Unleaded Gasoline Futures and Options Trading

New York Harbor RBOB Gasoline is the largest single volume refined commodity product sold in the United States and accounts for almost half of national crude oil consumption. It is a highly diverse market, with hundreds of wholesale distributors, brokers and thousands of retail outlets, often making it subject to intense competition and price volatility. Unleaded gasoline futures are one of the largest distillates of crude oil commodity contracts traded at the NYMEX. Unleaded gas may be the most important energy future of all of the petroleum distillates.

RBOB stands for "reformulated gasoline blend stock for oxygen blending." It is the new benchmark gasoline contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange. NYMEX phased out trading in unleaded gasoline futures at the end of 2006 because that product contained the chemical MTBE, which is banned in many states for polluting groundwater. NYMEX replaced those unleaded gas contracts with ones for the RBOB, a gasoline product that does not contain the chemical MTBE.

visit Crude Oil Futures, Heating Oil Futures and Natural Gas Futures.

Reformulated Gasoline Blendstock for Oxygen Blending (RBOB) Commodity Contract Specifications

Trading Specs
Commodity Futures: 42,000 U.S. gallons gasoline (1,000 barrels).

Options: One NYMEX Division New York Harbor unleaded gasoline futures contract.

Price Quotation
Commodity Futures and Options: In dollars and cents per gallon, for example, $0.8522 (85.22¢) per gallon.

Trading Hours
Commodity Futures and Options: Open outcry trading is conducted from 9:00 A.M. until 2:30 P.M.

After hours gasoline futures trading is conducted from 6:00 PM until 5:15 PM via the CME Globex® trading platform, Sunday through Friday. There is a 45-minute break each day between 5:15PM (current trade date) and 6:00 PM (next trade date).

Trading Months
Futures: 12 consecutive months.
Options: 12 consecutive months.

Minimum Price Fluctuation
Gasoline futures and Options: $0.0001 (0.01¢) per gallon ($4.20 per contract).

Maximum Daily Price Fluctuation
Futures: $0.25 per gallon ($10,500 per contract) for all months. If any contract is traded, bid, or offered at the limit for five minutes, trading is halted for five minutes. When trading resumes, the limit is expanded by $0.25 per gallon in either direction. If another halt were triggered, the market would continue to be expanded by $0.25 per gallon in either direction after each successive five-minute trading halt. There will be no maximum price fluctuation limits during any one trading session.

Options: No price limits.

Last Trading Day
Futures Trading terminates at the close of business on the last business day of the month preceding the delivery month.

Commodity Options: Expiration occurs three business days before the underlying gasoline futures contract.

Exercise of Options
By a clearing member to the Exchange clearinghouse not later than 5:30 P.M., or 45 minutes after the underlying futures settlement price is posted, whichever is later, on any day up to and including the option's expiration.

Options Strike Prices
Twenty strike prices in one-cent-per-gallon increments above and below the at-the-money strike price, and ten strike prices in five-cent increments above the highest and below the lowest existing strike prices for a total of at least 61 strike prices. The at-the-money strike price is the nearest to the previous day's close of the underlying futures contract. Strike price boundaries are adjusted according to the futures price movements.

Delivery
F.O.B. seller's facility in New York Harbor ex-shore. All duties, entitlements, taxes, fees, and other charges paid. Requirements for seller's shore facility: capability to deliver into barges. Delivery may also be completed by pipeline, tanker, book transfer, or inter- or intra-facility transfer. Delivery must be made in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local licensing and tax laws.

Delivery Period
Deliveries may only be initiated the day after the fifth business day and must be completed before the last business day of the delivery month.

Alternate Delivery Procedure (ADP)
An alternate delivery procedure is available to buyers and sellers who have been matched by the Exchange subsequent to the termination of trading in the spot month contract. If buyer and seller agree to consummate delivery under terms different from those prescribed in the contract specifications, they may proceed on that basis after submitting a notice of their intention to the Exchange.

Exchange of Futures For, or in Connection with, Physicals (EFP)
The commercial buyer or seller may exchange a futures position for a physical position of equal quantity by submitting a notice to the Exchange. EFPs may be used to either initiate or liquidate a futures position.

Grade and Quality Specifications
Generally conforms to industry standards for reformulated regular gasoline blendstock for oxygen blending (RBOB) with 10% denatured fuel ethanol (92% purity) as listed by the Colonial Pipeline for fungible F grade for sales in New York and New Jersey. RBOB is a wholesale non-oxygentated blendstock traded in the New York Harbor barge market that is ready for the addition of 10% ethanol at the truck rack. .

Trading Symbols
Gasoline Futures: RB
Gasoline Options:

Commodity Futures and Options Contract Specifications Main

Commodity Broker l Commodity Account l Charts & Quotes l Futures Resources l Commodity Education l Contact Broker