CME Group Announces the Launch of Physically Delivered Zinc Futures

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May 18, 2015, 08:30 ET

CHICAGO, May 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- CME Group, the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced the launch of physically delivered Zinc futures contracts to begin trading on June 29, 2015, pending all relevant regulatory review periods.

These new Zinc futures contracts will build on CME Group's suite of physically and financially settled base metals products, and provide greater transparency and price discovery for market participants in North America and around the globe. Zinc futures will be priced in U.S. dollars and will represent 25 metric tons of physical material, beginning with the October 2015 listed month.

"Customers across the global physical commodities value chain rely on the accurate price discovery and risk transfer that CME Group's commodity risk management tools provide," said Derek Sammann, Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Commodities and Options Products, CME Group. "The introduction of this physical zinc futures contract further strengthens our value proposition to industrial metals participants and enables them to take advantage of the integrity and efficiency of our warehousing practices."

"We're pleased that CME Group has responded swiftly and decisively to industry feedback for a new and transparent North American benchmark for zinc," said Michael Camacho, Co-Head of Global Commodities, JPMorgan Chase & Co. "We expect this contract will bring new opportunities and enhance the risk-management services that we offer in zinc for our commercial customers in North America."

CME Group's new Zinc futures contract will be physically delivered in approved warehouses across the U.S. The contract will enable market participants to benefit from the reliability and proven integrity of the exchange's delivery process when they make and take delivery of high grade zinc of 99.995 percent purity.

These contracts will be available for trading electronically via CME Globex, as well as submission for clearing through CME ClearPort and will be listed by and subject to the rules of COMEX.

At present, C. Steinweg, Inc., Henry Bath LLC and Dearborn Distribution Services have applied to become exchange-approved warehouses for the delivery and storage of physical zinc in the Baltimore, New Orleans, Chicago and Detroit regions.

For more information visit www.cmegroup.com/metals.

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. 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.

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SOURCE CME Group