CME Group Expands Base Metals Offering with New Aluminum Japan Premium (Platts) Futures

NEW YORK and SINGAPORE, Nov. 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- CME Group, the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced it will expand its base metals offering with the introduction of a new Aluminum Japan Premium (Platts) futures contract to begin trading on 7 December 2015. Pending relevant regulatory review periods, the new contract will be available for trading on CME Globex and for submission for clearing through CME ClearPort, and will be listed with and subject to the rules and regulations of COMEX.

"This new contract complements our offering of U.S. and European aluminum premium futures contracts, and enables market participants to hedge their exposure to the Asian aluminum premium," said Young-Jin Chang, Senior Director of Metals Products, CME Group.  "Market participants in Asia have demanded a solution in hedging their premium exposure, and with the growing sophistication and participation of Asia in global aluminum pricing, we are pleased to offer this new Aluminum Japan Premium (Platts) futures contract to better address our customers' needs."

This new Aluminum Japan Premium (Platts) futures contract will complement CME Group's existing suite of aluminum risk management tools, including its Aluminum MW U.S. Transaction Premium Platts futures, Aluminum European Premium Metal Bulletin futures and physically delivered Aluminum futures.

Industry participation in the Aluminum MW U.S Transaction Premium Platts futures contract has steadily increased, trading the equivalent of more than 940,250 metric tons since their launch in April 2012 and reaching a record open interest of 20,061 contracts on 30 October 2015. The Aluminum European Premium Metal Bulletin futures contract has seen outsized growth in trading volumes since its launch on 21 September.  In just over two months since launch, it has traded 62,350 metric tons and reaching a record of 2,474 contracts open interest on 10 November 2015.

The Aluminum Japan Premium (Platts) futures contract will be 25 metric tons in size and will be cash-settled referencing the Platts CIF Japan Spot Premium for Aluminum which is published daily in real-time service Platts Metals Alert and in Platts Metals Daily.  

For more information on CME Group's metals products, please visit www.cmegroup.com/metals.

About CME Group

As the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, CME Group (www.cmegroup.com) is where the world comes to manage risk. CME Group exchanges offer the widest range of global benchmark products across all major asset classes, including futures and options based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities, metals, weather and real estate. CME Group brings buyers and sellers together through its CME Globex® electronic trading platform, its trading facilities in New York and Chicago, and through its London-based CME Europe derivatives exchange.  CME Group also operates one of the world's leading central counterparty clearing providers through CME Clearing and CME Clearing Europe, which offer clearing and settlement services across asset classes for exchange-traded contracts and over-the-counter derivatives transactions.  These products and services ensure that businesses everywhere can substantially mitigate counterparty credit risk.

CME Group is a trademark of CME Group Inc. The Globe Logo, CME, Globex and Chicago Mercantile Exchange are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc.  CBOT and the Chicago Board of Trade are trademarks of the Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Inc.  NYMEX, New York Mercantile Exchange and ClearPort are registered trademarks of New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc.  COMEX is a trademark of Commodity Exchange, Inc.  KCBOT, KCBT and Kansas City Board of Trade are trademarks of The Board of Trade of Kansas City, Missouri, Inc.  All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Further information about CME Group (NASDAQ: CME) and its products can be found at www.cmegroup.com.

About Platts

Founded in 1909, Platts is a leading global provider of energy, petrochemicals, metals and agriculture information and a premier source of benchmark prices for the physical and futures markets.  Platts' news, pricing, analytics, commentary and conferences help customers make better-informed trading and business decisions and help the markets operate with greater transparency and efficiency.  Customers in more than 150 countries benefit from Platts' coverage of the biofuels, carbon missions, coal, electricity, oil, natural gas, metals, nuclear power, petrochemical, shipping and sugar markets.  A division of McGraw Hill Financial (NYSE: MHFI), Platts is based in London with more than 1000 employees in more than 15 offices worldwide. Additional information is available at http://www.platts.com.

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SOURCE CME Group

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