Total volume of trade in futures and options contracts on Winnipeg Commodity Exchange for December 2005 reached 273,277 contracts, setting a volume record for the month of December.

This level of trade is 65.8% higher than in November 2005 and 30.1% higher than a year ago.

Crop year-to-date volume (since August 1) for futures contracts is 15.6% higher than last year. Options trade for the crop year is 252.1% higher than a year ago. Total volume for the crop year-to-date is 17.1% over last year at 962,703 contracts.

“For the seventh consecutive month, volumes on WCE are higher compared to the corresponding month in 2004,” said Mike Gagné, president and CEO of WCE. “We have seen the solid and consistent performance of the electronic trading platform and are extremely pleased with the volume and the associated trends,” added Gagné.

At the end of December 2005 total open interest stood at 108,524 contracts. This level of open interest is 34.7% higher than the end of 2004.

Trade in WCE futures and options contracts for 2005 rose 1.1% from 2004 to 2,076,720 contracts. Total trade in futures contracts for the year was 2,047,273 contracts, representing a gain in volume of 0.8% from last year. Volume of trade in options contracts during 2005 totaled 29,447 contracts, which is 23.5% over that of 2004.

2005 was a year of significant and historic change for Winnipeg Commodity Exchange Inc. The Exchange completed its first year as the first fully electronic commodity futures exchange in North America. Over the course of the past calendar year, many all-time trading records were set on WCE.