Imarex Tanker Values Surge By 88 %

Trading statistics - Freight derivatives:

CEO's view point:

“August has been another month of solid growth, with the tanker market performing particularly well. The number of dry bulk transactions is also up an impressive 20 % year-on-year, the fifteenth straight month in row we have seen gains of 20 % or more – this is a real testament to the growing appeal and long-term potential of our trading screens and services,” says Herman W. Michelet, chief executive officer at the Imarex Group.

Proportional statistics - Freight derivatives:

NOS Clearing – Open interest - Freight derivatives:

At the end of August, open interest for dry bulk and tanker future contracts was 70 697 lots (long only positions), up by 6 % from the previous month. Open interest for freight options was 30 971 lots, up by 5 % from the previous month.

(Please note: The open interest is the total number of lots which remains to be liquidated by either close-out-trades or delivery at NOS. NOS counts only long positions. Other clearing houses often count both long and short positions into the open interest.)

(Please note: 1 lot = 1 000 metric tons for all tanker and bunker fuel oil contracts as well as C4 and C7 contracts. For P2A, P3A, HS6TC, SM6TC, PM4TC and CS4TC, 1 lot=1 day of time charter.)

New trading and clearing members:

Two new members joined, bringing the total number of clearing and trading members to 206, up 18 % from the same month last year.

Quick Summary August 2008:

International Maritime Exchange, the regulated electronic marketplace for freight futures and options and part of the stock listed Imarex Group of companies (OSE: IMAREX) reports that the value of tanker derivatives traded via the exchange and NOS Clearing rose by 88 % in August compared to the same period last year.

Tanker trades with a notional value of USD 519 million were concluded, with the number of transactions rising 33 % to 1 450 and the volume of lots (contracts) increasing by 24 %.

The notional value of dry bulk derivatives traded at Imarex in August 2008 meanwhile rose 52 % compared to August 2007, to USD 980 million, with the number of transactions increasing by 20 %.

The total value of all freight derivatives rose 57 %, with a total of 33 390 lots traded, while the overall number of transactions climbed by 29 %.

Commenting on the trading figures Herman W. Michelet, chief executive officer at the Imarex Group, said: “August has been another month of solid growth, with the tanker market performing particularly well. The number of dry bulk transactions is also up an impressive 20 % year-on-year, the fifteenth straight month in row we have seen gains of 20 % or more – this is a real testament to the growing appeal and long-term potential of our trading screens and services.”

For more information, please contact:

• Herman W. Michelet, Imarex, Tel: +47 2389 4223, hm@imarex.com
• Morten Erichsen, NOS Clearing, Tel: +47 2325 9305, morten.erichsen@nos.no