CME Group Corn

CME Group corn futures and options trade both by open outcry and by electronic trading. During what are called "regular trading hours" (RTH), corn futures trade side-by-side on Globex and on the trading floor, while options trade only on the trading floor. During electronic trading hours (ETH), both corn futures and options are traded.

CME Group corn futures and options migrated from the eCBOT trading platform to CME Globex on the evening of Jan. 13, 2008.

On Aug. 10, 2011, it was announced that, starting Aug. 22 of 2011, corn would be allowed to rise or fall by 40 cents per bushel in daily trading, an increase over the previous 30-cent-limit and a response to a year of volatile, market limit trading days for corn. Permission was received from the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to increase the limits. The change would mark the first expansion in the daily trading limit for corn in 3-1/2 years. The exchange widened the limit to 30 cents, from 20 cents, in March 2008. CME's proposal to change the limits had run into stiff opposition from farmers, grain elevators and food companies, that said the increase was unnecessary. They complained the larger limit would increase volatility in the corn market and expose hedgers to bigger margin calls if prices would surge. CME tweaked the proposal in response to initial objections. It originally proposed to increase the daily limit to 50 cents.

Commitment of Traders

The CFTC regularly issues Commitments of Traders reports that show the distribution of open positions among different classes of traders. Information about corn positions is available in this report.

Uses

Corn's greatest use is feed for livestock and poultry. Corn is also used in many everyday food for humans, including corn oil for margarine, cornstarch for gravy and corn sweeteners for soft drinks. Additionally, corn is increasingly used in the production of ethanol. Other non-food uses of corn include in absorbing agents for disposable diapers and adhesives for paper products.

Corn Futures
Contract Unit	5,000 bushels
Price Quotation	U.S. cents per bushe
Trading Hours	CME Globex:	Sunday – Friday, 7:00 p.m. – 7:45 a.m. CT and Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 1:20 p.m. CT TAS: Sunday - Friday 7:00 p.m. - 7:45 a.m. and Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. - 1:15 p.m. CT"
	CME ClearPort:	Sunday 5:00 p.m. - Friday 5:45 p.m. CT with no reporting Monday - Thursday from 5:45 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. CT
Minimum Price Fluctuation	1/4 of one cent (0.0025) per bushel = $12.50 TAS: Zero or +/- 4 ticks in the minimum tick increment of the outright"
Product Code	CME Globex: ZC CME ClearPort: C Clearing: C TAS: ZCT
Listed Contracts	9 monthly contracts of Mar, May, Sep and 8 monthly contracts of Jul and Dec listed annually after the termination of trading in the December contract of the current year.
Settlement Method	Deliverable
Termination of Trading	Trading terminates on the business day prior to the 15th day of the contract month.
Trade at Marker or trade at Settlement Rules	Trading at Settlement (TAS) is subject to the requirements of Rule 524.A. TAS trades off a "Base Price" of zero (equal to the daily settlement price) to create a differential versus the daily settlement price in the underlying futures contract month. The TAS clearing price equals the daily settlement price of the underlying futures contract month plus or minus the TAS transaction price. TAS Table
Settlement Procedures	Corn Settlement Procedures
Position Limits	CBOT Position Limits
Exchange Rulebook	CBOT 10
Block Minimum	Block Minimum Thresholds
Price Limit or Circuit	Price Limits
Vendor Codes	Quote Vendor Symbols Listing
Last Delivery Date	Second business day following the last trading day of the delivery month.
Grade and Quality	Through December 2018: #2 Yellow at contract Price, #1 Yellow at a 1.5 cent/bushel premium, #3 Yellow at a 1.5 cent/bushel discount. As of March 2019: #2 Yellow at contract Price, #1 Yellow at a 1.5 cent/bushel premium, #3 Yellow at a discount between 2 and 4 cents/bushel depending on broken corn and foreign material and damage grade factors.

Corn Futures Options
Contract Unit	1 futures contract for 5,000 bushels
Minimum Price Fluctuation	1/8 of one cent (0.00125) per bushel = $6.25
Price Quotation	U.S. cents per bushel
Trading Hours	CME Globex:	Sunday – Friday, 7:00 p.m. – 7:45 a.m. CT and Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 1:20 p.m. CT
	Open Outcry:	Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. CT with post session until 1:20 p.m. CT immediately following the close
	CME ClearPort:	Sunday 5:00 p.m. - Friday 5:45 p.m. CT with no reporting Monday - Thursday from 5:45 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. CT
Product Code	CME Globex: OZC CME ClearPort: C Open Outcry: Put: PY Call: CY Clearing: C
Listed Contracts	Monthly contracts listed for 3 consecutive months 2 months of Mar listed after the termination of trading in the August contract month 2 months of May listed after the termination of trading in the October contract month 2 months of Sep listed after the termination of trading in the April contract month 6 months of Jul and Dec listed after the termination of trading in the December contract month
Termination of Trading	Trading terminates on Friday which precedes, by at least 2 business days, the last business day of the month prior to the contract month.
Excahnge Rulebook	CBOT 10A
Block Minimum	Block Minimum Thresholds
Price Limit or Circuit	Price Limits
Vendor Codes	Quote Vendor Symbols Listing
Strike Price Listing Procedures	Trading shall be conducted for put and call options with striking prices in integral multiples of five (5) cents and ten (10) cents per bushel. More details on strike price intervals are outlined in Rule 10A01.E.
Exercise Style	The buyer of a futures option may exercise the option on any business day prior to expiration by giving notice to the Clearing House by 5:30 p.m. Chicago time. Option exercise results in an underlying futures market position. Options in-the-money on the last day of trading are automatically exercised.
Settlemnt Method	Deliverable
Underlying	Corn Futures

Resources

• Corn Contract Specs
• Corn Settlement Procedures
• CBOT 10
• Block Minimum Thresholds
• Price Limits
• Quote Vendor Symbols Listing

Also See

• CME Group commodity products
• Corn futures specification