The GSCI is a world production-weighted commodity index composed of 26 liquid exchange-traded futures contracts. The GSCI includes energy, industrial metals, precious metals, agricultural and livestock products. Based on the Average Contract Reference Prices used to determine the composition of the GSCI 2002, feeder cattle will represent a Reference Percentage Dollar Weight of 0.92 percent of the GSCI, according to Goldman. All of the futures contracts included in the 2001 GSCI, except for tin, will be retained in the 2002 GSCI. Tin no longer qualifies for inclusion and will be deleted from the commodity index.
Designed as a reliable and publicly available benchmark for investment performance in the commodity markets, the GSCI tracks real economic activity as well as measuring the level of world commodity prices, according to Goldman Sachs. CME introduced futures and options on the GSCI in July 1992.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. (www.cme.com) is an international marketplace that brings together buyers and sellers on its trading floors and GLOBEX®2 around-the-clock electronic trading system. CME offers futures contracts and options on futures primarily in four product areas: interest rates, stock indexes, foreign currencies and agricultural commodities. The exchange moves about $1.5 billion per day in settlement payments and manages $28.4 billion in collateral deposits.
