IntercontinentalExchange says it will bring open-outcry floor trading at its ICE Futures US unit to an end in October, going exclusively electronic.
IntercontinentalExchange acquired the New York Board of Trade in 2007 and promptly renamed it ICE Futures US before making futures trading electronic-only in 2008.
Open outcry was kept as an option for options but there has been a sharp shift to computer-based trading - from 10% of options volume in April 2010 to 75% now.
This has prompted the bourse to kill off the floor and from 22 October all options on futures listed on ICE Futures US will trade exclusively on the electronic system.
Ben Jackson, president, ICE Futures US, says: "Market participants have migrated to electronic trading for options as a result of the functionality, transparency and efficiency of the platform."