ATLANTA, Jan. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- IntercontinentalExchange (NYSE: ICE), the leading electronic energy marketplace and soft commodities exchange, will extend the start date of side-by-side trading at its New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) subsidiary by one additional week. The new start date of February 2 is designed to provide NYBOT participants and quote vendors with additional time to meet their connectivity, staffing and training needs.

Side-by-side trading of the NYBOT's benchmark agricultural commodities on ICE's electronic trading platform will commence on February 2, 2007, from 7:00 a.m. ET through 3:15 p.m. ET. These initial trading hours will be extended to 22 hours each trading day following the introductory phase of electronic trading in NYBOT's markets.

The requests for electronic enrollment and training on the electronic markets has been stronger than expected with over 1,000 new user identifications (ID's) created to date. These user ID's represent new users on the ICE platform and enable electronic access to NYBOT's soft commodity markets. Electronic trading in NYBOT markets is available to or via UK-based firms that are authorized by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in accordance with NYBOT's status as an overseas person. In addition to the UK, NYBOT has already gained access in Australia, Germany, Japan and Switzerland. There are 36 overseas regulatory jurisdictions in which NYBOT has obtained or applied for permission to offer its markets.

"Because these markets have never traded electronically, we believe that it is prudent to take the time to help ensure an environment in which a successful launch can occur," said ICE President and Chief Operating Officer Chuck Vice. "With NYBOT's tradition of working closely with the trading community and our experience in introducing electronic trading into the commodity markets, we understand the needs inherent in this historic transition to side-by-side trading."

Electronic trading will be offered in the physical contracts for Sugar No. 11(SM) (SB), Sugar No. 14(SM) (SE), Cotton No. 2(SM) (CT), Coffee "C" (R) (KC), Cocoa (CC), and Frozen Concentrated Orange Juice (FCOJ). Prospective electronic traders should contact the NYBOT membership office for more information, or refer to the ICE website at www.theice.com/nybot_info. A set of FAQ's and Webinars are also available on the ICE website. Training classes are being held at the NYBOT.

The NYBOT membership department is coordinating the enrollment of users for direct access through the WebICE trading screen or through any of the leading independent software vendors. Qualified algorithmic and proprietary traders with access to ICE and ICE Futures products will be able to access NYBOT products upon execution of an access agreement with NYBOT.

About IntercontinentalExchange

IntercontinentalExchange(R), (NYSE: ICE) operates the leading global, electronic marketplace for trading both futures and OTC energy contracts and the leading soft commodity exchange. ICE's markets offer a range of contracts based on crude oil and refined products, natural gas, power and emissions, as well as soft commodities including cocoa, coffee, cotton, ethanol, orange juice, wood pulp and sugar, in addition to currency and index futures and options. ICE(R) conducts its energy futures markets through its U.K. regulated London-based subsidiary, ICE Futures, Europe's leading energy exchange. ICE Futures offers liquid markets in the world's leading oil benchmarks, Brent Crude futures and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude futures, trading nearly half of the world's global crude futures by commodity volume. ICE conducts its soft commodity futures markets through its U.S. regulated subsidiary, the New York Board of Trade(R). For more than a century, NYBOT(R) has provided global markets for food, fiber and financial products. ICE was added to the Russell 1000(R) Index on June 30, 2006. Headquartered in Atlanta, ICE also has offices in Calgary, Chicago, Houston, London, New York and Singapore. For more information, please visit www.theice.com and www.nybot.com.

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 such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including, but not limited to, the risk factors in the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2006 and the Company's Registration Statement on Form S-4 (File No. 333-138312), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 16, 2006.

SOURCE IntercontinentalExchange