CME introduces new forex contracts

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) said yesterday it will introduce 13 new foreign exchange futures contracts to start trading in the second quarter of this year. The new contracts include 11 non-dollar cross-rates and two dollar-based contracts.

The non-US dollar contract pairings are: euro FX/Australian dollar,euro FX/Canadian dollar, euro FX/Swedish krona, euro FX/Norwegian krone, Australian dollar/Canadian dollar, Australian dollar/New Zealand dollar, Australian dollar/Japanese yen, British pound/Swiss franc, British pound/Japanese yen, Canadian dollar/Japanese yen, Swiss franc/Japanese yen.

The US dollar contracts are: US dollar/Swedish krona, US dollar/Norwegian krone.

Dealers will trade the products on the CME’s Globex electronic platform as well as on the trading floor as all-or-none transactions with a five-lot minimum. The CME currently lists three euro-based cross-rates and 13 US dollar-based forex products.

“CME has seen increased foreign exchange volume executed both electronically and on our trading floor last year as a result of offering side-by-side electronic trading of our existing FX products line,” said CME chairman Scott Gordon.

CME’s most recent volume statistics showed a total of 120.5 million contracts traded in the first quarter of this year, worth an underlying value of $86.4 trillion. This is a 30% rise from the first quarter 2001, and marks the fifth consecutive quarterly record for trading volumes.