New York Mercantile Exchange

Company name	New York Mercantile Exchange
Company logo
Company type	Subsidiary of the CME Group
Foundation	1882
Location city	New York
Location country	US
Homepage	www.cmegroup.com

The New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) is the world's largest physical commodity futures exchange. It is located at One North End Avenue in the World Financial Center in the Battery Park City section of Manhattan, New York City. Additional offices are located in Boston, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, San Francisco, Dubai, London, and Tokyo.

The company's two principal divisions are the New York Mercantile Exchange and Commodity Exchange, Inc (COMEX), once separately owned exchanges. NYMEX Holdings, Inc., the former parent company of the New York Mercantile Exchange and COMEX, became listed on the New York Stock Exchange on November 17, 2006, under the ticker symbol NMX. On March 17, 2008, Chicago based CME Group signed a definitive agreement to acquire NYMEX Holdings, Inc. for $11.2 billion in cash and stock and the takeover was completed in August 2008. Both NYMEX and COMEX now operate as designated contract markets (DCM) of the CME Group. The other two designated contract markets in the CME Group are the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade.

The New York Mercantile Exchange handles billions of dollars worth of energy products, metals, and other commodities being bought and sold on the trading floor and the overnight electronic trading computer systems for future delivery. The prices quoted for transactions on the exchange are the basis for prices that people pay for various commodities throughout the world.

The floor of the NYMEX is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, an independent agency of the United States government. Each individual company that trades on the exchange must send its own independent brokers. Therefore, a few employees on the floor of the exchange represent a big corporation and the exchange employees only record the transactions and have nothing to do with the actual trade. The NYMEX is one of the few exchanges in the world to maintain the open outcry system, where traders employ shouting and complex hand gestures on the physical trading floor.

On February 26, 2003, the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) signed a lease agreement with the NYMEX to move into its World Financial Center headquarters and trading facility after the NYBOT's original headquarters and trading floor was destroyed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

After the September 11 attacks, the NYMEX built a $12 million trading floor backup facility outside of New York City with 700 traders' booths, 2,000 telephones, and a backup computer system. This backup is in case of another terrorist attack or natural disaster in Lower Manhattan.

History of the exchange

Commodity exchanges began in the middle of the 19th century, when businessmen began organizing market forums to make buying and selling of commodities easier. These marketplaces provided a place for buyers and sellers to set the quality, standards, and establish rules of business. By the late 19th century about 1,600 marketplaces had sprung up at ports and railroad stations. In 1872, a group of Manhattan dairy merchants got together and created the Butter and Cheese Exchange of New York. Soon, egg trade became part of the business conducted on the exchange and the name was modified to the Butter, Cheese, and Egg Exchange. In 1882, the name finally changed to the New York Mercantile Exchange when opening trade to dried fruits, canned goods, and poultry.

As centralized warehouses were built into principal market centers such as New York and Chicago in the early 20th century, exchanges in smaller cities began to disappear giving more business to the exchanges such as the NYMEX in bigger cities. In 1933, the COMEX was established through the merger of four smaller exchanges; the National Metal Exchange, the Rubber Exchange of New York, the National Raw Silk Exchange, and the New York Hide Exchange. On August 3, 1994, the NYMEX and COMEX finally merged under the NYMEX name. Now, the NYMEX operates in a trading facility and office building with two trading floors in the World Financial Center in downtown Manhattan.

Gold delivery problems

As of 2009, holders of COMEX gold futures contracts have experienced problems taking delivery of their metal. Along with chronic delivery delays, some investors have received delivery of bars not matching their contract in serial number and weight. The delays cannot be easily explained by slow warehouse movements, as the daily reports of these movements show little activity. Because of these problems, there are concerns that COMEX may not have the gold inventory to back its existing warehouse receipts. As a result of the CFTC's March 2010 Metals Hearings, position limits will likely be imposed on Comex Precious Metals Futures Contracts, according to CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton, in order to avoid continued charges of unfair concentration and manipulation.

Trading platforms

Pit (open outcry)

Electronic trading (Globex)

Commodities traded

;NYMEX Division

Coal

Crude oil

Electricity

Gasoline

Heating oil

Natural gas

Palladium

Platinum

Propane

Uranium

;COMEX Division

Aluminum

Copper

Gold

Silver

See also

Commodity Exchange Act

Energy law

New York Cotton Exchange

List of futures exchanges

List of traded commodities

References

;Notes

External links

New York Mercantile Exchange official website

COMEX website

Category:Commodity exchanges in the United States Category:Companies based in New York City Category:Companies established in 1882 Category:1882 establishments in the United States