $1.27 $1.27 $1.27
Three Months Three Months Three Months
Ending Ending Ending
January December November
2008 2007 2007
ICE Futures U.S. (1) $2.08 $2.03 $2.08
(1) RPC for ICE Futures U.S. represents agricultural commodities only and is reported one month in arrears.
Historical futures volume and OTC commission data can be found at: http://ir.theice.com/supplemental.cfm
About IntercontinentalExchange
IntercontinentalExchange(R) (NYSE: ICE) is a leading operator of global exchanges and over-the-counter (OTC) markets. ICE offers futures and OTC markets on a single trading platform, including markets for crude oil and refined products, natural gas, power and emissions, as well as agricultural commodities and financial products such as canola, cocoa, coffee, cotton, ethanol, orange juice, wood pulp, sugar, foreign currency and equity index futures and options. ICE(R) conducts its energy futures markets, including the leading oil benchmark contracts, through its London-based exchange, ICE Futures Europe(TM). ICE conducts its global agricultural commodity, foreign exchange and equity index futures markets through its U.S. and Canadian exchanges, ICE Futures U.S.(TM) and ICE Futures Canada(TM), and offers clearing services through ICE Clear U.S.(TM) and ICE Clear Canada(TM). ICE’s state-of-the-art electronic trading platform serves market participants in more than 55 countries. ICE is included in the Russell 1000(R) Index and the S&P 500 Index. Headquartered in Atlanta, ICE has offices in Calgary, Chicago, Dublin, Houston, London, New York, Singapore and Winnipeg. For more information, please visit http://www.theice.com/.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 – Statements in this press release regarding IntercontinentalExchange’s business that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see ICE’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including, but not limited to, the risk factors in ICE’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, as filed with the SEC on February 13, 2008.
