CME Group, the world’s largest and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced the launch of clearing services for nine new petroleum swap futures contracts. Clearing 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, beginning on August 2 for trade date August 3. These contracts are listed for trading by NYMEX through CME ClearPort, and are subject to NYMEX rules and regulations.
The new swap futures contracts and their commodity codes will be: dated Brent (Platts) daily (7G); premium unleaded gasoline 10 PPM (Platts) Rotterdam FOB barges (7L); premium unleaded gasoline 10 PPM (Platts) Rotterdam FOB barges BALMO (7N); EuroBob gasoline 10 PPM (Platts) Rotterdam FOB barges (7P); EuroBob gasoline 10 PPM Rotterdam FOB barges BALMO (7S); gasoline EuroBob Oxy (Argus) Northwest Europe (7H); gasoline EuroBob Oxy (Argus) NWE barges BALMO (7R); gasoline EuroBob Oxy (Argus) NEW barges crack spread (7K); and gasoline EuroBob Oxy (Argus) NWE barges crack spread BALMO (7I).
These contracts are being listed in response to customer demand, particularly as large European oil trading firms and over-the-counter brokers adjust to changes in environmental regulations in the European oil industry.
The first listed month for these contracts will be August 2009. The dated Brent swap futures contract will be listed for three consecutive months. The BALMO swap futures contracts will be listed for one month and the following month for 10 business days prior to the start of the contract month. All of the other contracts will be listed for 36 consecutive months.