NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE, INC.
On Friday, September 14, 2001 the NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE, INC.established an alternate trading system using the Internet, in order to get back to doing business. This new system served to increase the value of the 379,036 ounces (11.8 metric tons) of gold, and the 30.2 million ounces of silver which are now buried under the rubble of 4 World Trade Center, near the center of the area attacked and destroyed by the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001.
At prices in effect as of Friday, September 14, 2001 the Trade Center gold is worth US$110.3 million; the silver has a value of US$120.7 million.
These precious metals are the property of individuals or of firms dealing in futures contracts on the NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE, although these owners almost never take actual physical possession of the gold or the silver itself.
Immediately after the new Internet system was opened for trading at 2:30 P.M. on Friday, it was swamped with orders. However, telephone officials of the NYNEX CORPORATION, working at their own temporary emergency headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, had the system back in working codition by 4:00 P.M. The telephone company used computer systems that had been set up in New Jersey to help restore service. Volume was rather heavy, with 69,790 gold, silver, oil and other commodities contracts being handled in the two hours before trading ended at 6:00 P.M.
Gold rose by almost 7%, to US$290.90 per ounce by 6:00 P.M. It had been worth US$272.30 an ounce on Monday, September 10, 2001. The gold buried at 4 World Trade Center was thus worth US$7 million more at Friday's close of trading than it had been on Monday. Trading volume on Friday, September 14 also included those trades actually made before the exchange had closed after the terrorist action on Tuesday, September 11.
On Friday, September 14, the price of silver rose by US$0.14, bringing the price top US$4.33 an ounce; a barrel of crude oil rose by US$1.89, ending at US$29.74 per barrel.
Following the September 11 attack, the NEW YORK MERCANTILE EXCHANGE was forced to leave its location at the World Financial Center, where trading had been conducted by vocal bids and hand signals.
As of Friday, September 14, 2001 operations at the World Financial Center were still intact, but there were problems concerning access to the building. Some employees were able, however, to get there, and they were able to turn on the switches needed to initiate the electronic trading system.
As of September 14, 2001 Nachamah Jacobovits was a spokeswoman for the exchange, and J. Robert Collins, Jr. was the exchange's president. Ms. Jacobobovits said that the exchange's officers would decide on Saturday, September 15 whether trading would resume on Monday, and if so, whether it would be done with the electronic system, or by open outcry in the regular pits.
This standby electronic trading system is based upon the system used by the exchange for after-hours trades, but it usually handles only a small fraction of the volume of the regular "open outcry" system.