- What products are being launched and when?
- What is the need for two Beef Trim futures and options contracts?
- What are the contract and tick sizes for these contracts?
- What are the product codes?
- What are the rulebook chapters?
- Are these contracts physically or financially settled?
- How can these contracts be traded?
- What are the hours for trading on ClearPort and on Globex?
- The futures contracts are available to trade as a block. How does that work?
- What are the position limits for 90% and 50% Lean Beef Trim futures and options?
- What is the listing cycle?
- Who can I contact with more questions?
1. What products are being launched and when?
CME Group is launching 90% and 50% Lean Beef Trim futures and options on the CME Designated Contract Market (DCM) with a first trade date of July 20, 2026.* The August 2026 contract will be the first listed month available for trading and clearing.
*Pending regulatory review
2. What is the need for two Beef Trim futures and options contracts?
In the physical market, 90% and 50% lean percentages for beef trim simply refer to the product’s ratio of lean meat to fat (e.g., 90% trim contains 10% fat). The 90% and 50% beef trims are complementary components utilized to ground beef: processors combine them in calculated weights to reach standardized lean-to-fat ratios, such as the common 80/20 retail hamburger specification.
The new 90% and 50% Lean Beef Trim futures and options contracts provide fresh hedging opportunities for producers along the ground beef supply chain.
3. What are the contract and tick sizes for these contracts?
The contract size for each contract is 20,000 pounds.
The tick size for each contract is $0.0005/lb = $10.00.
4. What are the product codes?
BTN is the product code for 90% Lean Beef Trim futures and options and BTF is the product code for 50% Lean Beef Trim futures and options.
5. What are the rulebook chapters?
90% Lean Beef Trim futures are CME Rulebook Chapter 103 and options on 90% Lean Beef Trim futures are CME Rulebook Chapter 103A.
50% Lean Beef Trim futures are CME Rulebook chapter 104 and options on 50% Lean Beef Trim futures are CME Rulebook chapter 104A.
6. Are these contracts physically or financially settled?
These contracts are financially settled using standardized USDA reporting.
90% Lean Beef Trim: CME Group will utilize a monthly weighted average of weekly prices published by the USDA in reports LM_XB450 and LM_XB460 for Fresh 90% lean trimmings. Expiration (LTD) will occur on the Last Friday of each month and final settlement will be on the following Tuesday using the reports issued on the prior Friday plus the previous three respective reports.
50% Lean Beef Trim: CME Group will utilize a monthly weighted average of weekly prices published by the USDA in reports LM_XB454 and LM_XB460 for Fresh 50% lean trimmings. Expiration (LTD) will occur on the Last Friday of each month and final settlement will be on the following Tuesday using the reports issued on the prior Monday and Friday plus the previous three respective reports.
7. How can these contracts be traded?
The contracts are available for trading on the CME Globex electronic trading platform and for submission for clearing via CME ClearPort.
8. What are the hours for trading on ClearPort and on Globex?
Trades may be entered on Globex: Monday – Friday: 8:30 a.m. – 1:05 p.m. CT
Trades may be entered on ClearPort starting 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.
9. The futures and options contracts are available to trade as a block. How does that work?
Subject to certain requirements such as eligibility and minimum size, the futures and options contracts can be privately negotiated as a block trade and submitted into ClearPort for clearing.
As noted, firms need to be classified as eligible contract participants (ECP) to engage in block trades. The definition of ECP can be found in Section 1a(18) of the Commodity Exchange Act.
10. What are the position limits for 90% and 50% Lean Beef Trim futures and options?
For 90% Lean Beef Trim futures and options, spot month speculative position limits will be 300 contracts that will go into effect at the close of trading on the fifth business day of the contract month. The non-spot single month limit will have a position accountability level of 1,000 contracts.
For 50% Lean Beef Trim futures and options, spot month speculative position limits will be 700 contracts that will go into effect at the close of trading on the fifth business day of the contract month. The non-spot single month limit will have a position accountability level of 1,500 contracts.
11. What is the listing cycle?
The futures and options listing cycle includes monthly expiries listed for 12 consecutive months.
12. Who can I contact with more questions?
You can contact the below for more information:
Tom Crane: Tom.Crane@cmegroup.com
Moira Woodhull: Moira.Woodhull@cmegroup.com
Emily Balsamo: Emily.Balsamo@cmegroup.com
Lean Beef Trim futures and options
We will offer 90% and 50% Lean Beef Trim futures and options for trading on Globex and ClearPort as of July 20, 2026.
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.
