Nymex to introduce new steel futures contract

The New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) will introduce a steel futures contract, based on an index developed by the steel industry information service World Steel Dynamics (WSD). The new contract will be available on the Nymex ClearPort electronic clearing and trading platforms later this year.

The expected contract will be US hot-rolled band steel futures. The contract size will be 20 short tons with a minimum price fluctuation of $0.50 per short ton, and will be listed for 18 consecutive months.  

The new contract is based on WSD's SteelBenchmarker index. Twice each month, steel mills, traders, distributors and steel users in the United States, western Europe, and those who buy or sell steel internationally, provide their confidential opinions to the SteelBenchmarker system on the spot price for near–term delivery to the mid-sized buyer. Final settlement day will be the fourth Wednesday of the current contract month.

"We see a great market for steel futures contracts in the steel industry. Price volatility has increased in the steel market, and futures contracts will enable end-users and producers to lock in prices and margins,” said Peter Marcus, WSD managing partner.