Amsterdam Exchanges' Agricultural Futures Market To End Physical Delivery Of Live Hogs

As from Friday 28 January 2000, Agricultural Exchanges' agricultural futures market will start listing a new hog futures contract based on cash settlement. The new contract size, 10,000kg slaughtered weight of pork, will make it easier to compare prices internationally. Trading in this hog futures contract with cash settlement will start with the expiration month May. The last live hog futures contract based on physical delivery will expire in June 2000. Cash settlement enables participants to settle transactions in cash rather than by means of physical delivery. This means that any contracts that are still open after their last day of trading will be settled in cash at the most recently published market settlement price. This price, the AAT hog settlement price, will be published every Friday at noon by Amsterdam Exchanges' agricultural futures market. The changeover from physical delivery to cash settlement is primarily aimed at making the market more accessible to investors in the Netherlands and abroad.