Chicago Mercantile Exchange Launches Enhanced Functionality For Trading Electronic Eurodollar Options - More Than 22,000 Contracts Traded On First Day - Addition Of Sophisticated Technology Advances CME’s Leadership In Electronic Trading

Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. (CME), the largest U.S. futures exchange, yesterday launched its enhanced options system for electronic Eurodollars, combining committed market making, indicative quotes, complex spread combinations and electronic request for quote (e-RFQ) functions. The new state-of-the-art electronic options functionality for Eurodollars will facilitate trading of complex combination and spread trades typically used with short-term interest rate options on futures, within a fully transparent and competitive execution environment.

In the first day of trading using the new options functionality CME reported the following:

More than 22,000 contracts traded via this new functionality, along with nearly 10,000 Eurodollar options contracts traded on GLOBEX®;
The new functionality represented approximately 6.0% of the exchange’s total Eurodollar options volume of 373,310;
There were 307 e-RFQs (www.cme.com/edge) and 89 executed trades;
Ninety percent of eligible users logged into the system; and,
The majority of volume (nearly 90%) represented trades that were multi-legged, complex spread strategies, including straddles, vertical call spreads, vertical put spreads, call butterflies (3 legs), call condors (4 legs), call “Christmas” trees (3 legs) and call 1x2’s ratio spreads.

“With this enhanced options technology, we now offer market users a sophisticated electronic solution for complex Eurodollar option combination trades,” said CME Chairman Terry Duffy. “This new platform will preserve and enhance transparency and price competition, the hallmarks of CME’s successful market model, among market makers in electronic options markets. This innovative system will create efficiencies and lower transaction costs for market users, in contrast to the European ‘call-around’ markets, which tend to be fragmented and opaque.”

“This state-of-the-art technology revolutionizes screen-based trading of short term interest rate options on futures and marks another step forward in the evolution of electronic trading at CME,” said CME CEO Craig Donohue. “Technology innovation at CME creates growth, as evidenced by the fact that Eurodollar futures on GLOBEX have surged from just over 104,000 average daily volume in January to 693,000 in July. This new functionality further adds to CME’s strong position in short term interest rate products and underscores CME’s commitment to increase electronic trading in each of our core products.”

While both GLOBEX and the new enhanced options system will allow trading of options on Eurodollar futures, the contracts will not trade concurrently on both applications at this time. Ultimately, the options functionality will be available on GLOBEX through a CME i-Link connection. Initial trading of options will occur during the following hours on each system:

GLOBEX	Sunday – Thursday: 5:00 p.m. - 6:50 a.m. CT
Enhanced Options System	Monday – Friday: 7:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. CT

Electronically traded interest rate futures volume has increased over 1,157% percent in the second quarter of 2004 versus year ago levels. In July, average daily volume for Eurodollars on GLOBEX was 693,738 contracts and represented 58 percent of total Eurodollar futures trades at CME. On July 20, the percentage of Eurodollar futures traded on GLOBEX, on a day when open outcry was available, was at its highest at 67 percent. July 2004 was the record month for Eurodollar futures volume on GLOBEX with 14,568,498 contracts traded, which topped the previous record established in June 2004 of 14,157,132 contracts.

The core technology for this enhanced options system for Eurodollars was obtained earlier this year as part of CME’s acquisition of Liquidity Direct.

Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. (www.cme.com) is the largest futures exchange in theUnited States. As an international marketplace, CME brings together buyers and sellers on its trading floors and GLOBEX® electronic trading platform. CME offers futures and options on futures primarily in four product areas: interest rates, stock indexes, foreign exchange and commodities. The exchange moved about $1.6 billion per day in settlement payments in the first half of 2004 and managed $39.1 billion in collateral deposits as of June 30, 2004. CME is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CME), which is part of the Russell 1000® Index.

Statements in this news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements. More detailed information about factors that may affect our performance may be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, which can be obtained at its Web site at www.sec.gov. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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