Nasdaq Veles California Water
Index futures
A clear solution to water price risk management.
Now available
First of its kind
The first regulated, exchanged-traded risk management tool to manage water supply and demand risk.
Leading benchmark
Based on the NQH2O Index, the leading benchmark tracking the price of water at its source, with data backed by market leader, WestWater Research.
Flexible access
Small contract size allows for easy access to manage water price exposure. Trade on-screen five days a week or negotiate bilateral block trades anytime.
Price discovery
Robust, transparent markets foster true price discovery for participants.
The Nasdaq Veles California Water Index (ticker symbol: NQH2O) tracks the price of water rights leases and sales transactions across the five largest and most actively traded regions in California. Water entitlement transactions from the surface water market and four adjudicated groundwater basins ‒the Central Basin, the Chino Basin, the Main San Gabriel Basin, and the Mojave Basin Alto Subarea are included in the index. The value of the index reflects the volume-weighted average price of water, at the source, excluding conveyance costs and water losses in the underlying markets after adjusting for idiosyncratic pricing factors specific to each of the eligible markets and transaction types. NQH20 is valued in US dollars per acre foot (the volume of water required to cover one acre of land (43,560 square feet) to a depth of one foot, equivalent to 325,851 gallons)
More on the Nasdaq Veles California Water Index
| CONTRACT NAME | Nasdaq Veles California Water Index futures |
| PRODUCT CODE | H2O |
| CONTRACT UNIT | 10 acre feet x NQH2O Index |
| PRICE QUOTATION | US dollars per acre foot |
| CONTRACT MONTHS | Eight consecutive quarterly contracts (Mar, Jun, Sept Dec) plus nearest two serial months |
| MINIMUM PRICE FLUCTUATION | Outrights: $1.00 per acre foot equal to $10.00 per contract Calendar spreads: $0.25 per acre foot equal to $2.50 per contract |
| TRADING HOURs AND VENUE | Globex: Sunday - Friday 5:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. CT with a 60-minute break each day beginning at 4:00 p.m. ClearPort: Sunday 5:00 p.m. - Friday 5:45 p.m. CT with a 15-minute maintenance window Monday - Thursday from 5:45 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. CT |
| SETTLEMENT METHOD | Financially settled |
| BLOCK TRADE MINIMUM THRESHOLD | 25 contracts |
| LAST TRADING DAY | Business day prior to Final Settlement Day |
| FINAL SETTLEMENT DAY | Third Wednesday of the contract month if a CME business day, otherwise the next business day |
| FINAL SETTLEMENT PRICE | Closing NQH2O price on Final Settlement Day rounded to the nearest $0.01. |
FCMs, block intermediaries, and liquidity providers
Get a list of futures commission merchants and firms that can be contacts for those interested in executing block trades or who need an intermediary to trade.
How to get started with NQH2O futures
Download our ten-step guide to begin trading NQH2O futures.
Guide: Understanding the Water futures market
Download an in-depth primer on California's water market, hedging price risk with NQH2O futures, and the logistics of trading the contract.
Learn how to start hedging water price risk with NQH2O futures
Webinar: Diving into NQH2O futures
Watch an exclusive webinar with product experts from CME Group, Nasdaq, and WestWater Research to learn about challenges in today's water market, NQH2O Index methodology, and NQH2O futures contract details.
Webinar: Navigating California’s water market
Hear from a panel of industry experts as they discuss hydrological and weather conditions in California as well as how each is impacting prices in the spot water market.
OpenMarkets: California's Complex Water Market Faces New Challenges
Read about California's intricate system of water management and the relationship of the supply and demand of water.
OpenMarkets: California’s water risk finds a new market
Read about the complexity of California’s $1.1B water market and a new tool that aims to address water price risk.
CME Direct users: Download the NQH2O futures trading grids:
- Right click on the buttons below
- Save the files as an .XML on your computer
- In CME Direct, select import view in the main menu
- Import the grid into CME Direct
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