In Brief : Exchange Seat Goes for $267,500

The price of a membership seat at the New York Mercantile Exchange soared to a record $267,500 in its latest sale, the exchange said today. The sale surpassed exchange records set the previous two sessions, a spokeswoman said. A seat on the 116-year-old exchange sold for $265,000 Monday, and two seats garnered $260,000 each Friday. Exchange chairman Lou Guttman attributed the rising seat prices to the exchange’s agreement in principle this month to join the GLOBEX system, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s planned after-hours electronic trading network.