10/21/2003
Average price options will be based on the arithmetic average of the daily front month settlement price of NYMEX Division Light, Sweet Crude Oil Futures; NYMEX Division Heating Oil Futures; and NYMEX Division Unleaded Gasoline Futures over the calendar month.
The contracts underlying the NYMEX Division average price options are the WTI Crude Oil Calendar Swap futures contract, New York Harbor Heating Oil Calendar swap futures contract, and the New York Harbor Unleaded Gasoline Calendar Swap futures contract. Contract month availability will mirror that of the underlying contract. Strike prices for these products will be the same as those for NYMEX Division Light, Sweet Crude Oil American Options, NYMEX Division Heating Oil American Options, and NYMEX Division Unleaded Gasoline American Options.
The NYMEX Average Price Options commodity codes are as follows:
| Light, Sweet Crude Oil APO | AO |
| Heating Oil APO | AT |
| Unleaded Gasoline APO | AU |
Average price options are financially settled upon expiration and cannot be exercised into the underlying futures contract. The final settlement price for an average price call option contract is the difference between the average front month settlement price over the calendar month of the related NYMEX floor traded futures contract and the strike price. The settlement price of an average price put option contract is the difference between the strike price and average front month settlement price over the calendar month of the related NYMEX floor traded futures contract. In no case would the final settlement be negative.
Trading hours will mirror open outcry trading hours for the underlying futures contracts. These include:
| Light, Sweet Crude Oil APO | 10:00 AM – 2:30 PM |
| Heating Oil APO | 10:05AM – 2:30 PM |
| Unleaded Gasoline APO | 10:05 AM – 2:30 PM |
These highly sophisticated instruments have been heavily demanded by the energy industry and trading community and represent the diversity of risk management strategies that are incorporated into a firm's trading portfolio. Introducing these contracts is another building block in our goal of offering a comprehensive array of tools that address the full range of industry hedging needs.