NEW YORK (Commodity Online): The Intercontinental Exchange Inc's (ICE) West Texas crude oil contracts saw a sharp decline in trading volume last month, the exchange reported. January 2012 volumes are 52% down compared to Jan 2011.
The fall in volume is attributed to the declining pool of money flowing in the market. Average daily WTI volumes were at 157,027 in Jan 2012, down from 326,694 in Jan 2011.
ICE's competitor, the CME Group also saw declining volumes. January month oil volumes were down 30% compared to the same month last year.
WTI crude oil prices are trading near the psychologically important $100/barrel, and has been swinging around the mark for the past few months on the back of supply concerns from Iran, Nigeria and Sudan
