CME Group Announces the Launch of New Petroleum Last Day Financial Futures Contracts

CHICAGO, Oct. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CME Group, the world's largest and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced the launch of trading and clearing services for three new petroleum "last day" financially settled futures contracts. Trading will be available on the New York trading floor and clearing services will be available through CME ClearPort®, a set of flexible clearing services open to over-the-counter (OTC) market participants to substantially mitigate counterparty risk and provide neutral settlement prices across asset classes. Trading and clearing are scheduled to begin on November 1 for trade date November 2. These contracts will be listed by and subject to the rules and regulations of NYMEX.

The futures contracts and commodity codes will be: crude oil last day financial (26); heating oil last day financial (23); and RBOB last day financial (27).

These contracts are a useful hedging tool for a diverse group of market participants, including the financial sector and end users, who prefer the flexibility of a cash-settled instrument that mirrors the underlying physical futures contracts.

The first listed month will be the November 2009 contract. The crude oil contract will be listed for nine years using the following listing schedule: consecutive months will be listed for the current year and next five years; in addition, the June and December contract months will be listed beyond the sixth year. The heating oil contract will be listed through August 2012, and the RBOB contract will be listed for 36 consecutive months.

For more information please visit www.cmegroup.com/clearport .

As the world's largest and most diverse derivatives marketplace, CME Group ( www.cmegroup.com ) is where the world comes to manage risk. CME Group exchanges offer the widest range of global benchmark products across all major asset classes, including futures and options based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities, metals, weather and real estate. CME Group brings buyers and sellers together through its CME Globex® electronic trading platform and its trading facilities in New York and Chicago. CME Group also operates CME Clearing, one of the largest central counterparty clearing services in the world, which provides clearing and settlement services for exchange-traded contracts, as well as for over-the-counter derivatives transactions through CME ClearPort®. These products and services ensure that businesses everywhere can substantially mitigate counterparty credit risk in both listed and over-the-counter derivatives markets.

The Globe logo, CME, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, CME Group, Globex, E-mini and CME ClearPort are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. CBOT and Chicago Board of Trade are trademarks of the Board of Trade of the City of Chicago. NYMEX and New York Mercantile Exchange are trademarks of New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. COMEX is a trademark of Commodity Exchange, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Further information about CME Group and its products can be found at www.cmegroup.com .

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SOURCE CME Group