ASX defers start of West Australian wheat futures contract

ASX Ltd., operator of Australia's stock exchange, deferred the trading start of a wheat futures contract for grain from Western Australia until the completion of legal agreements.

The contract for wheat delivered to the Kwinana port zone in Australia's biggest exporting state, was scheduled to begin trading on May 25, said Dougal Hunter, manager of agricultural derivatives for ASX.

A few more agreements have to be sorted out before the contract goes live, Hunter said.

The potential for the market is significant and ASX wants to ensure everything is in place and in order before trading starts, he added.

ASX has an Australian milling wheat futures contract for delivery in New South Wales state. The proposed West Australian contract comes after the country, the world's fourth-largest wheat exporter, ended AWB Ltd's monopoly on overseas shipments.

A new start date was not provided.