The electronic energy marketplace IntercontinentalExchange reported record volumes in 2005, in its futures business as well as increases in monthly trading volume and commissions in its futures and over-the-counter (OTC) business segments.
OTC activity produced a nearly 80% rise in December, as well as rising futures volume, reflecting the growth of ICE Futures since the exchange’s electronic transition in April.
“We successfully completed the transition to electronic trading at ICE Futures, leading to a record volume year and significant expansion of our global customer base,” said Jeffrey C. Sprecher, Chairman and CEO of ICE. “The introduction of 11 new cleared OTC contracts further strengthened our OTC business, resulting in a record volume year in our cleared OTC business as well.
ICE’s average daily commissions rose to $309,926 in December, an increase of 79.7% compared to average daily commissions in December 2004.
ICE’s OTC average daily commissions were $311,579 for the year, an increase of 79.6% compared to 2004. ICE’s cleared OTC contracts, which include natural gas, power, and crude oil, set a new annual volume record of 47.9 million cleared contracts, exceeding the prior year’s record of 18.1 million contracts by 164.4%.
The company’s futures business segment, average daily volume (ADV) in December 2005 increased 43.5% to 172,826 contracts compared to 120,476 contracts in December 2004. Total monthly futures volume rose 43.4% to 3,627,532 in December 2005 compared to monthly volume of 2,530,015 in December 2004.
Total volume in the IPE Gas Oil futures contract grew 52.7% in December 2005 compared to December 2004. In addition, traded volume in the benchmark IPE Brent Crude futures contract increased 40.9% in December 2005 compared to December 2004.
At December 31, 2005, total open interest in ICE Futures contracts stood at 648,585 contracts, with open interest in the IPE Brent Crude futures contract at 390,615. This compares to total open interest of 515,787 and IPE Brent Crude futures open interest of 319,479 at December 31, 2004.
In 2005, exchange-wide volume for ICE Futures reached a record 42.1 million contracts,exceeding last record 18.3%. Total futures volume since the April 2005 electronic transition increased 25.6% compared to the same period in 2004.
The IPE Brent Crude futures contract set a record of 30.4 million contracts, surpassing the previous annual record of 25.5 million contracts set in 2004 by 19.5%. In addition, the IPE Gas Oil futures contract set an annual volume record of 11.0 million contracts, exceeding last year’s record volume of 9.4 million contracts by 17.3%.