• Revisions to CME, CBOT, NYMEX and COMEX Position Limit, Position Accountability and Reportable Level Tables

      • To
      • Members, Member Firms and Market Users
      • From
      • Market Regulation Department
      • #
      • SER-6611
      • Notice Date
      • 01 April 2013
      • Effective Date
      • 01 April 2013
    • Effective immediately, CME, CBOT, NYMEX and COMEX will adopt revisions to their respective Position Limit, Position Accountability and Reportable Level Tables ("Tables") located in the Interpretations & Special Notices Section of Chapter 5 in each Rulebook.

       

      The revisions are being adopted to ensure that the Tables are in compliance with CFTC Designated Contract Market ("DCM") Core Principle 7 ("Availability of General Information"), which requires that DCMs make available to the public accurate information concerning the contract market’s rules and regulations, contracts and operations. Correspondingly, the goal of the revisions is to provide more clarity regarding position limits, accountability levels and reportable levels and to ensure the accuracy of all listed values (e.g, spot-month limits, aggregation, diminishing balances, etc.).

       

      The changes to the Tables are primarily stylistic in nature (e.g., format, extra columns, new tabs, product groupings, etc.). In addition, the new Tables, which were formally set forth in their entirety in each Rulebook will only be available in Excel format via a hyperlink in the Interpretations & Special Notices Section of Chapter 5 in each Rulebook. The shift from .pdf to Excel format was based on accuracy, maintainability and customer demand. Only cells/columns that are applicable to a specific product are populated.

       

      The more substantive revisions include the following:

       

      Diminishing Balance Contracts have been designated where appropriate

      Aggregation language and relationships have been updated where appropriate

      Option accountability levels have been harmonized to match to futures levels

      Incorporated previous header notes into table (e.g. spot month limit effective date, futures equivalent ratios, etc.)

      Added the following comprehensive information on the CME/CBOT side: specific commodity codes, hyperlinks to Rulebook chapters, contract sizes/units, settlement information (e.g., financially settled, physically delivered, etc.), position limit applicability pertaining to shipping certificates and warehouse receipts (i.e., maximum number of certificates or receipts that can be held), product aggregation language and intra crop year spread allowance language

      Harmonized or corrected various reportable levels

      Clarified in the column headings that position limits are calculated on a net futures equivalent basis, as opposed to a gross basis

      Corrected administrative errors

      To view the changes in their entirety, please reference Submission 13-066 located in the CFTC Rule Filings repository at the following link:

       

      http://www.cmegroup.com/market-regulation/rule-filings.html
      http://www.cmegroup.com/rulebook/CME/I/5/5.pdf (CME)http://www.cmegroup.com/rulebook/CBOT/I/5/5.pdf (CBOT)http://www.cmegroup.com/rulebook/NYMEX/1/5.pdf (NYMEX/COMEX)

      For media inquiries concerning this Special Executive Report, please contact CME Group Corporate Communications at 312.930.3434 or

       

       

       

      news@cmegroup.com.

       

       

      To view the Tables in their new format, please click on the following links to Chapter 5 in each Rulebook and scroll to the excel Table hyperlinks at the end of each chapter:

       

       

       

      If you have any questions concerning this matter, please contact the following individuals in Market Surveillance:

      CME/CBOT Products

      NYMEX/COMEX Products

      Ray Menghi, Lead Analyst, 312.341.7035 Chris Reinhardt, Director, 212.299.2882

      Bill Kokontis, Sr. Director, 312.435.3665 Tom Dixon, Lead Analyst, 212.299.2901

      Warren Russell, Sr. Analyst, at 212.299.2896