Contract Specifications
Every futures contract has an underlying asset, the quantity of the asset, delivery location, and delivery date. For example, if the underlying asset is light sweet crude oil, the quantity is 1,000 barrels, the delivery location is the Henry Hub in Erath, Louisiana and the delivery date is December 2017.When a party enters into a futures contract, they are agreeing to exchange an asset, or underlying, at a defined time in the future. This asset can be a physical commodity like crude oil, or a financial product like a foreign currency.When the asset is a physical commodity, to ensure quality, the exchange stipulates the acceptable grades of the commodity.For example, WTI Crude Oil contracts at CME Group is for 1,000 barrels of a grade of crude oil known as “light, sweet” which refers to the amount of hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide the crude oil contains.
Futures contracts for financial products are understandably more straightforward: the U.S. dollar value of 100,000 Australian dollars is the U.S. dollar value of 100,000 Australian dollars.Each futures contract specifies is the quantity of the product delivered for a single contract, also known as contract size. For example: 5,000 bushels of corn, 1,000 barrels of crude oil or Treasury bonds with a face value of $100,000 are all contract sizes as defined in the futures contract specification.
The exchange defines the contract size to meet the needs of market participants. For example, participants who wish to take a speculative or hedging position in the S&P 500 futures contract but cannot risk the exposure of that size contract ($250 x the S&P 500) can instead use the E-mini S&P 500 futures contract to gain that exposure ($50 x the S&P 500 Index). A futures contract also specifies where the asset will be delivered upon execution.
Delivery is an important consideration for certain physical commodity markets entailing significant transportation costs. For example, the random-length lumber contract at CME Group specifies that delivery must occur in a specific state and in a certain type of boxcar.Finally, every futures contract is referred to by its delivery month. Traders refer to the March Corn contract or the December WTI contract since this point in the future is germane to the value and execution of the contract position.
Depending on the contract market, delivery can be anywhere from one month to several years in the future. The exchange specifies when delivery will occur within the month and when a given contract initiates and terminates trading. Typically, trading for a contract is halted a few days before the specified delivery date.
| Contract Name | Symbol | Months | Tick Size | Quoted Units | Trading Unit | Min Fluc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soybeans | S | FHKNQUX | 1/4 cent/bu ($12.50/contract) | US $ per bushel | 5,000 bu | 1/4C ($12.50) |
| Wheat | W | HKNUZ | 1/4 cent/bu ($12.50/contract) | US $ per bushel | 5,000 bu | 1/4C ($12.50) |
| Contract Name | Symbol | Months | Tick Size | Quoted Units | Trading Unit | Min Fluc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Dollar | AD | HMUZHMUZ | $.0001 AD ($10.00/contract) | US $ per Australian Dollar | 100,000 Australian Dollars | .0001 ($10) |
| British Pound | BP | HMUZ | $0.0001 BP = $6.25 | US $ per British Pound | 62,500 British Pounds | .0001 ($6.25) |
| Brazilian Real | BR | FGHJKMNQUVXZ | .5 point = $.00005 per Brazilian real = $5.00 per contract | US $ per Brazilian Real | 100,000 Brazilian reals | 0.00005=$5.00 (half tick) |
| Canadian Dollar | CD | HMUZ | $.0001 CD ($10.00/contract) | US $ per Canadian Dollar | 100,000 Canadian Dollars | .0001 ($10) |
| US Dollar Index | DX | HMUZ | .01 of a U.S. Dollar Index point = $10.00/contract usdx | index points, expressed to three decimals | $1,000 times the U.S. Dollar Index | .01 pt($10) |
| Euro Emini | E7 | HMUZ | $.0001 Euro = ($6.25 per contract) | US $ per Euro | 62,500 Euro | 0.0001=$6.25 |
| Euro | EC | HMUZ | $.0001 EC ($12.50/contract) | US $ per Euro | 125,000 Euro | .0001 ($12.50) |
| Euro / Japanese Yen | EJ | HMUZ | Euro per Japanese Yen | 100,000 Euro | .01 or 1,000 yen per contract) | |
| Euro Futures | EU | HMUZ | 1/2 ticks on spread trades are permitted | US $ per Euro | 200,000 A. dollars | .0001 or 20 U.S. dollars per c |
| British Pound / Euro | GB | HMUZ | 1/2 ticks on spread trades are permitted | BP per Euro | 100,000 Euro | .0001 or 10 pound per contract |
| Japanese Yen Emini | J7 | HMUZ | $.000001 JY ($6.25/contract) | US $ per Japanese Yen | 6,250,000 Japanese yen | $.000001 JY ($6.25) |
| Japanese Yen | JY | HMUZ | $.000001 JY ($12.50/contract) | US $ per Japanese Yen | 12,500,000 Japanese Yen | .000001 ($12.50) |
| US Dollar / Swedish Krona | KU | HMUZ | US $ per Swedish Krona | 200,000 U.S. dollars | .0001 or 20 krona per contract | |
