CME’s introduction of the side-by-side program—the first daytime electronic trading of the exchange’s major currencies—came in response to customer requests as well as the increasing role electronic trading has played in currency trading globally.
Electronic currency futures traded on CME are completely fungible on a 1:1 basis with pit-traded currencies, as both have identical contract specifications. Customers may specify whether they prefer the orders to be executed in the pit or electronically, or let their broker decide which system to use for execution. Traders in CME’s open outcry currency pits may access the electronically traded versions of the contracts via GLOBEX®2 terminals located throughout the trading floor and the exchange’s GALAX-C™ hand-held units.
CME currency futures trade electronically on CME’s GLOBEX2 system virtually around the clock, from 4:30 p.m. (Central Time) to 4:00 p.m. the following business day. (On Sundays, trading begins at 5:30 p.m.) Open outcry trading of currencies takes place from 7:20 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Daily settlement (mark to market) for each currency contract is to the same 2:00 p.m. price whether traded via open outcry or electronically. Prior to the launch of side-by-side trading, CME had been offering electronic trading of currencies after hours from 2:30 p.m. to 7:05 a.m. on the GLOBEX2 system.
Information on side-by-side electronic currency trading, including new GLOBEX2 ticker symbols and a Quote Vendor Symbol Guide, is available on the CME Web site at www.cme.com/market/currency/sxsresource.html located in the CME Currency Futures Side-by-Side Resource Center.
CME trades Australian dollar, British pound, Brazilian real, Canadian dollar, Euro FX, French franc, Japanese yen, Mexican peso, New Zealand dollar, Russian ruble, South African rand and Swiss franc. Cross-rate contracts traded at CME are Euro FX/British pound, Euro FX/Japanese yen and Euro FX Swiss franc. CME Deutsche mark futures have traded exclusively electronically since August 1999. In addition, CME trades E-mini Euro FX and E-mini Japanese yen futures—smaller sized electronic versions of its Euro FX and yen currency contracts, introduced in October 1999.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. (www.cme.com) is an international marketplace that brings together buyers and sellers on its trading floors and GLOBEX2 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. On Nov. 13, 2000, CME finalized its transformation into a for-profit, shareholder-owned corporation as it became the first U.S. financial exchange to demutualize by converting its membership interests into shares of common stock that can trade separately from exchange trading privileges. The exchange moves about $1 billion per day in settlement payments, manages $30 billion in collateral deposits and administers more than $1 billion of letters of credit.
