FX Link

The only cleared, capital-efficient pool of firm liquidity for spot-starting FX swap alternatives that seamlessly connects the OTC spot market and FX futures.

Trade spreads on a transparent CLOB

Get firm pricing in the first-ever central limit order book for trading spreads between OTC spot FX and FX futures.

Add the capital efficiency of futures

Easily access the capital efficiencies of cleared futures using an anonymous, automated connection to OTC spot FX.

View and trade via multiple platforms

Execution is supported on Bloomberg, TT, Fidessa and CME Direct, with market data available through Refinitiv and TT.

Use existing OTC workflows to manage FX exposure

FX Link is traded on CME Globex as the differential between FX futures and OTC spot FX, with the simultaneous execution of a FX futures contract and an OTC spot FX transaction via a single spread trade. A central prime broker (PB) intermediates the OTC spot FX transactions resulting from the spread, using existing OTC FX credit relationships, and supporting trading anonymity. 

Nine major FX PBs are live, with credit lines in place with major bank FX house entities. Traiana, RTN and IHS Markit provide integrated post-trade messaging.

Eligble Currency Pairs

EUR/USD, GBP/USD, AUD/USD, NZD/USD, USD/JPY*, USD/CAD*, USD/CHF*, USD/MXN*, USD/ZAR*
*CCY pairs quoted inversely to futures.

How to enhance trading versatility with FX Link

Learn about the mechanics FX Link uses to facilitate a spread trade between OTC spot FX and FX futures.

Understanding how FX Link works

Learn about the functionality of the spread trade between OTC spot FX market and FX futures:

Quoted and traded as the difference between futures and spot as represented with both legs in OTC price convention.


The buyer of the spread buys CME FX futures and sells OTC Spot FX, while the seller sells CME FX futures and buys OTC Spot FX.

For FX futures currency pairs that are quoted inverse to OTC FX convention*, the buyer of the spread sells FX futures and sells OTC FX spot and vice versa for a seller of spreads in the above listed pairs.

*Inverse Pairs: JPY/USD, CAD/USD, MXN/USD, CHF/USD, ZAR/USD


5 spreads

AUD/USD         EUR/USD        GBP/USD         NZD/USD         
USD/CAD         USD/CHF        USD/JPY

15 spreads

USD/MXN         USD/ZAR


CME Globex: Sunday – Friday, 5:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Central time (CT), with a 60-minute break each day beginning at 4:00 p.m. CT.

Spreads vs. front three FX futures expiration months. New spreads added 10 business days prior to the last trade date of an expiring CME Group FX futures contract.

CURRENCY PAIR

AUD/USD

EUR/USD

GBP/USD

NZD/USD

USD/CAD

SPREAD MINIMUM PRICE INCREMENT

0.00001

0.000005

0.00001

0.00001

0.00001

SPREAD NOTIONAL (PER LEG)

100,000 AUD

125,000 EUR

62,500 GBP

100,000 NZD

100,000 CAD

   

 

CURRENCY PAIR

USD/CHF

USD/JPY

USD/MXN

USD/ZAR

SPREAD MINIMUM PRICE INCREMENT

0.00001

0.001

0.0005

0.0005

SPREAD NOTIONAL (PER LEG)

125,000 CHF

12,500,000 JPY

500,000 MXN

500,000 ZAR


CURRENCY PAIRING

VALUE DATE

MINIMUM PRICE INCREMENT*

SPOT NOTIONAL PER ONE SPREAD**

AUD/USD

T+2

0.00001 (0.1 pip)

100,000 AUD

EUR/USD

T+2

0.000005 (0.05 pip)

125,000 EUR

GBP/USD

T+2

0.00001 (0.1 pip)

62,500 GBP

NZD/USD

T+2

0.00001 (0.1 pip)

100,000 NZD

USD/CAD

T+1

0.000001 (0.01 pip)

100,000 CAD

USD/CHF

T+2

0.000001 (0.01 pip)

125,000 CHF

USD/JPY

T+2

0.0001 (0.01 pip)

12,500,000 JPY

USD/MXN

T+2

0.00001 (0.1 pip)

500,000 MXN

USD/ZAR

T+2

0.00001 (0.1 pip)

500,000 ZAR

Settled bilaterally via physical delivery on value date.

