The numbers speak volumes: Three-Month SOFR options are dominating the short-term interest-rate landscape. After a powerhouse performance in 2025 that saw average daily volume soar to 1.14 million contracts, the momentum has only accelerated into 2026. In Q1 2026, open interest reached a massive 42 million contracts, signaling a deep, diverse and incredibly resilient pool of liquidity for managing volatility and interest rate risks, especially at a time when expectations for the Federal Reserve to ease monetary policy in 2026 are waning.
Whether executing via open outcry, Globex or as a block trade, understanding these latest contract specifications is essential for navigating today’s interest-rate environment.
This paper provides in-depth descriptions of SOFR options:
- Product suite
- Contract specifications
- Real-life trade example
Product suite
The option contract listing calendar is:
- Quarterly standard options (SR3) expiring in each of the nearest 16 March quarterly months (March, June, September, December); serial standard options (SR3) expiring in each of the nearest four non-March quarterly months (January, February, April, May, July, August, October, November);
- Quarterly One-Year (S0) Two-Year (S2), Three-Year (S3), Four-Year (S4), and Five-Year (S5), Mid-Curve options expiring in each of the nearest five March quarterly months; serial One-Year, Two-Year, Three-Year, Four-Year, and Five-Year Mid-Curve options expiring in each of the nearest four non-March quarterly months; and
- Monthly options-nearby and deferred quarterly (SR3) expiring in each of the three nearby and three deferred monthly options in each of the nearest eight March quarterly months; and
- Weekly One-Year, Two-Year, and Three-Year Mid-Curve options expiring on each of the nearest two Fridays not scheduled for expiration of quarterly or serial options.
Please refer to the table (Exhibit 1) below for the complete array of SOFR options currently listed, including commodity codes and underlying futures contract months.
Exhibit 1: Available Options on Three-Month SOFR Futures (SR3)
Contract specifications
Exhibit 2 summarizes contract specifications.
Exhibit 2: Contract Specifications for Options on Three-Month SOFR Futures
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(All times of day are Central time (CT). |
Standard Quarterly/Serial Options |
Mid-Curve Options |
Weekly Mid-Curve Options |
Monthly Options |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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UNDERLYING |
One (1) CME Three-Month SOFR futures contract |
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LISTED |
Sixteen quarterlies along with four nearest serials |
1-Year, 2-Year, 3-Year, 4-Year, 5-Year Mid-Curves Five quarterlies along with four nearest serials |
1-Year, 2-Year, 3-Year Mid-Curves Two weekly expirations |
Three Nearby and three Deferred contracts in each of the nearest 8 March Quarterly months |
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MINIMUM PRICE FLUCTUATION |
Four nearest Quarterly (ex. Mar, June, Sep, Dec): ¼ of 0.01 IMM index points (0.0025 points=$6.25 per contract) Serial months (ex. Jan, Feb, April, May): ¼ of 0.01 IMM index points (0.0025 points=$6.25 per contract) All other Quarterly: ½ of 0.01 IMM index points (0.005 points=$12.50 per contract), with CAB = 0.0025 points ($6.25 per contract) |
½ of 0.01 IMM index points (0.005 points=$12.50 per contract), with CAB = 0.0025 points ($6.25 per contract) |
½ of 0.01 IMM index points (0.005 points=$12.50 per contract), with CAB = 0.0025 points ($6.25 per contract) |
¼ of 0.01 IMM index points (0.0025 = $6.25 per contract) |
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STRIKE INCREMENT |
First 8 options (4 serial and 4 quarterly) months:
All other options (back 12 quarterlies)
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First 6 options (4 serial and 2 quarterly) months (for 1-Year and 2-Year Mid-Curves only):
All other options (back 3 quarterlies):
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6.25 basis points (0.0625 price points) in a range of 150 basis points above and 150 basis points below the strike price closest to the previous daily settlement price for the underlying futures contract and of 25 basis points (0.25 price points) in a range of 550 basis points above and 550 basis points below the strike price closest to the previous daily settlement price for the underlying futures contract. |
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LAST TRADING DAY |
All options (excluding Weekly Mid-Curves): Trading terminates at close of CME Globex trading on the Friday before 3rd Wednesday of contract month Weekly Mid-Curves: Last Trading Day is any Friday not scheduled for expiration of any Standard Quarterly/Serial option |
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EXERCISE |
American style. Options may be exercised by purchaser on any day that option is traded. |
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TRADING HOURS |
Open Outcry: 7:20 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. CT, Monday through Friday CME Globex: 5:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. CT, Sunday through Friday |
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BLOCK MINIMUM |
1,250 contracts in Asian Trading Hours (4:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. CT, Mon-Fri on Business Days and at all weekend times) |
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SYMBOLS |
SR3 |
S0, S2, S3, S4, S5 |
S01-S05, S21-S25, S31-S35 |
1YH, 1YM, 1YU, 1YZ, 2YH, 2YM, 2YU, 2YZ |
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Termination of trading
Termination of trading in any expiring option is scheduled to occur at close of trading on a specified Friday. For any quarterly standard, serial standard, quarterly Mid-Curve, serial Mid-Curve Option or monthly Option, for instance, this typically is the close of Globex trading on the Friday before the third Wednesday of the option’s designated month of expiry.
