CME to return to normal trading hours with the exception of early close of interest rates beginning Tuesday, Sep. 18,2001

Following today's successful re-opening of U.S. equity index products, Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. (CME) will return to normal trading hours for all products tomorrow, Sept. 18, with the exception of a 1 p.m. (Central time) close for open outcry trading of interest rate products. Electronic trading on CME's GLOBEX?2 system will also return to its normal trading schedule. The 1 p.m. closing time for interest rate products will continue through Wednesday, Sept. 19, and is expected to return to the regular schedule of 2 p.m. on Thursday. Complete information on normal trading hours is available in the contract specifications found on CME's Web site at: http://www.cme.com/risk_management/clearing_house/contractspecs.cfm.

CME has established a recorded telephone line for information about CME's markets and business operations: 312/930-2324. The recording will be updated as there are new developments. News releases and updates are also posted on CME's Web site, www.cme.com.