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CBOT Launches 5-Year Agency Note Contracts

Date 12/01/2001

The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT®) today launched its newest financial contracts, 5-year Agency Note futures and options based on Fannie Mae‚ Benchmark Notes SM and Freddie Mac Reference Notes SM.

The new contracts represents the CBOT®’s efforts to satisfy increasing customer demand for fixed income products as the Agency debt market is rapidly growing, with issuance exceeding that of the Treasury market in recent years.

CBOT® Chairman Nickolas J. Neubauer said, "With the changing economic climate, market users around the world are turning to alternative fixed-income derivatives for their risk management needs. The addition of the 5-year agency contracts to our already existing 10-year agency contracts and our benchmark Treasury complex represents the CBOT®’s continuing effort to ensure that its products are meeting the needs of its customers and those of the marketplace."

The new 5-year agency note futures contracts are traded in the 10-year agency futures pit, and the new option contracts are traded in the 2-Year/5-Year Treasury Note options pit. The 5-Year Agency futures and options also will trade on the CBOT®’s electronic trading system, a/c/eSM, starting at 8:00 p.m. (Chicago time) on Monday, January 15, 2001.

The CBOT® 5-Year Agency Note futures contracts will be listed on a quarterly cycle starting with the March 2001 expiration. The 5-Year Agency Note option contracts will follow a listing cycle of three quarterly contract months and two serial contract months. The CBOT® 5-Year Agency note futures and options contracts will trade as follows (Chicago time):

  • 7:20 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (Mon.– Fri.) Open Outcry
  • 8:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Sun. – Fri.) a/c/e
The CBOT®’s existing 10-Year Agency note futures and options were launched on March 15, 2000. Since inception, 10-Year Agency note futures average daily volume has exceeded more than 6,000 contracts, with open interest reaching more than 60,000 contracts in December 2000.