CME Group Expands Emerging Markets Currency Futures Suite

Oct 22, 2008

CME Group Expands Emerging Markets Currency Futures Suite 14.5 KB

CHICAGO, Oct 22, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- CME Group, the world's largest and most diverse derivatives exchange, today announced that it will augment its portfolio of emerging markets currencies products with the introduction of Turkish lira futures contracts denominated in both U.S. dollars (TRY/USD) and in euros (TRY/EUR). The new contracts will trade exclusively on the CME Globex(R) electronic trading platform and are currently scheduled to begin trading in the first quarter of January, 2009.

"We see emerging markets currencies, such as the Turkish lira, as another component in growing our FX business around the world. As Turkey continues its development within the global economy, the lira contract will be a key plank in our growing emerging markets currency products range," said Derek Sammann, CME Group Managing Director of FX Products. "Overall CME Group FX volumes achieved new record highs in September, averaging 835,000 contracts per day, up 32 percent on September 2007, which was a record average daily notional value of $111 billion, up 41 percent."

In the last 12 months, volumes in CME Group's top four emerging markets currencies -- the Russian ruble, Mexican peso, South African rand and Chinese renminbi -- have grown an average of 152 percent. Individually, volumes in the renminbi rose 234 percent, the ruble 178 percent, the rand 141 percent and the peso 56 percent.

CME Group Turkish lira futures are designed to serve global customers by expanding liquidity in this growing currency. Benefits include:

    -- Access to $100 billion in overall FX futures and options liquidity each
       day
    -- Guarantee of counterparty credit risk and central clearing by CME
       Clearing
    -- Global access to CME Group's electronic FX markets virtually 24 hours a
       day
    -- Transparent market prices

With a GDP approaching $950 billion, forecast to grow at 5.4 percent this year, Turkey's economy offers long-term potential for trading in the lira.

To help provide liquidity in this new market, CME Group will solicit market-making firms that will commit to providing continuous, transparent and competitive markets in these contracts. Eligible market participants will also benefit from CME Group's Emerging Markets Incentive Program. For more information on CME Group Turkish Lira Futures, please visit http://www.cmegroup.com/try.

CME Group offers the largest regulated FX complex in the world, providing FX users with liquid, transparent markets, guaranteed execution and central counterparty clearing risk management on 43 individual FX futures and 31 options on futures products.* Last year over 144 million FX contracts with a notional value of over $17.9 trillion traded at CME Group. For more information on CME Group FX products, visit http://www.cmegroup.com/fx.

CME Group (http://www.cmegroup.com) is the world's largest and most diverse derivatives exchange. Building on the heritage of CME, CBOT and NYMEX, CME Group serves the risk management needs of customers around the globe. As an international marketplace, CME Group brings buyers and sellers together on the CME Globex electronic trading platform and on trading floors in Chicago and New York. By acting as the buyer to every seller and the seller to every buyer, CME Clearing virtually eliminates counterparty credit risk. CME Clearing also offers $7 billion in financial safeguards to help mitigate systemic risk, providing the security and confidence market participants need to operate, invest and grow. CME Group offers the widest range of benchmark products available across all major asset classes, including futures and options based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities, metals, and alternative investment products such as weather and real estate. CME Group is listed on NASDAQ under the symbol "CME."

The Globe logo, CME, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, CME Group, Globex and E- mini, are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. CBOT and Chicago Board of Trade are trademarks of the Board of Trade of the City of Chicago. NYMEX, New York Mercantile Exchange, and ClearPort are trademarks of New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. COMEX is a trademark of Commodity Exchange, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Further information about CME Group and its products can be found at http://www.cmegroup.com.

* CME Group will offer 43 futures contracts and 31 options contracts based

on 20 global currencies after the launch of Turkish Lira futures

contracts (USD/TRY and EUR/TRY) in Q1 2009.

CME-G

SOURCE CME Group

http://www.cme.com

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