June 23, 2010
CME Group to commence options on grain futures spread
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group Inc will launch inter-commodity options on the spread between corn and wheat futures starting Friday (July 25), the exchange said Tuesday (June 22).
The options will trade on CME's electronic Globex platform and in the exchange's open-outcry pits.
"Historically, agricultural commodities market participants have traded the relationships between corn and wheat based on shifting product profitability and production," said Tim Andriesen, CME's managing director of agricultural commodities products and services.
"These new listings allow customers to trade these spreads in the form of an option, helping to manage their risk at a fixed cost,'' he said.
The options will trade on Globex from 6 p.m. to 7:15 a.m. Chicago time, and then 9:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Open-outcry trade will follow the regular hours for grain futures from 9:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.
