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CME Group today announced the launch of NYMEX Brent 25-Day (Platts) futures and options contracts to begin trading December 12 with February 2012 being the first listed month. These contracts are listed with, and subject to, the rules and regulations of NYMEX.
"Our new NYMEX Brent 25-Day contracts will offer customers a critical hedging solution to manage their price risk, at a time when the Brent market is undergoing a significant transformation," said Gary Morsches, Managing Director, Energy Products, CME Group. "Customers have expressed strong interest in a transparently settled Brent futures contract that more closely reflects the hedging needs of the underlying physical Brent market. We're confident our new contracts are well aligned with the Platts 25-day basis and will provide market participants with transparency and superior convergence against the physical Brent market to enable them to begin managing their price risk today."
Final settlement of NYMEX Brent 25-Day (Platts) futures and options contracts will be based on the Platts 25-day Brent (BFOE) cash assessment and use the Platts Market on Close (MOC) methodology, which is the industry standard for Brent pricing. Options to be listed will include an average price option and underlying calendar swap, as well as American-style and European-style options. These contracts will be listed for electronic trading on CME Globex, open-outcry and over-the-counter clearing on CME ClearPort.
CME Group will work with Platts on an ongoing basis to maintain contract specifications in close alignment with the Brent (BFOE) cash market, including adopting a revised expiry schedule beginning in March 2015.
The CME Group Energy complex offers the most benchmarks in its asset class, with market participants trading an average daily volume of 1.8 million contracts on CME Globex, CME ClearPort and the trading floor.
