CME Group Announces Launch Of Cocoa Futures Contract For Physical Delivery

(RTTNews) - CME Group (CME), a derivatives marketplace, Tuesday announced the launch of a physically delivered and a financially settled cocoa futures contract. The launch of a cocoa futures contract for physical delivery will represent CME Group's first entry into deliverable soft commodities.

These contracts will be listed on CME Group's European exchange, CME Europe, for first trade date on March 30. Both contracts are authorized and approved by the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority.

CME said the new Physically Delivered Cocoa futures contract would respond to demand from the cocoa market for an improved hedging mechanism that better reflects the underlying physical market.

Physically Delivered Cocoa futures will be the first contract to include pre-payment of delivery-out charges. This feature will provide ease of access for receivers and improved conditions for convergence between futures and cash-market prices.

The new contract will be denominated in euros to ensure broad appeal to the global cocoa trade, from origin through to chocolate manufacturer.