Block trades and pre-execution communications offer market participants the convenience of discussing a transaction before execution.
Block trades are privately negotiated transactions executed away from the competitive venues with specific participation, pricing and reporting requirements as described in Rule 526 and the associated Market Regulation Advisory Notice on block trades.
Pre-execution communications are communications between market participants for the purpose of discerning interest in the execution of a transaction prior to the exposure of the order to the market. These transactions are required to be executed on Globex with the appropriate crossing protocol as described in Rule 539 and the associated Market Regulation Advisory Notice on pre-execution communications.
Learn more about FX futures and options block trades and, pre-execution communications below.
|
CME symbol |
Minimum block |
|||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Futures |
Bloomberg |
CME Globex |
CME ClearPort |
Quarterly futures |
Monthly futures |
Majors |
|
||||
EUR/USD |
ECA Curncy |
6E |
EC |
150 |
20 |
JPY/USD |
JYA Curncy |
6J |
J1 |
150 |
20 |
AUS/USD |
ADA Curncy |
6A |
AD |
100 |
20 |
GBP/USD |
BPA Curncy |
6B |
BP |
100 |
20 |
CAD/USD |
CDA Curncy |
6C |
C1 |
100 |
- |
CHF/USD |
SFA Curncy |
6S |
E1 |
100 |
- |
NZD/USD |
NVA Curncy |
6N |
NE |
50 |
- |
NOK/USD |
NOA Curncy |
NOK |
UN |
10 |
- |
SEK/USD |
SEA Curncy |
SEK |
SE |
10 |
- |
|
|||||
MXN/USD |
PEA Curncy |
6M |
MP |
100 |
100 |
BRL/USD |
BRA Curncy |
6L |
BR |
50 |
50 |
RUB/USD |
RUA Curncy |
6R |
RU |
50 |
50 |
ZAR/USD |
RAA Curncy |
6Z |
RA |
50 |
50 |
INR/USD |
SIRA Curncy |
SIR |
SIR |
10 |
10 |
USD/CNH |
CHYA Curncy |
CNH |
CNH |
10 |
10 |
Cross Rates |
|
|
|
|
|
EUR/GBP |
RPA Curncy |
RP |
RP |
50 |
20 |
EUR/JPY |
RYA Curncy |
RY |
RY |
50 |
- |
EUR/CHF |
RFA Curncy |
RF |
RF |
50 |
- |
EURO/CAD |
CAA Curncy |
ECD |
CC |
10 |
- |
EUR/AUD |
EAA Curncy |
EAD |
CA |
10 |
- |
GBP/YPY |
PJA Curncy |
PJY |
BY |
10 |
- |
EUR/NOK |
ENA Curncy |
ENK |
CN |
10 |
- |
EUR/SEK |
EWA Curncy |
ESK |
KE |
10 |
- |
For spreads it is the sum of the contracts in both legs of the transaction. The total quantity must meet the highest threshold of the contracts involved in the spread.
