Crude oil began
futures trading
on the NYMEX in 1983 and is the most heavily traded commodity.
Trading unit: Crude
Oil Futures
trade in units of 1,000 U.S. barrels (42,000 gallons). Options: One
NYMEX
Division light, sweet crude oil futures contract
.
Trading Months: Crude
Oil Futures
trade 30 consecutive months plus long-dated futures initially listed
36,
48, 60, 72, and 84 months prior to delivery. Additionally, trading can
be executed at an average differential to the previous day’s settlement
prices for periods of two to 30 consecutive months in a single
transaction.
These calendar strips are executed during open outcry trading hours.
Options:
12 consecutive months, plus three long-dated options at 18, 24, and 36
months out on a June/December cycle.
Price Quotation
Crude Oil Futures are quoted
in dollars
and cents per barrel.
Minimum Price
Fluctuation: $0.01
(1¢) per barrel ($10 per contract).
Maximum Daily Price
Fluctuation
Futures: Initial limits of
$3.00 per
barrel are in place in all but the first two months and rise to $6.00
per
barrel if the previous day's settlement price in any back month
is
at the $3.00 limit. In the event of a $7.50 per barrel move in either
of
the first two contract months, limits on all months become $7.50 per
barrel
from the limit in place in the direction of the move following a
one-hour
trading halt.
Options: No price limits.
Last Trading Day
Crude Oil Futures: Trading
terminates
at the close of business on the third business day prior to the 25th
calendar
day of the month preceding the delivery month. If the 25th calendar day
of the month is a non-business day, trading shall cease on the third
business
day prior to the last business day preceding the 25th calendar day.
Options: Trading ends three
business
days before the underlying futures contract.
Delivery
F.O.B. seller's facility,
Cushing,
Oklahoma, at any pipeline or storage facility with pipeline access to
TEPPCO,
Cushing storage, or Equilon Pipeline Co., by in-tank transfer, in-line
transfer, book-out, or inter-facility transfer (pumpover).
Delivery Period
All deliveries are rateable
over the
course of the month and must be initiated on or after the first
calendar
day and completed by the last calendar day of the delivery month.
Alternate Delivery
Procedure (ADP)
An Alternate Delivery
Procedure is
available to buyers and sellers who have been matched by the Exchange
subsequent
to the termination of trading in the spot month contract. If buyer and
seller agree to consummate delivery under terms different from those
prescribed
in the contract specifications, they may proceed on that basis after
submitting
a notice of their intention to the Exchange.
Exchange of Futures
for, or in Connection
with, Physicals (EFP)
The commercial buyer or
seller may
exchange a futures position for a physical position of equal quantity
by
submitting a notice to the Exchange. EFPs may be used to either
initiate
or liquidate a futures position.
Deliverable
Grades
Specific domestic crudes
with 0.42%
sulfur by weight or less, not less than 37° API gravity nor more
than
42° API gravity. The following domestic crude streams are
deliverable:
West Texas Intermediate, Low Sweet Mix, New Mexican Sweet, North Texas
Sweet, Oklahoma Sweet, South Texas Sweet.
Specific foreign crudes
of not less
than 34° API nor more than 42° API. The following foreign
streams
are deliverable: U.K. Brent and Forties, and Norwegian Oseberg Blend,
for
which the seller shall receive a 30¢-per-barrel discount below the
final settlement price; Nigerian Bonny Light and Colombian Cusiana are
delivered at 15¢ premiums; and Nigerian Qua Iboe is delivered at a
5¢ premium.
Inspection
Inspection shall be
conducted in accordance
with pipeline practices. A buyer or seller may appoint an inspector to
inspect the quality of oil delivered. However, the buyer or seller who
requests the inspection will bear its costs and will notify the other
party
of the transaction that the inspection will occur.
Position Limits
Any one month/all months:
20,000 net
futures, but not to exceed 1,000 in the last three days of trading in
the
spot month.
Margin Requirements
Margins are required for
open futures
or short options positions. The margin requirement for an options
purchaser
will never exceed the premium.
Trading Symbol
Futures: CL
Options: LO
