Effective Sunday, August 20, 2006 (trade date Monday, August 21, 2006), CME will launch CME eBlock.

CME is streamlining and automating the block trading process with the introduction of CME eBlock, a Web-based price reporting system. This new interface is another way to report block trades, in addition to users to phone block trades into the CME Globex® Control Center (GCC) and provides online access to important trade and record-keeping information.

CME Weather and CME Real Estate customers will be the first users to be able access the system. In phase one; CME eBlock will feed trade information directly into the CME price reporting system via a browser screen. There are no trading engine, CME iLink® or clearing implications, and no downstream impact or changes to the current block trade submission process. The major change in phase one is the elimination of the need to report trades via the telephone.

Upon receipt of a valid block trade entry, the CME eBlock application will distribute emails reporting the trade to each trading party and their clearing firm, the reporting broker and CME.