*Agribusiness
General Pointers
The oldest existing futures exchange in the United States is the Chicago Board of Trade. It was established in 1865 as a cash market in response to the need for a centralized place to bring together large numbers of buyers and sellers and to provide standards for weights and measurements as well as liquidity for the market. Soon after its founding, brokers began dealing in ‘cash forward contracts’ in order to give buyers a reliable source of supply and sellers a year-round market. From this, today’s futures markets evolved. Cash forward contracts typically specified quantity, quality and delivery time. Futures markets add price at the time the contract is made.
The evolution of competitive market price is a major economic function of futures trading. Available information about the future value of a particular commodity is translated into price on the trading floor. The futures price represents the market’s best estimate of what the cash price will be at the maturity date specified on the contract. That price is volatile and commodity exchanges typically establish a minimum amount that the price can fluctuate as well as setting a daily price limit.
Exchanges
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Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) see CME GroupFutures traded on the CBOT include corn, soybeans, soybean oil, soybean meal, wheat, oats, ethanol, rough rice, gpld silver and currencies. Part of CME Group. Use the Product Group drop down list to pick your commodity or the Exchange drop down list to pick the trading on a specific exchange.
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Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) see CME GroupProducts traded on the CME include butter, dry whey, milk, nonfat dry milk, cheese, feeder cattle, live cattle, lumber, wood pulp, live hogs and pork bellies. Part of CME Group. Use the Product Group drop down list to pick your commodity or the Exchange drop down list to pick the trading on a specific exchange.
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CME GroupVarious exchanges merged into one: CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange), CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade), NYMEX (NY Mercantile Exchange) and COMEX (Commodity Exchange). Use the Product Group drop down list to pick your commodity or the Exchange drop down list to pick the trading on a specific exchange.
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COMEX see CME GroupA specialized area of the NYMEX focusinfg on metals. Part of CME Group. Use the Product Group drop down list to pick your commodity or the Exchange drop down list to pick the trading on a specific exchange.
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Intercontinental Exchange (ICE)Agricultural commodities traded are canola, cocoa, coffee, cotton, ethanol, orange juice, feed wheat, pulp, sugar and western barley.The ICE also trades in energy commodities such as coal, oil, and natural gas.
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Kansas City Board of Trade (KCBT)The KCBT markets wheat. Merged with Chicago in 2013. Part of CME Group.
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MidAmerica Commodity ExchangeClosed as separate trading floor in 2004 by CBOT.
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Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX)Trades in spring wheat, red winter wheat, corn and soybeans.
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New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) see CME GroupTrades in cocoa, coffee, cotton and sugar. Part of CME Group. Use the Product Group drop down list to pick your commodity or the Exchange drop down list to pick the trading on a specific exchange.
Agricultural Commodities
Commodity | Exchange |
Barley | ICE |
Beef | CME |
Butter | ICE |
Cheese | ICE |
Canola | ICE |
Cattle - Feeder | CME |
Cattle - Live | CME |
Cocoa | ICE |
Coffee | ICE |
Corn | CBOT |
Cotton | ICE |
Durum Wheat | MGEX |
Feed Peas | ICE |
Flax seed | ICE |
Hogs | CME |
Lumber | CME |
Milk | ICE |
Nonfat Dry Milk | NYMEX |
Oats | CBOT, ICE |
Orange Juice | NYMEX |
Pork Bellies | CME |
Potatoes | NYMEX |
Rough Rice | CBOT |
Soybeans | CBOT, |
Wheat | CBOT, ICE |