CHICAGO, May 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CME Group, the world's largest and most diverse derivatives exchange, today announced the launch of clearing services for two new electricity swap futures contracts, scheduled to launch on June 7 for trade date June 8. Clearing services will be available through CME ClearPort®, a set of flexible clearing services open to over the counter (OTC) market participants to substantially mitigate counterparty risk and provide capital efficiencies across asset classes. These contracts are listed for trading by NYMEX through CME ClearPort, and are subject to NYMEX rules and regulations.

The swap futures contracts and their commodity codes will be: PJM PECO Zone 5 MW peak calendar money day-ahead LMP (4N) and PMJ PECO Zone 5 MW off-peak calendar month day-ahead LMP (4P).

Utilities and marketers will use these contracts to provide liquidity and transparency, in conjunction with the other zonal products cleared through CME ClearPort.

The first listed month will be July 2009. The contracts will be listed for current year plus the next five consecutive years. The peak contract will be 80 megawatt hours in size, and the off-peak contract will be five megawatt hours. The minimum price fluctuation will be $0.05 per megawatt hour.

For more information, please visit www.cmegroup.com/clearport.

05.21.09 ::

Chicago, May 21, 2009 - Agriculture futures were higher Wednesday on the Chicago Board of Trade.

Wheat for July delivery jumped 9 cents to $5.9775 a bushel, while July corn inched up 0.25 cent to $4.26 a bushel and July soybeans advanced 7 cents to $11.69 a bushel. Oats for July delivery rose 4.5 cents to $2.385 a bushel.

Meanwhile, beef futures traded higher and pork futures were mixed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

June live cattle edged up 0.55 cent to 82.22 cents a pound; August feeder cattle gained 0.33 cent to $1.017 a pound; June lean hogs rose 0.22 cent to 66.47 cents a pound; and July pork bellies fell 1.73 cents to 70.47 cents a pound.

05.18.09 ::

Consolidated Trading Facility Marks Key Merger Integration Milestone

NEW YORK, May 18-- CME Group, the world's largest and most diverse derivatives exchange, announced today that it has completed its New York trading floor integration, a key milestone following its 2008 acquisition of NYMEX. The integration was completed in two phases, first the reconfiguration of the energy trading floor on April 20, and today, combining the energy and metals futures and options trading rings onto one trading floor.

"We have consolidated two major trading floors into one vibrant facility at our NYMEX world headquarters in Lower Manhattan," said CME Group Executive Chairman Terry Duffy. "We are confident that combining several markets into our trading rings will give members and customers access to greater liquidity on our New York trading floor. We look forward to moving forward with the integration of our clearing systems in the third quarter of this year."

"We are very pleased to have completed the successful integration of our New York trading facilities within nine months following our acquisition of NYMEX," said CME Group Chief Executive Officer Craig Donohue. "As a result of our successful integration efforts to date, we are on track to realize $60 million in annual cost synergies by the end of this year. More importantly, we continue to see strong growth opportunities in CME Group's listed energy and metals markets, as well as through CME ClearPort, which now facilitates central counterparty clearing services for approximately 700 different over-the-counter derivatives instruments."

The combined New York trading floor, which represents CME Group's continuing commitment to New York City as a global financial center, is now home to open outcry trading for NYMEX and COMEX futures and options, including crude oil, natural gas, heating oil, gasoline, gold, silver, copper, platinum, and palladium. CME Group expects its integration of NYMEX to be substantially complete in Q4 2009.