Trading Statistics for January 2010

All segments see sharp rise in transactions.

Exchange segment: The number of freight derivative transactions was up 119% on the previous month, to 2 086, while the volume of lots was up 69%, to 44 9311, with the overall trade value increasing 40% to USD 912 million. The greatest month-on-month growth in transactions was seen in tanker derivatives, up 134%, while the greatest year-on-year growth was seen in Dry Bulk, up 164%.
OTC segment: Both the number of energy2 transactions and the volume traded were up month-on-month, by 47% and 40% respectively.
“2010 has started very positively across segments. Freight futures transactions, volumes, and value rose considerably; energy transactions and volumes increased; freight options transactions doubled month-on-month and freight open interest rose year-on-year, says Herman W. Michelet, Chief Executive of Imarex.

OTC segment
The number of energy transactions concluded was 32 206, up 47 % month-on-month, while the volume of energy traded was 1 146 TWh3, up 40% month-on-month. Year-on-year, the number of transactions was up 7% on January 2009.

Exchange and Clearing segment
- Tanker and Dry Bulk Derivatives
The volume of dry bulk was up 129% month-on-month and 81 % year-on-year, at 12,528 lots. The trade value was also higher, showing an increase of 107 % compared to the previous month. Dry bulk freight rates can be illustrated by the Baltic Exchange Dry Index for spot rates, which was 3 005 at the end of December 2009 and 2 848 in the end of January 2010. The trade value of tanker futures meanwhile rose 50% month-on-month – to USD 446 million, alongside a growth in tanker volumes - up 92 % from December 2009, at 27 896 lots, with the number of transactions surging 134% month-on-month, to 1 630. The number of freight options transactions was up 107% month-on-month.
- Freight Open Interest
At the end of the reporting month, open interest for freight options was up 76 % year-on-year - to a level of 52 801 lots. Open interest for dry bulk was 26 407 lots and for tanker futures it was 37 047 lots. The open interest is the total number of lots which remain to be liquidated by either close-out trades or delivery at NOS Clearing. NOS Clearing counts only long positions. Other clearing houses often count both long and short positions in their open interest figures.

For more information, please contact:

• Herman W. Michelet, Chief Executive Officer

             Tel: +47 2389 4223, herman.michelet@imarex.com

• Geir Olsen, Chief Financial Officer

             Tel: +47 2389 4211, geir.olsen@imarex.com

Click here for full PDF with charts

A downloadable Excel spreadsheet with trade statistics and financials is available here