CME Contract Revisions To Feeder Cattle Effective With January 2000 Expiration

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange has updated the feeder cattle contract to reflect several revisions. Beginning with the January 2000 contract, the trading unit has been redefined from 700 to 799 pound medium frame #1 and medium and large frame #1 feeder steers to 700 to 849 pound medium frame #1 and medium and large frame #1 feeder steers. The revisions also specify the USDA weighted average report comments which cause cattle to be excluded from the cash settlement index calculation. Also, the cash settlement index name has been changed from Composite Weighted Average Price for Feeder Cattle to the CME Feeder Cattle Index™. These changes have been made to clarify index calculation procedures, eliminate the exclusion of desirable cattle from the index, and increase the number of cash market transactions upon which the cash settlement index price is based. The last trading day for all feeder cattle contract months is the last Thursday of the contract month, except in November, when it is the Thursday before Thanksgiving. If a holiday falls on the designated day or any of the four weekdays preceding, expiration is moved to the prior Thursday. The CME's agricultural complex offers futures and options on live cattle, stocker cattle, boneless beef, boneless beef trimmings, lean hogs, frozen pork bellies and fresh pork bellies, milk and a variety of dairy products.