Seat prices on the New York Stock Exchange have reached a new all-time high.

A seat on the NYSE sold today for US$3 million, beating the previous record of US$2,650,000 set nearly six years ago on Aug. 23, 1999. Today’s seat trading price represents an increase of US$400,000 from the previous last sale of July 25, 2005 when two seats sold for US$2,600,000. The market is now bid at US$2,630,000, and offered at US$3,200,000.

“Today’s seat sale represents an historic and significant event for the New York Stock Exchange and our members,” said NYSE CEO John Thain. “Clearly, this is a response on the NYSE’s recent performance and, we believe, a reflection on the market’s positive reaction toward the NYSE’s proposed merger with Archipelago.”

The record US$3 million price tag represents a 208% increase from the year’s low price of US$975,000, which was recorded on January 11, and a 85% increase above the US$1,620,000 price that the last seat changed hands for before the NYSE’s proposed merger announcement with Archipelago Holdings on April 20.

Several current and former seatholders are suing the exchange over that deal however. One suit alleges that the NYSE indicated that it wouldn’t be going public just a couple of months before the Archipelago deal was announced. Another suit seeks to block the deal claiming that it undervalues the NYSE.