Grainnet

Chicago Board of Trade Ethanol Futures Reaches a Record 1,000 Contracts In Open Interest

Chicago,IL -- The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT®) announced today that open interest in its Ethanol futures contract surpassed the 1,000-contract mark to 1,052 contracts, setting a new all-time record on Friday.

The previous open interest record was 914 contracts set on April 13, 2006.

Senior Vice President of Business Development Robert D. Ray said, “As CBOT Ethanol futures open interest continues to climb, average daily volume in the contract is also experiencing growth."

"We attribute the increased activity, in part, to our decision to list the contract electronically during daytime hours. The move expanded access to the contract globally, and the growth in the contract reinforces its status as a transparent pricing benchmark for the ethanol industry,” he noted. The CBOT listed its Ethanol futures contract electronically during daytime trading hours on May 31.

The CBOT intends to list the remainder of its Agricultural futures contracts, including Corn, Soybean, Soybean Oil, Soybean Meal, Rough Rice, Wheat and Oat futures, on its electronic trading platform during daytime trading hours beginning August 1, 2006.

The Ethanol futures contract trades on the Exchange’s electronic platform, as well as via open auction, from 9:30 a.m. –1:15 p.m. (CT) and resumes trading electronically from 6:36 p.m. – 6:00 a.m. (CT) daily.

For more information on Ethanol futures, please visit the CBOT’s website at www.cbot.com or call 312-435-3620/341-3306.