CME Group, the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, announced that in the fourth quarter of 2010 it will begin offering futures and options contracts based on volatility indexes that combine CME Group's options market data with the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) Volatility Index(R) (VIX(R)) methodology. These contracts will be listed with, and subject to, the rules and regulations of NYMEX and COMEX.
The CBOE/NYMEX WTI Volatility Index and the CBOE/COMEX Gold Volatility Index are the first to launch since CME Group entered a seven-year licensing agreement with CBOE, which gives CME Group worldwide rights to list futures and options on futures for volatility indexes on a variety of asset classes. In addition, futures on corn and soybean VIX indexes are expected to launch in the first quarter of 2011.
"The new indexes provide a direct and effective way to track volatility in a variety of benchmark asset classes by leveraging the liquidly of our electronic options on futures markets," said Bryan Durkin, CME Group's Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of Products and Services. "Once launched, the futures and options contracts based on the indexes will give global market participants tradable tools to express their opinions on the direction of the volatility in the markets."
The index calculations use prices from the exchange's deep and liquid options on futures markets to create new and effective measures of expected volatility that offer direct price exposure to the underlying spot market. Data for the indexes is now being disseminated and can be viewed online at www.cmegroup.com/vix. In addition, real-time data is available through additional sources including CBOE, CME Group's Market Data Pipeline (MDP), CBOE and CME Group quote vendors.
To view the March 2010 news release announcing the CME Group licensing agreement with CBOE visit: http://cmegroup.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=2994.
