01/17/2001
The proposed amendment to COMEX Rule 4.94, "Settlement Price Procedures for Copper Contracts" affects a "Special Matter" under the terms of the COMEX By-Laws. Accordingly, COMEX Division Members have ten (10) days to submit a petition signed by owners of at least 155 COMEX Division Memberships requesting a vote of the COMEX Division Members to disapprove the amendments, pursuant to the procedures set forth under COMEX By-Law 205(D). If a petition is not received, or if the amendment is not disapproved, it will be submitted to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Proposed Rule Amendments
(Bold indicates additions;
Rule 4.94 Settlement Price Procedures for Copper Contracts.
(A)(i) The term "base month" shall mean the March, May, July, September, and December delivery months; (ii) the term "most active month" with respect to this rule and the rules of COMEX Chapters 11 and 17 shall mean the base month that is not the current delivery month, with the greatest reported open interest on the official COMEX daily open interest report.
(B) The settlement price for the current delivery month and the most active month shall be the weighted average price (rounded to the nearest minimum fluctuation) of all outright transactions that occur in the closing range. If no outright transactions occur in the closing range of either the current delivery month and the most active month, the settlement price for the applicable month shall be the last trade price, unless during the closing range a bid higher or offer lower than the last trade price is made. In such event, such higher bid or lower offer shall be the settlement price.
(C) In all other delivery months, the settlement prices shall be determined based upon spread relationships between and among contract months, which relationships shall be determined in the judgment of the Settlement Price Committee with: (a) greater weight given to spreads executed late in the trading day in large volumes, and (b) lesser weight given to (i) spreads traded in lesser volumes, (ii) spread bids and offers actively represented late in the trading day, and (iii) spread transactions, bids and offers from earlier in the trading day. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no settlement price shall be established that would be lower than the best outright bid, or higher than the best outright offer, that: (a) was for at least 20 contracts, and (b) had been posted with the Exchange and had remained available for execution and unfilled for the final 30 minutes of trading of that trading day.
(D) If any settlement price, determined pursuant to Paragraph