CBOT To Launch Ethanol Futures Contract On April 8

The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT®) announced today that the Exchange will launch a CBOT Denatured Fuel Ethanol futures contract on Friday, April 8, 2005. This new contract is designed to address the growing demand for an effective hedging instrument for domestically produced ethanol.

CBOT President & CEO Bernard W. Dan said, “There is significant growth potential in ethanol production, and projections for 2005 represent a 145 percent increase over production levels in 2000. Domestically, corn is the primary material used in ethanol production, a factor which makes the CBOT the natural home for ethanol futures. We expect this new contract to meet the industry’s demand for a reliable and transparent instrument for managing ethanol’s price volatility, while also providing additional trading opportunities for customers within the Exchange’s highly liquid Corn products, the world’s benchmark for pricing within the corn industry.”

The new contract is pending certification to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). CBOT Denatured Fuel Ethanol futures will be physically delivered with a shipping certificate as the delivery instrument. Please see the attached Salient Features sheet for further details on CBOT Denatured Fuel Ethanol futures or visit the Exchange’s Website at www.cbot.com/ag.

Ethanol Salient Features