CHICAGO, Nov. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CME, the world's largest and most diverse financial exchange, today announced the launch of electronic trading of options on CME Live Cattle and Lean Hog futures beginning December 4. The new functionality will provide a direct trading opportunity for traders who specialize in trading price volatility and for hedgers who are interested in purchasing price protection.

The new electronic livestock options will include a market marker program with the ability for mass quoting of options prices. Trading will take place during the same hours as the livestock options traded in open outcry for side- by-side trading from 9:05 a.m. to 1:02 p.m. for Live Cattle options and 9:10 a.m. to 1:02 p.m. for Lean Hog options Chicago time.

Electronically traded options on livestock futures enable customers to receive immediate trade execution notification. The functionality provides automated bookkeeping with instantaneous clearing account balances, market transparency and request for quotes (RFQs). For more information about CME Livestock products, please visit http://www.cme.com/elivestockoptions .

CME ( http://www.cme.com/ ) is the world's largest and most diverse financial exchange. As an international marketplace, CME brings together buyers and sellers on the CME Globex® electronic trading platform and on its trading floors. CME offers futures and options on futures in these product areas: interest rates, stock indexes, foreign exchange, agricultural commodities, energy, and alternative investment products such as weather, real estate and economic derivatives. CME is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CME)(NASDAQ: CME), which is part of the Russell 1000® Index and the S&P 500® Index. Further information about CME and its products is available on the CME Web site at http://www.cme.com/ .

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SOURCE: CME

CONTACT: Media, Allan Schoenberg, +1-312-930-8189, Mary Haffenberg,
+1-312-930-3435, news@cme.com ; or, Investor Contact, John Peschier,
+1-312-930-8491

Web site: http://www.cme.com/