Trading Statistics for March 2009

The energy trading volume at 1 238 TWh2, was up 44 % on March 2008. The number of energy transactions meanwhile was up 20 % to 29 138.

The overall volume of maritime freight derivatives concluded in March was up 24 % to 33 144 lots3, with the number of tanker transactions up 27 % and the trade value of tanker deals rising 22 % year-on-year, to USD 325 million.

“We are particularly pleased with the strong growth in energy trading volumes and transactions in March, which have been boosted by increased interest and confidence in trading the forward curve” says Herman W. Michelet, Chief Executive of Imarex. “But tanker futures and freight options have also shown really impressive growth – the number of tanker lots for example rising 40 % year-on-year.”

Energy Contracts
The number of energy transactions concluded was 29 138, up 20 % from March 2008. Meanwhile the volume of energy traded, at 1 238 TWh, was up 44 % on March 2008.

Tanker and Dry Bulk Derivatives
The freight options volume was 8 473 lots, up 165 % from March 2008. The tanker futures volume was 19 965 lots in March, up 40 % from the same month last year. The number of dry bulk futures transactions was down 27 % from the same period in 2008. Dry bulk freight rates declined through March 2009; this can be illustrated by the Baltic Exchange Dry Index for spot rates, which was 1 986 at the end of February and 1 615 at the end of March 2009.

Freight Open Interest
At the end of the reporting month, open interest for dry bulk and tanker futures was 27 212 and 30 161 lots respectively (long only positions). Open interest for freight options was 36 794 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 into the open interest.

For more information, please contact:

• Herman W. Michelet, Chief Executive Officer Tel: +47 2389 4223, hm@imarex.com
• Arild Jæger, Chief Financial Officer Tel: +47 2389 4211, arj@imarex.com

Click here for a full PDF report with charts.

A downloadable excel spreadsheet with trade statistics and financials is available here.