ICE Brent Crude Benchmark Reaches Open Interest of One Million Contracts

LONDON, Jan. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- IntercontinentalExchange (NYSE: ICE), a leading operator of global regulated futures exchanges, clearing houses and over-the-counter (OTC) markets, announced today that the benchmark ICE Brent Crude futures contract reached a new record open interest level of 1,001,286 contracts on 26 January, 2012.

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Introduced in 1988, the ICE Brent Crude futures contract is the leading benchmark for light sweet crude oil, including grades in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

ICE Futures Europe also introduced ICE Brent NX (New Expiry) Crude Futures and Options contracts in December, 2011. The first ICE Brent NX contract month available for trading is December 2012, with new contract months listed out to December 2019. The current ICE Brent Futures and Options contracts will continue to trade as normal until the completion of the transition to ICE Brent NX.  

ICE Futures Europe also lists the middle distillate benchmark, Gasoil futures and the U.S. North American benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures contract.

About IntercontinentalExchange

IntercontinentalExchange (NYSE: ICE) is a leading operator of regulated futures exchanges and over-the-counter markets for agricultural, credit, currency, emissions, energy and equity index contracts. ICE Futures Europe hosts trade in half of the world's crude and refined oil futures. ICE Futures U.S. and ICE Futures Canada list agricultural, currencies and Russell Index markets. ICE is also a leading operator of central clearing services for the futures and over-the-counter markets, with five regulated clearing houses across North America and Europe. ICE serves customers in more than 70 countries. www.theice.com  

The following are trademarks of IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. and/or its affiliated companies: IntercontinentalExchange, ICE, ICE and block design, ICE Futures Europe and ICE Clear Europe. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. For more information regarding registered trademarks owned by IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. and/or its affiliated companies, see https://www.theice.com/terms.jhtml

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 - Statements in this press release regarding IntercontinentalExchange's business that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of additional risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see ICE's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including, but not limited to, the risk factors in ICE's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, as filed with the SEC on February 9, 2011 and ICE's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2011, as filed with the SEC on August 3, 2011.

ICE-ENGY

SOURCE IntercontinentalExchange

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