Option contract |
Expiry |
Bloomberg |
Globex/Clearing |
Block thresholds |
---|---|---|---|---|
AUD/USD option |
Monthly Options |
AUAA |
ADU |
250 |
Weekly Mondays |
ARWA |
MA1-MA5 |
250 |
|
Weekly Wednesdays |
WABA |
WA1-WA5 |
250 |
|
Weekly Fridays |
AUWA |
1AD-5AD |
250 |
|
GBP/USD option |
Monthly Options |
BGAA |
GBU |
250 |
Weekly Mondays |
BDWA |
MB1-MB5 |
250 |
|
Weekly Wednesdays |
WLBA |
WG1-WG5 |
250 |
|
Weekly Fridays |
BGWA |
1BP-5BP |
250 |
|
CAD/USD option |
Monthly Options |
UCDA |
CAU |
250 |
Weekly Mondays |
CFWA |
MD1-MD5 |
250 |
|
Weekly Wednesdays |
WCBA |
WD1-WD5 |
250 |
|
Weekly Fridays |
UDWA |
1CD-5CD |
250 |
|
EUR/USD option |
Monthly Options |
UEAA |
EUU |
250 |
Weekly Mondays |
DZWA |
MO1-MO5 |
250 |
|
Weekly Wednesdays |
WEBA |
WE1-WE5 |
250 |
|
Weekly Fridays |
UAWA |
1EU-5EU |
250 |
|
JPY/USD option |
Monthly Options |
JADA |
JPU |
250 |
Weekly Mondays |
JPWA |
MJ1-MJ5 |
250 |
|
Weekly Wednesdays |
WJBA |
WJ1-WJ5 |
250 |
|
Weekly Fridays |
JAWA |
1JY-5JY |
250 |
|
CHF/USD option |
Monthly Options |
SWBA |
CHU |
250 |
Weekly Fridays |
SWWA |
1SF-5SF |
250 |
|
BRL/USD option |
Monthly Options |
BRmyC Curncy BRmyP Curncy |
BR |
50 |
Weekly Options |
1RA, 2RA, 3RA, 4RA, 5RA |
1R-5R |
50 |
|
MXN/USD option |
Monthly Options |
PEmyC Curncy PEmyP Curncy |
6M |
50 |
Weekly Options |
1MA, 2MA, 3MA, 4MA, 5MA, |
1M-5M |
50 |
|
RUB/USD options |
Monthly Options |
RUmyC Curncy RUmyP Curncy |
6R |
50 |
Weekly Options |
2UA, 3UA, 4UA, 5UA |
RU1-RU5 |
50 |
For intra-commodity Foreign Exchange options spreads and options combinations, the sum of the quantities of the legs of the transaction must meet the minimum block quantity threshold.
FX Futures & Options Block Market Makers | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Firm | Futures/Options | FX Pairs | Hours** | Point of Contact | Phone |
DRW | Both | Majors | 7am-4pm CT | Chicago desk | +1 312 542 3176 |
8am-5pm SGT | Singapore desk | +65 6549 8607 | |||
Susquehanna | Both | MXN, BRL | 7am-4pm CT | Philadelphia: Alex Kelly | +1 610 617 2816 |
Majors | Philadelphia: Yordan Marinov | +1 610 617 2816 | |||
CTC | Options | EUR,JPY,AUD | 7am-5pm Ldn | London desk | +44 207 108 1625 |
Optiver FX Limited | Options | Majors | 1am-4pm CT (UK&US) | London desk | +44 203 425 9633 |
HNK Alpha | Futures | CNH | 9am-1am SGT | Singapore desk | +65 6260 3850 |
Inertially | Futures | EUR, GBP, JPY, CAD, AUD, INR |
4am-10pm LDN | Malcolm Baker | +44 7525233815 |
FX Futures & Options Block Facilitators | |||||
Firm | Futures/Options | FX Pairs | Hours** | Point of Contact | Phone |
BNP Paribas | Futures | All | 8am - 5pm Ldn | London desk: Lee Spicer | +44 207 595 8799 |
Credit Suisse | Futures | All | 8am-5pm Hong Kong | Hong Kong desk: Adam Bull | +852 2102 7015 |
Deutsche Bank | Both | All | 8am-5pm Ldn | London desk: Guy Twinn | +44 207 545 9592 |
ED&F Man Capital Markets | Both | All | 6:30am-8pm Ldn | London desk: Henry J Zawoda | +44 203 580 8107 |
Itau BBA | Both | BRL | 7am-6pm NY | São Paulo desk | +55 11 3708-8533 |
JP Morgan | Both | All | 8am-5pm Ldn | London desk: Daniel Kay | +44 207 134 0685 |
8am-5pm NY | New York desk: Peter Isola | +1 212 834 4652 | |||
Morgan Stanley | Both | All | 7am -5pm LDN | London desk: Peregrine Hood | +44 207 677 8072 |
7am-5pm NY | New York Desk: Richard Condon | +1 212 761 2626 | |||
7am-5pm HK | Hong Kong Desk: Alexander Wilton | +852 3963 3215 | |||
Santander | Futures | G7 & MXN | 9am-5pm Ldn | Madrid: Enrique Hernandez Amores | +34 91 257 2048 |
Societe Generale (Principal FX Desk) | Futures | All | 24 hrs | London desk | +44 207 650 6148* |
New York desk | +1 212-278-5800* | ||||
NY Asia desk | +1 212-278-5800* | ||||
Tullett Prebon | Options | All | 8m-5pm Ldn | London desk | +44 207 200 7470 |
UBS | Options | All | 8am-5pm Ldn | London: Dan Noorian | +44 207 567 3823 |
London: Darren Smith | +44 207 567 3765 |
Block trades may be executed at any time, including times during which the public auction market is closed.
