TO: All New York Mercantile Exchange Members

FROM: Neal Wolkoff, Executive Vice President

RE: CFTC Approves Amendments to Natural Gas Price Limit Rules

DATE: December 7, 2000

Notice # 00-419

______________________________________________

The New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc., has received permission from the 
Commodity Futures Trading Commission to expand the initial price limits of 
its natural gas futures contracts; create uniform limits across all months of 
trading; abbreviating the trading halt; and expand the new limits by 200% 
when the initial limit is reached.

The amended rules, which are attached, will take effect for the opening of 
the open outcry tading session at 9:30 AM tomorrow.

The Exchange announced this morning that the board last night voted to amend 
the procedures so the new natural gas limit will be $1.000 per million 
British thermal unit and if any contract month is traded, bid, or offered at 
the limit for five minutes, the market is halted for 15 minutes.  When 
trading resumes, expanded limits are in place that allow the price to 
fluctuate by $2.000 in either direction of the previous day's settlement 
price.

Currently, the market is halted for one hour if the price in one of the first 
two months is traded at $.750 for five minutes.  When the market reopens, 
those limits are extended to all months, but are moved to surround the 
previous limit in place in the direction of the move.

Under the amended rules, if a halt occurs during the last two days of trading 
in a contract, when the market reopens, there are no price limits placed on 
either of the first two nearby contract months.

NATURAL GAS: APPROVED AMENDMENTS TO PRICE FLUCTUATION LIMIT RULES

The rules below reflect the provisions that are being implemented.  A copy of 
the rules reflecting the changes made from the prior version of these rules 
can be obtained from the Exchange,s Legal Department.

Rule 220.08. PRICES AND MINIMUM FLUCTUATION SIZE

(A) Prices shall be quoted in dollars and cents per million British thermal 
units (MMBtu). The minimum price fluctuation shall be $.001 per MMBtu.

Rule 220.08A. SPECIAL PRICE FLUCTUATION LIMITS  FOR NATURAL GAS FUTURES

(A) Initial Price Fluctuation Limits for All Contract Months. At the 
commencement of each trading day, there shall be price fluctuation limits in 
effect for each contract month of this futures contract of $1.00 per MMBtu 
above or below the previous day,s settlement price for such contract month.

(B)(1) Triggering Event and Temporary Trading Halt. If a market for any 
contract month is traded or, is bid in the case of upward price moves or is 
offered in the case of downward price moves, for five (5) minutes 
consecutively at the upper or lower price limit, as applicable, then a 
Triggering Event will be deemed to have occurred.

(2) Except as otherwise provided in this rule, as a result of such Triggering 
Event, the market will be given notice immediately that in two (2) minutes, 
there will be a fifteen (15) minute temporary trading halt in all contract 
months of that futures contract and the associated option contract 
("Temporary Trading Halt"). The market will remain open during this 
two-minute notice period, and the commencement of the Temporary Trading Halt 
shall not be affected by market activity occurring during this notice period.

(3) Expansion of Limits Following Temporary Trading Halt. Following the end 
of the 15-minute Temporary Trading Halt, the market shall reopen in all 
contract months of this futures contract.  When trading resumes, price 
fluctuation limits for each contract month, except as otherwise provided in 
this rule, shall be expanded to $2.00 per MMBtu above and below the previous 
day,s settlement price for such contract month;

provided that if such Temporary Trading Halt occurs on either of the last two 
days of trading in the current delivery month, when trading resumes, there 
shall be no price fluctuation limits in effect for the remainder of the 
trading day both for the current delivery month and for the next nearest 
contract month to delivery.

(4) Following resumption of trading after a Temporary Trading Halt, there 
shall be no additional trading halts and no further expansion of price limits 
for the remainder of the trading day.

(C) Duration of Session Following Temporary Trading Halt.   When trading 
resumes after a Temporary Trading Halt, trading generally shall continue 
until the regularly scheduled closing time subject to the following 
exceptions:

1) if, at the start of the 15-minute Temporary Trading Halt, there is less 
than 15 minutes
before the close, then, when trading resumes after the Temporary Trading 
Halt, the trading session shall be expanded as necessary to provide for 
fifteen (15) minutes of trading following the resumption of trading, and the 
closing period shall be the final two minutes of trading of this 15-minute 
period of trading;

2) provided however that if the five-minute Triggering Event is completed 
during  the
closing period (on any day other than the last day of trading in the current 
delivery month), there shall be no Temporary Trading Halt for any contract 
month and no expansion of price limits for any contract month; and

3) provided further that if the five-minute Triggering Event is completed 
during  the
closing period on the last day of trading in the current delivery month, 
following the 15-minute Temporary Trading Halt, trading shall resume for 
thirty (30) minutes for all contract months. In such circumstances, the 
closing range for the current delivery month shall include both the period 
from the start of the closing range to the start of the Temporary Trading 
Halt as well as the 30-minutes of trading following resumption of trading.

(D) Application of Price Fluctuation Limits to NYMEX ACCESSc  The limits 
described in this rule shall apply to trading on NYMEX ACCESSc, except as 
provided by NYMEX Rule 6.56 and except that:

(1) if the five-minute Triggering Event is completed during the last ninety 
minutes of a NYMEX ACCESSc trading session, there shall be no Temporary 
Trading Halt and no expansion of price limits during the remainder of such 
NYMEX ACCESSc trading session, and

(2) there shall be no Temporary Trading Halt during a NYMEX ACCESSc trading 
session if, in the opinion of the President of the Exchange or his designee, 
either the Triggering Event was not reflective of otherwise prevailing market 
conditions or a Temporary Trading Halt is unwarranted.


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