Listing of Physically Delivered Gulf Coast Sour Crude Oil Futures Contract (MB) on CME Globex®, NYMEX Trading Floor and through CME ClearPort®

Effective Sunday, December 6 for trade date Monday, December 7, the New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. (“NYMEX”) will list the physically delivered Gulf Coast Sour Crude Oil Futures contract (commodity code MB, rule chapter 506) for trading on CME Globex and the NYMEX trading floor and for clearing through CME ClearPort, a set of flexible clearing services open to over-the-counter (OTC) market participants to substantially mitigate counterparty risk and provide neutral settlement prices across asset classes.  This contract is listed with NYMEX, and subject to the rules and regulations of NYMEX and Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. 

The Gulf Coast Sour Crude Oil contract will have physical delivery based on Mars-type crude oil at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port LLC (LOOP) facilities in Clovelly, Louisiana.  Alternate delivery of Basrah Light and Russian Urals will be permitted at fixed differentials.

The contract will be available for trading as an inter-commodity spread to WTI on CME Globex, using the MB:CL spread code.

The contract size will be 1,000 barrels, with minimum price tick of $0.01.  Trading in Gulf Coast Sour Crude Oil Futures contract shall terminate at the close of business on the third business day prior to the 25th calendar day of the month preceding the delivery month.

The first listed month for this contract will be the February 2010 contract month.  The contract will be listed for 36 consecutive contract months.

The fees for the new Gulf Coast Sour Crude Oil Futures contract, which will be waived until June 30, 2010, are listed below. 

Trading and clearing hours are:

CME Globex:       Sunday – Friday 6:00 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. (5:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. Chicago Time/CT) with a 45-minute break each day beginning at 5:15 p.m. (4:15 p.m. CT)

CME ClearPort:   Sunday – Friday 6:00 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. (5:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. Chicago Time/CT) with a 45-minute break each day beginning at 5:15 p.m. (4:15 p.m. CT)

Open Outcry:       Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. (8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. CT)

For more information please contact Daniel Brusstar at (212) 299-2604.