Block trades do, however, have specific requirements with respect to how quickly they need to be reported following the trade being executed. The complete list of block trade reporting time requirements can be found here, and the table below summarizes the reporting window (in minutes) for a block trade to be reported following its execution.
|
FX futures |
FX options |
---|---|---|
RTH |
5 |
15 |
ETH |
15 |
15 |
ATH |
15 |
15 |
For purposes of the above thresholds and reporting times in FX futures:
CME Direct provides direct entry into CME ClearPort. Block trades reported through CME Direct fulfill reporting requirements.
Use CME Direct to instantly process voice-negotiated blocks. Brokers using CME Direct can efficiently open a CME Direct trade ticket, populate the details of a block trade, and submit the deal directly for clearing, eliminating the need to phone in the details.
|
EFP|EFR |
Block |
---|---|---|
Individual Members and Clearing Equity Member |
$0.65 |
$1.07 |
Rule 106.D Lessees and Rule 106.F Employees |
$0.68 |
$1.27 |
Rule 106.H and 106.N Firms and Clearing Non-Equity Member Firms |
$0.70 |
$1.45 |
Non-Members |
$1.60 |
$1.60 |
For those who use give-ups, the surcharge for FX option blocks has been waived for 2020.
NEW CREATION OF ‘BIG TICKET’ DISCOUNTS |
Trading FX Options at CME Group has never been more capital-efficient or as compelling – with 50% fee reduction on all large trades, defined by being at the block size or above. |
---|---|
KNOW YOUR BLOCKS: |
250 contracts: EUR/USD, JPY/USD, GBP/USD, AUD/USD, CAD/USD, CHF/USD 50 contracts: MXN/USD, NZD/USD, BRL/USD, RUB/USD, ZAR/USD, EUR/GBP, EUR/JPY, EUR/CHF 20 contracts: KRW/USD, PLN/USD, HUF/USD, HUF/EUR, ILS/USD, CZK/USD, CZK/EUR, CNY/EUR, CNY/USD |
LOG IN TO SEE ALL THE DETAILS OF THE LARGE TRADE PROGRAM, HOW TO GET INVOLVED AND HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF THE LIQUIDITY AVAILABLE
Brokers engaging in allowable pre-execution (pre-ex) communications for FX futures and options, as described in CME Rule 539, must enter a cross via either the Committed Cross (C-Cross) or the Globex Cross (G-Cross), depending on the product.
A complete list of eligible products and associated crossing protocols may be found here:
http://www.cmegroup.com/rulebook/files/rule-539-c-crossing-protocols.xlsx
Watch a 4-minute video on the full regulatory advisory and a demonstration of the process
As the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, CME Group is where the world comes to manage risk. Comprised of four exchanges - CME, CBOT, NYMEX and COMEX - we offer the widest range of global benchmark products across all major asset classes, helping businesses everywhere mitigate the myriad of risks they face in today's uncertain global economy.
Follow us for global economic and financial news.
CME Group offers the largest regulated marketplace for FX in the world, covering more than 40 currency pairs across both G10 and EM.
Made for block execution certainty and compliance, with the convenience of our highly-configurable front-end.