ATLANTA, Sept. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- IntercontinentalExchange (NYSE: ICE), a leading operator of global futures exchanges and over-the-counter (OTC) markets, announced today that ICE Futures U.S.(TM) will launch million-currency-unit versions of 12 existing foreign exchange (FX) futures contracts in November 2008. The new futures contracts, known as ICE Millions, uniquely combine the benefits of futures and OTC products, bringing transactional efficiencies and risk management opportunities to the growing FX marketplace. The contracts will be sized at ten times the notional value of the existing suite of ICE FX futures and options contracts. ICE Futures U.S. also lists the U.S. Dollar Index(R) futures.

"Institutional traders, hedge funds, commodity trading advisors and retail traders have been seeking greater efficiencies in terms of cost, transparency and straight-through processing in the FX markets," said Ray McKenzie, Vice President and Head of Sales for ICE Futures U.S. "By offering futures contracts that mirror cash market trading conventions, but with enhanced efficiency and the vital benefits of centralized clearing, ICE Futures U.S. will bring a valuable new FX tool to market participants globally."

    The following contracts comprise the suite of 12 FX pairs:

    Million Euro -                  Million Euro -
     U.S. dollar (IEO)               British pound (IGB)
    Million British pound -         Million Euro -
     U.S. dollar (IMP)               Canadian dollar (IEP)
    Million U.S. dollar -           Million Euro -
     Canadian dollar (ISV)           Japanese yen (IEJ)
    Million U.S. dollar -           Million Euro -
     Japanese yen (ISN)              Swedish krona (IRK)
    Million U.S. dollar -           Million Euro -
     Swiss franc (IMF)               Swiss franc (IRZ)
    Million U.S. dollar -           Million Aust. dollar -
     Swedish krona (IKX)             U.S. dollar (IAU)

The contracts will trade electronically on the ICE trading platform, which features the fastest trade execution times in the futures industry today. Contract prices will be quoted using over-the-counter market convention; for example, the Million Euro-U.S. dollar contract will be quoted in U.S. dollars per Euro to five decimal places. The standard rate for ICE Millions futures contracts is $1.35 per side, or per million currency unit, inclusive of exchange and clearing fees.

    The primary benefits of the ICE Millions contracts include:
    -- Transaction cost efficiencies when compared to existing futures and OTC
       FX offerings;
    -- Deep liquidity with professional market makers;
    -- Centralized clearing and transaction anonymity, both of which are
       inherent in futures market transactions;
    -- Simplicity of hedging cash market exposure with OTC-style contract
       design and quotation methodology for funds and proprietary traders who
       are active in the cash FX markets;
    -- Elimination of the need to roll daily cash positions;
    -- Fungibility at a ten-to-one ratio with the existing ICE FX contracts.

For more information please visit the ICE website at www.theice.com/foreign_exchange .

About IntercontinentalExchange

IntercontinentalExchange(R) (NYSE: ICE) operates regulated global futures exchanges and over-the-counter (OTC) markets for agricultural, energy, equity index and currency contracts, as well as credit derivatives. ICE(R) offers these markets to participants around the world through its technology infrastructure and trading platform, together with clearing, market data and risk management services. ICE Futures Europe(TM) is ICE's regulated energy futures exchange. ICE's regulated North American exchanges, ICE Futures U.S.(TM) and ICE Futures Canada(TM), offer markets for agricultural and financial contracts. Creditex, a market leader in trade execution and processing for credit derivatives, is also a wholly-owned subsidiary of ICE. A member of the Russell 1000(R) and S&P 500 indices, ICE is headquartered in Atlanta, with offices in New York, London, Chicago, Winnipeg, Calgary, Houston and Singapore. www.theice.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 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, 2007, and ICE's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2008, as filed with the SEC on February 13, 2008, and August 4, 2008, respectively.

SOURCE IntercontinentalExchange