CBOT Achieves Best Quarterly Volume Ever, Setting Records For Average Daily Volume and Total Volume; March Volume Sets Monthly

Exchange Reaches Quarterly Electronic Average Daily Volume Record 


CHICAGO, April 3  /PRNewswire/ -- The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT(R)), one of the world's leading derivatives exchanges, today announced that volume during the first quarter of 2006 averaged a record 3,107,525 contracts per day, up 10 percent from the same period last year.  Total volume across the Exchange reached a record of 192,666,573 contracts for the quarter.  Average daily volume (ADV) on the Exchange's e-cbot electronic trading platform also climbed to a record 2,132,195 contracts, a 20 percent increase over the first quarter of 2005.

For the second consecutive month, the CBOT posted record volume.  In March 2006, total Exchange volume set a monthly record, with 70,480,117 contracts changing hands, a 5 percent increase over the previous monthly record set in February 2006.  ADV for the month was 3,064,353 contracts, a slight increase over the same period in 2005.  Electronic trading volume at the CBOT for March 2006 averaged a record 2,138,312 contracts per day, increasing 14 percent over March 2005.

CBOT First Quarter 2006 Highlights:

Three new products debuted at the CBOT during the first quarter.  The Soybean Crush options on futures contract, the 100 Oz. Gold options on futures contract and the $25 "Big" Dow futures contract further diversified the Exchange's product roster.  At the same time, key product groups including Interest Rate, Agricultural and Equity Index experienced volume growth in the first quarter.

CBOT financial products experienced significant growth on the short end of the yield curve during the first quarter, driven by volume increases in Two-Year Treasury Note futures contracts and 30-Day Federal Funds futures contracts.  ADV for Two-Year Treasury Note futures was 136,823, up 79 percent compared with the same period a year earlier.  ADV for 30-Day Federal Funds futures was 67,581, up 52 percent over the first quarter of 2005.

Electronic trading of the Exchange's Financial options complex also grew significantly during the first quarter.  Due in part to the continued success of the CBOT's electronic market maker program during Asian and European trading hours, Financial options saw a 123 percent increase in electronic ADV compared with the same period a year ago.

The CBOT Metals complex continued to gain momentum during the first quarter of 2006, posting an ADV of 22,065 contracts, an increase of 538 percent over the prior year's first quarter.  With an ADV of 19,221 contracts for the quarter, the Exchange's Gold futures contracts continued to drive results within the Metals complex.  CBOT Gold futures contracts accounted for approximately 18 percent of listed gold futures traded in North America based on March 2006 volumes.

Volume increases in CBOT Corn futures and options contracts paved the way for a successful quarter in the Exchange's Agricultural complex.  ADV for CBOT Corn futures grew to 147,334 contracts, an increase of 40 percent compared with the first quarter of 2005.  Meanwhile, Corn options reached an ADV of 28,903 contracts, a 40 percent improvement over the same period a year earlier.

                        CBOT Average Daily Volume

  Product        March      March      Percent   Q1         Q1       Percent
  Group          2006       2005       Change   2006       2005       Change

  Interest
   Rate        2,565,087   2,543,298    0.9%   2,560,271  2,356,223     8.7%
  Agricultural   361,132     365,978   -1.3%     411,762    373,421    10.3%
  Market
   Indices       115,196     111,817    3.0%     113,306    104,556     8.4%
  Metals, Energy
   and Other      22,938       3,651  528.3%      22,187      3,574   520.8%
  Total        3,064,353   3,024,702    1.3%   3,107,525  2,837,720     9.5%


                          CBOT Rate Per Contract



The following chart depicts the Exchange's February 2006 three-month rolling average rate per contract (in dollars), and the two preceding three- month period average rates per contract.  Average rate per contract represents total exchange and clearing revenue divided by total reported trading volume. Average rates per contract can be affected by exchange and clearing fee price levels, and the customer, product, venue and transaction mix.

                                            THREE-MONTH PERIOD ENDING
                                     Feb. 28,       Jan. 31,       Dec. 31,
                                       2006           2006           2005
  Product Group
   Interest Rate                      0.531          0.532          0.537
   Agriculture                        0.676          0.664          0.666
   Market Indices                     0.769          0.789          0.789
   Metals, Energy & Other             1.507          1.520          1.559
   Overall Avg. Rate per Contract     0.568          0.566          0.570
  Venue
   Open-Auction                       0.526          0.510          0.507
   Electronic                         0.505          0.504          0.506
   Off-Exchange                       2.300          2.345          2.299
  Overall Avg. Rate per Contract      0.568          0.566          0.570



For more information on the CBOT, to view the Exchange's daily and monthly volume and open interest records, and details on ADV and volume for February 2006, please visit http://www.cbot.com/ .

Forward Looking Statements

In this release, our use of the words "may," "will," "should," "could," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "predicts," "potential" or "continue" or other comparable terminology is intended to identify forward- looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or implied in any forward-detailed information about factors that may affect our performance may be found in filings made by CBOT Holdings, Securities and Exchange Commission, which can be obtained at its website at http://www.sec.gov/. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. 

DATASOURCE: Chicago Board of Trade



CONTACT:  Investor Contact: Tami Kamarauskas, [phone],

, Media Contact: Craig Grabiner, [phone],

, both of Chicago Board of Trade



Web site:  http://www.cbot.com/ 

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