| New Zealand Dollar | NE | HMUZ | Euro per Swedish Krona | 100,000 Euro | .0005 or 50 krona per contract | |
| Euro / Japanese Yen | RY | HMUZ | Euro per Japanese Yen | 125,000 Euro | ||
| Euro / Swiss Franc | RZ | HMUZ | Euro per Swiss Franc | 100,000 Euro | .0001 or 10 S. francs per cont | |
| Swiss Franc | SF | HMUZ | $.0001 SF = ($12.50/contract) | US $ per Swiss Franc | 125,000 Swiss Francs | .0001 ($12.50) |
| US Dollar / Japanese Yen | YY | HMUZ | US $ per Japanese Yen | 200,000 U.S. dollars | .01 or 2,000 yen per contract |
| Contract Name | Symbol | Months | Tick Size | Quoted Units | Trading Unit | Min Fluc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Live Cattle | LC | GJMQVZ | 1 point = .01 cents per pound = $4.00 | US $ per pound | 40,000 pounds | 2.5 pts ($10) |
| Contract Name | Symbol | Months | Tick Size | Quoted Units | Trading Unit | Min Fluc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cocoa | CC | HKNUZ | $1/ ton = $10 | US $ per metric ton | 10 metric tons | $1/ton |
| Cotton #2 | CT | HKNVZ | 1/100 of a cent (one | US $ per pound | 50,000 lbs | .001 ($5) |
| Coffee | KC | HKNUZ | 0.05cwt = $18.75 (point value = $3.75) | US $ per pound | 37,500 lbs. | .0005 ($18.25) |
| Lumber | LB | FHKNQX | $.10 per 1,000 bd. ft. ($11.00/contract) | US $ per 1,000 board feet | 110,000 bd. feet | .10/1K ($11) |
| Sugar #11 | SB | FHKNV | $.0001/lb = $11.20 | US cents per pound | 112,000 lbs. | .0001 ($11.20) |
| Sugar #14 (delisted) | SE | FHKNUX | $.01/lb = $11.20 | US $ per pound | 112,000 lbs. |
| Contract Name | Symbol | Months | Tick Size | Quoted Units | Trading Unit | Min Fluc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | DJ | HMUZ | 1 Point ($10.00/contract) | DJIA index points | $10 x the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index | .01 pt ($10) |
| S&P 500 E-mini | ES | HMUZ | .01 index points = $0.50 | index points, expressed to two decimals | $50 x S&P 500 Stock Index | .05 pt ($2.50) |
| London FT-SE 100 | LZ | HMUZ | 0.1 = P1.00 | index points, expressed to one decimal | P10 per index point | 0.5 (P5.00) |
| Nasdaq 100 | ND | HMUZ | 0.5=$50.00 | index points, expressed to two decimals | $100 times the Nasdaq 100 index | .01 per indx pt = $1 |
| Nasdaq 100 E-mini | NQ | HMUZ | 1pt=$0.5 | index points, expressed to two decimals | $20 times the Nasdaq-100 Index | .50 pt ($10.00) |
| S&P 500 | SP | HMUZ | 0.10 (10 pt.) ($2.50/pt.) ($25.00) | index points, expressed to two decimals | $250 x S&P 500 Stock Index | .10 pt ($25) |
| Dow Jones E-mini ($5) (Globex) | YM | HMUZ | One point ($5.00 per contract) | DJIA index points | ($5.00) times the Dow Jones Industrial AverageSM Index. | 1 pt = $5.00 |
| Contract Name | Symbol | Months | Tick Size | Quoted Units | Trading Unit | Min Fluc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light Crude Oil (Pit) | CL | FGHJKMNQUVXZ | $0.01 (1c) per barrel ($10 per contract) | US $ per barrel | 1,000 U.S. barrels (42,000 gallons) | .01/bbl. ($10 |
| Natural Gas | NG | All 12 | $0.001 (0.1 c) per MMBtu ($10 per contract) | US $ per mmBtu | 10,000 million British thermal units (mmBtu) | .10 ($10) |
| Natural Gas miNY | QG | FGHJKMNQUVXZ | U.S. cents per mmBtu | US $ per mmBtu | 2,500 million British thermal units (mmBtu) | 0.5c per mmBtu = $12.50 |
| Crude Oil EmiNY | QM | FGHJKMNQUVXZ | U.S. dollars and cents per barrel | US $ per barrel | 500 barrels | (2.5c) per barrel ($12.50) |
| Contract Name | Symbol | Months | Tick Size | Quoted Units | Trading Unit | Min Fluc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | GC | All 12 | $.10/oz. = $10.00 | US $ per troy ounce | 100 troy ounces | 10 pts=$10 |
| Copper High Grade | HG | All 12 | 0.05 c/lb. = $12.50 | US $ per pound | 25,000 pounds | 5 pts=$12.50 |
| Palladium | PA | All 12 | $0.05 (5 cents) per troy ounce ($5 per contract) | US $ per troy ounce | 100 troy ounces | 5 pts=$5 |
| Platinum | PL | All 12 | $0.10 (10 cents) per troy ounce, $5 per contract | US $ per troy ounce | 50 troy ounces | 10 pts=$5 |
| Copper miNY (Globex) | QC | FGHJKMNQUVXZ | US $ per pound | 12,500 pounds | $0.0020 per pound. | |
| Silver miNY (Globex) | QI | FGHJKMNQUVXZ | US $ per troy ounce | 2,500 troy ounces | $0.0125 per ounce. | |
| Silver 5000 oz | SI | All 12 | $.001/oz. = $5.00 | US $ per troy ounce | 5,000 troy ounces | 50 pts=$25 |
| Gold, NY Mini | YG | All 12 | 10 cent/fine troy oz | US $ per troy ounce | 33.2 fine troy oz. | 10 cent/fine troy oz |
| Silver NY Mini | YI | All 12 | $.001/troy oz. | US $ per troy ounce | 1,000 troy ounces. | $.001/troy oz. |
| Gold 100 oz. | ZG | All 12 | 10 cent/fine troy oz | US $ per troy ounce | 100 fine troy ounces | 10 cent/fine troy oz |
| Silver 5000 oz | ZI | All 12 | $.001 per troy ounce | US $ per troy ounce | 5,000 fine troy ounces | $.001 per troy ounce |