Underlying instrument
Each option is exercisable into a specified Three-Month SOFR futures (“futures”) contract.
- A quarterly standard option will exercise into the same named quarterly futures contract.
- An option scheduled to expire in December 2026 has a December 2026 underlying futures contract.
- An option scheduled to expire in March 2027 has a March 2027 underlying futures contract.
- A serial standard option will exercise into the nearest subsequent quarterly contract.
- An option scheduled to expire in October or November 2026 has a December 2026 underlying futures contract.
- A quarterly Mid-Curve option will exercise into the deferred quarterly futures contracts one to five years in the future.
- December 2026 One-Year Mid-Curve contract has a December 2027 underlying futures contract.
- September 2026 Three-Year Mid-Curve contract has a September 2029 underlying futures contract.
- March 2026 Two-Year Mid-Curve has a March 2028 underlying futures contract.
- A serial Mid-Curve option will exercise into the nearest deferred quarterly futures contracts one to five years in the future.
- July 2026 One -Year Mid-Curve contract has a September 2027 underlying futures contract.
- August 2026 Three-Year Mid-Curve contract has a September 2029 underlying futures contract.
- November 2026 Four-Year Mid-Curve contract has a December 2030 underlying futures contract.
- A nearby monthly option, scheduled to expire in April, is exercisable into the “December" futures contract.
Strike increments
SOFR options offer exercise prices in increments of 25 basis points (0.25 IMM Index points), 12.5 basis points (0.125 IMM Index points) and 6.25 basis points (0.0625 IMM Index points). Please refer to the Contract specifications section of SOFR options (Exhibit 2) for the complete description.
Minimum price fluctuation
The pricing of SOFR options is based on 100 basis points (1.00 IMM Index point) representing $2,500 per contract. Options and spreads in the four nearest expiring contract months and serial months and monthly options may be quoted in price increments of ¼ basis point (0.0025 IMM Index point) equal to $6.25 per contract. All other options may trade in price increments of ½ basis point (0.005 IMM Index point) equal to $12.50 per contract. Please refer to the Contract specifications section of SOFR options (Exhibit 2) for the complete description.
Option exercise
SOFR options use the American style option exercise. Therefore, the option buyer has the right to exercise the option on any day they trade.
Exhibit 3
FedWatch shows that the market is pricing in a 50.5% probability of a 3.50-3.75 target rate in the Dec-25 meeting.
Exhibit 4
Appendix
Please refer to the table below (Exhibit 5) for each of the associated product codes for SOFR options.
Exhibit 5
|
Options on Three-Month SOFR futures –Scope of Product Suite Options on Three-Month SOFR futures |
CME Globex / Open Outcry |
Bloomberg |
CQG |
Refinitiv |
TT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Nearby monthly |
1YH, 1YM, 1YU, 1YZ |
UHOA <Comdty> OMON, UMOA <Comdty> OMON, UUOA <Comdty> OMON, UZOA<Comdty> OMON |
G1YH, G1YM, G1YU, G1YZ |
YH, YMY, YUY, YZ |
1YH, 1YM, 1YU, 1YZ |
|
Deferred monthly |
2YH, 2YM, 2YU, 2YZ |
VHTA <Comdty> OMON, VMTA <Comdty> OMON, VUTA<Comdty> OMON, VZTA <Comdty> OMON |
G2YH, G2YM, G2YU, G2YZ |
Y2H, Y2M, Y2U, Y2Z |
2YH, 2YM, 2YU, 2YZ |
|
Standard quarterly/serial options |
SR3 |
SFRA <Comdty> OMON |
SOFRSR3 |
SRA |
SR3 |
|
SOFR 1-Yr Mid-Curve options |
S0 |
0Q <Comdty> OMON |
SOFRS0 |
SN |
S0 |
|
SOFR 2-Yr Mid-Curve options |
S2 |
2Q <Comdty> OMON |
SOFRS2 |
SL |
S2 |
|
SOFR 3-Yr Mid-Curve options |
S3 |
3Q <Comdty> OMON |
SOFRS3 |
SQ |
S3 |
|
SOFR 4-Yr Mid-Curve options |
S4 |
4Q <Comdty> OMON |
SOFRS4 |
SH |
S4 |
|
SOFR 5-Yr Mid-Curve options |
S5 |
5Q <Comdty> OMON |
SOFRS5 |
SE |
S5 |
|
SOFR 1-Yr Mid-Curve weekly options |
S01 - S05 |
SOE <Comdty> OMON |
SOFRS01 - SOFRS05 |
SN1W - SN5W |
SN1W - SN5W |
|
SOFR 2-Yr Mid-Curve weekly options |
S21 - S25 |
SOT <Comdty> OMON |
SOFRS21 - SOFRS25 |
SL1W - SL5W |
S21 - S25 |
|
SOFR 3-Yr Mid-Curve weekly options |
S31 - S35 |
SSO <Comdty> OMON |
SOFRS31 - SOFRS35 |
SQ1W - SQ5W |
S31 - S35 |
All examples in this report are hypothetical interpretations of situations and are used for explanation purposes only. The views in this report reflect solely those of the author and not necessarily those of CME Group or its affiliated institutions. This report and the information herein should not be considered investment advice or the results of actual market experience.
