The Chicago Board of Trade announced that it will launch mini-sized CBOT Ag futures contracts on its e-cbot® electronic trading platform. This is the first time these contracts will be available on an electronic platform and they will include mini-sized Corn, mini-sized Soybeans and mini-sized Wheat contracts.

The mini-sized Ag contracts are 1/5 the size of their full-sized counterparts, or 1,000 bushels. They will trade on the CBOT electronic trading platform on the overnight hours beginning at 6:30 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., Sunday through Friday. In addition, these products will continue to trade in the open auction market from 9:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m.

The contracts are scheduled to launch mid-second quarter 2007. CBOT mini-sized Ag contracts are designed to provide market participants with enhanced trading opportunities, offer global customers, particularly in Asia, a smaller contract that is sized to their needs. In addition, these products will utilize CBOT’s innovative process for directed fungibility allowing market participants the opportunity to offset mini-sized contracts against full-sized contracts as they near expiration. These mini-sized contracts will benefit from the arbitrage opportunities with the full-sized contracts, and the increasing liquidity during the European and Asian trading day.

CBOT Senior Vice President of Business Development, Robert D. Ray said, “The CBOT has long been recognized as the primary agriculture market in pricing for Corn, Wheat and Soybean contracts and as such, has become the global benchmark for price discovery and risk management. By launching our mini-grains electronically, the CBOT is once again providing our customers choice, and the opportunity to access our markets globally, in a size customary to their trading and time zones and in a more competitive environment.”