On January 13, 2006, the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) will introduce the FINEX Euro Currency Index (ECX, symbol E) futures and options index contracts – new way to track and trade the value of the euro.
As the single currency of the European Union, the euro is one side of 37% of all foreign exchange transactions and second only to the U.S. dollar in international use as a reserve currency.
The FINEX Euro Index represents a geometric average that tracks the value of the euro against a basket of five major world currencies: U.S. dollar (USD); British pound (GBP); Japanese yen (JPY); Swiss franc (CHF), and Swedish krona (SEK). The ECX contracts will trade in the NYBOT currency pits on both the New York and Dublin trading floors alongside the USDX and NYBOT’s 29 currency pairs. Trading will begin with the futures contract on Friday, January 13, and the options start trading on the Dublin trading floor on Monday, January 16 (New York will be closed for the Martin Luther King holiday).
“The euro is the currency of the world’s second largest economic entity and the marketplace needs a tradable index which accurately gauges its value,” said Frederick W. Schoenhut, chairman of the New York Board of Trade. “Our exchange has a history of innovation in currency products, and with the record year we just completed in our currency markets, the New York Board of Trade is the ideal place for the first Euro Index contracts to trade. Our FINEX Euro contracts are useful financial instruments for those who wish to hedge currency risk exposure or who want to take an investment position in the euro without exposing themselves to risks of trading a single currency pair. “
The FINEX Euro Index futures and options contracts will have a trading size of 1,000 euros times the index, and will be quoted in index point to two decimal places. Mirroring the USDX contracts, the trading months will be March, June, September and December, and trading times will be from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm, and 2:00 am to 3:00 pm (all NY times). The Index will have a physical delivery and the final settlement value will be calculated to 3 decimal places (also identical to the USDX).