CME Group, the world's largest and most diverse derivatives exchange, announced today that hardwood pulp index futures and options on futures will be listed exclusively on CME Globex(R), the exchange's electronic trading platform, scheduled to begin trading January 12, 2009. The hardwood pulp products will be a complement to the softwood pulp index futures contracts launched in September 2007.
The cash-settled hardwood pulp futures and options contracts will be based on the PIX BHKP Europe Index(TM) by FOEX Indexes Ltd. FOEX is a private Finland-based independent company that specializes in providing audited, trademarked registered pulp and paper price indexes.
"Customers requested this new contract to use as another tool to hedge risk. Since the new hardwood pulp contract will follow suit with the current softwood pulp contract and settle to a FOEX Index, the industry standard for the global forest products industry, market users will have additional opportunities and flexibility in their trading," said John Harangody, CME Group Director of Commodity Products.
The CME Group Hardwood Pulp futures contracts, to be listed under the ticker symbol HWP, are based on the prices for the bleached hardwood kraft pulp (BHKP) index. Like the northern bleached softwood kraft pulp, or NBSKP contract, the BHKP contract size is 20 (metric) tonnes with a tick size of $10 per contract ($0.50 per tonne). Trading hours will be from 5 p.m. Sunday Chicago time through 4:00 p.m. Friday with a daily one hour trading pause. The expiring contract closes at noon on the last trading day.
For more information on the CME Group BHKP and the NBSKP wood pulp contracts, please go to http://www.cmegroup.com/pulp or for more information on FOEX, please go to http://www.foex.fi/.