|
|
 |
 |
 |
Updated December 20, 2006
1. What is NYMEX iPort™?
NYMEX iPort is an entirely new offering of NYMEX index futures products available for trading on the floor and electronically on CME Globex®. iPort allows traders and investors to manage sector risks using cash settled futures contracts based upon actively traded NYMEX underlying instruments. In the upcoming months, a number of indexes in the energy and metals sectors will be launched by NYMEX. The first NYMEX iPort offering is the NYMEX 3-2-1 PLUS index futures contract described below.
2. What is the NYMEX 3-2-1 PLUS index?
NYMEX 3-2-1 PLUS is the first new NYMEX energy index. The index has been constructed by combining the values of 3 light sweet crude oil contracts, 2 RBOB gasoline contracts, 1 heating oil contract, and 1 natural gas contract. This combined value is divided by a factor of 10 in the spot futures contract to create the NYMEX 3-2-1 PLUS Index. The index methodology guarantees that the underlying NYMEX contracts be of the same expiration month and the index is rolled to the next month one day prior to the earliest expiration of any component. The index is therefore rolled to the next month one day prior to the expiration of the light sweet crude oil contract. NYMEX intends to list futures and options on futures based upon the index.
3. Why did NYMEX create the 3-2-1 PLUS index?
NYMEX identified a market demand for a new set of indexes based upon its core energy futures contracts that broadly reflected the value of energy commodities traded in the US.
4. When will NYMEX launch the new contracts?
We will launch NYMEX 3-2-1 PLUS futures contracts on Sunday evening January
21st for the trade date January 22, 2007. The first contract
month listed will be March 2007. NYMEX will list 12 consecutive monthly
contracts, which will be financially settled. Options on futures contracts
will be launched later in 2007.
5. What are the trading venues?
NYMEX 3-2-1 PLUS will trade on the Exchange floor and CME Globex®, and be available for clearing through the NYMEX ClearPort® clearing platform.
6. Are the NYMEX 3-2-1 PLUS contracts that are traded on CME Globex fungible with the financially settled index contracts that are traded on the floor and cleared through ClearPort?
Yes, they are the same contract. The only difference is in the trading venues. A position may be opened in one venue and closed in the another.
7. What are the trading hours?
NYMEX 3-2-1 PLUS contracts are available for trading from 6:00 PM Sundays
through 5:15 PM Fridays, with a 45-minute break each day between 5:15 PM
and 6:00 PM, New York time. The NYMEX floor traded contracts are subject
to the prevailing regular trading hours (RTH) set by the exchange.
8. Are Calendar Spreads and Trading-At-Settlement
(TAS) available for NYMEX 3-2-1 PLUS contracts?
TAS will be available for the first two contract months and calendar spreads are available for all contract months of NYMEX 3-2-1 PLUS. Trading at Settlement, including open outcry, ends at 2:30 PM each day.
9. How are NYMEX 3-2-1 PLUS contracts settled each day?
The contract rules provide that the NYMEX 3-2-1 PLUS contracts will be settled
based upon the weighted average price of the contracts traded in the final
two minutes of trading prior to 2:30 PM each day. The rules also state
that the settlement price can be established by the Exchange in the event
there is insufficient transaction volume in the final two minutes of trading.
10. How is the spot NYMEX 3-2-1 PLUS contract settled on
the contract expiration?
At contract expiration, the spot NYMEX 3-2-1 PLUS futures contract is settled at the NYMEX 3-2-1 Plus index, as described in the second point above.
11. When does the spot NYMEX 3-2-1 Plus contract expire?
The index methodology provides that the underlying NYMEX contracts be of the same expiration month, and that the index is rolled to the next month one day prior to the earliest expiration of any component. The index is thereby rolled to the next month, one day prior to the expiration of the light sweet crude oil contract. As a result, the spot NYMEX 3-2-1 PLUS contract expires one day prior to the expiration of the spot light sweet crude oil contract.
12. What is the fee schedule for NYMEX 3-2-1 PLUS
| Globex |
Member Day: $0.25
|
| Member Overnight: $0.50 |
| Non-Member: $1.45 |
|
|
| Open Outcry |
Member Day: $0.15
|
| Member Overnight: $0.40 |
| Non-Member: $1.35 |
|
|
| NYMEX ClearPort® clearing |
Member Day: $0.85
|
| Member Overnight: $1.35 |
|
|
| Blended Rate |
$0.85 |
|
|
|