CBOT To Continue Exchange-For-Risk (EFR) Program

The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOTCBOT^®) approved the continuation of the Exchange for Risk (EFR) program on a permanent basis for all CBOT agricultural futures contracts, which includes Corn, Soybean, Soybean Meal, Soybean Oil, Wheat, Rice and Oats, beginning July 1, 2003.

The current pilot program, authorizing EFR transactions in Wheat, Rice and Oats futures contracts expires on June 30, 2003. The primary objective of the EFR program is to provide a wider offering of risk management tools for CBOT customers.

An EFR is a futures market transaction that provides market participants a way to unwind existing over-the-counter (OTC) positions or to initiate new OTC positions. EFR transactions can be conducted at any time from the inception through the expiration of the OTC position. Conceptually, an EFR is similar to an Exchange for Physical (EFP) transaction, except that it involves an exchange of a futures position for an OTC position rather than an exchange for the physical commodity.