CHICAGO, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) announced that a CBOE seat, or membership, traded for a new all-time high of 3.15 million U.S. dollars earlier Tuesday.

    The new record surpassed the previous high price of 3.05 million U.S. dollars for a CBOE seat, which was set on November 19,2007.

    In addition, a second seat sale took place Tuesday at 3.125 million dollars.

    A total of 98 seats have now traded in 2007. The record price of 3.15 million dollars is up 80-percent from 1.75 million dollars fetched at the close of 2006.

    During 2006, the highest price paid for a CBOE seat was 1.775 million dollars on December 6. The lowest price paid was 850,000 dollars on January 30, 2006 and a total of 111 seats changed hands during the year.

    CBOE's Membership Department facilitates the purchase and sale of seats, using an auction method in which bids and offers from interested parties are submitted to the Exchange. When a bid matches an offer, a sale is made.

    The CBOE, the largest options marketplace in the Unites States and the creator of listed options, is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).