* The minimum price increment (“MPI”) of a spot FX transaction is separate and distinct from and is not necessarily a reflection of the MPI of a spot FX basis trade, which the Exchange shall determine.

** The spot notional per one spread for the USD/CAD, USD/CHF, USD/JPY, USD/MXN, and USD/ZAR currency pairings shall be defined in terms of the quote, or term, currency of each pairing rather than the base currency since the CME pricing and notional convention for related CME FX futures contracts is inverted from the over-the-counter (“OTC”) convention.


PRODUCT CODE

CONTRACT SIZE

FUTURES QUOTATION

TICK

6A

100,000 AUD

USD per AUD

0.0001 (10.00 USD)

6E

125,000 EUR

USD per EUR

0.00005 (6.25 USD)

6B

62,500 GBP

USD per GBP

0.0001 (6.25 USD)

6N

100,000 NZD

USD per NZD

0.0001 (10.00 USD)

6C

100,000 CAD

USD per CAD

0.00005 (5.00 USD)

6S

125,000 CHF

USD per CHF

0.00005 (6.25 USD)

6J

12,500,000 JPY

USD per JPY

0.0000005 (6.25 USD)

6M

500,000 MXN

USD per MXN

0.00001 (5.00 USD)

6Z

500,000 ZAR

USD per ZAR

0.000025 (12.50 USD)

Cleared via CME Clearing

*** Full product specifications for existing CME FX futures contracts are available on www.cmegroup.com/fx and in CME’s Rulebook.

Trading Tool

FX Swap Rate Monitor

Gain greater transparency to the FX Swap market and observe credit agnostic, centrally cleared FX Swap rate pricing – calculated using FX Link and FX futures central limit order books.

View codes for accessing FX Link on various platforms

 

Bloomberg supports market data and trade execution for FX Link. Features include:

  • Integration with Bloomberg Tradebook for seamless order submission.
  • Ability to view and execute FX swaps in G5 currency pairs using FX Link’s firm liquidity pool.
  • Support for non-native order types, enabling customers to use algos and icebergs for increased trading efficiencies.
  • Post-trade messaging leverages existing OTC workflows, for operational convenience.

Bloomberg Security Identifier Construction: “LK” + <Currency Pair> + <CME Expiry Month Code> + <Expiry Year (YY)>

EXAMPLES: sep 2021 EXPIRY

Examples: dec 2021 expiry

LKEURU21

LKEURZ21

LKJPYU21

LKJPYZ21

LKGBPU21

LKGBPZ21

LKAUDU21

LKAYDZ21

LKCADU21

LKCADZ21

 

Watch the market in real time on Refinitiv using the codes provided. For assistance with Refinitiv data, contact their support team.

EXAMPLE RICS:

CHAINS

Spot RICs:
<AUDUSD> <EURUSD> <USDCAD>

0#UROXF-EURUSD:

0#BPXF-GBPUSD:

0#ADXF-AUDUSD:

0#JYYF-UDFJPY:

0#CDYF-USDCAD:

0#SFYF-USDCHF:

0#NEXF-NZDUSD:

0#MPYF-USDMXN

Spreads FX LINK RICs:
<JYM8-USDJPY> <1CDU8-USDCAD>

 

TT supports viewing and execution of FX Link spreads, including CME Group FX futures and the following currency pairs:

AUDUSD
EURUSD
GBPUSD
NZDUSD
USDCAD
USDCHF
USDJPY
USDMXN
USDZAR

Contact an FX team expert

Connect to a member of the FX team for a demonstration of FX Link and how you can use it to achieve business goals.

CME Group is the world’s leading derivatives marketplace. The company is comprised of four Designated Contract Markets (DCMs). 
Further information on each exchange's rules and product listings can be found by clicking on the links to CME, CBOT, NYMEX and COMEX.

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