CME Contract Specifications Changes: Frozen Pork Bellies, Fresh Pork Bellies And Butter

The CME Contract Specifications pages on the CME's Web site have been updated to reflect the following: Please be advised that the CFTC has approved amendments to the rules governing expandable daily price limits for futures on Frozen Pork Bellies, Fresh Pork Bellies and Butter, effective for all contract months at the start of trading on Monday, July 23, 2001.

Expandable limits are triggered by price settlements at the limit bid or limit offer. The rules governing expandable limits were intended to allow expandable limits to be retained as long as prices continue to settle at limit bid or limit offer levels, regardless of the direction of the subsequent price movement. Recent questions made it necessary to clarify these rules to specify that limit movements subsequent to the triggering of expanded limits need not be in the same direction as the original move that triggered the expanded limits.

In addition, the rule for expandable limits in Frozen Pork Bellies is clarified to specify that, on its last trading day, the contract nearest expiration is not used in determining whether to trigger or retain expanded limits. Instead, the contract second nearest to expiration will be used on those days.