CME Group to Launch Four South Asia Edible Oil Futures Contracts

Rhea-AI Summary

CME Group (NYSE:CME) will launch four cash-settled South Asia edible oil futures contracts on March 2, 2026, pending regulatory review. The suite includes two outright and two spread contracts based on Fastmarkets Soyoil CFR India and Crude Palm Oil CFR West Coast India assessments.

Contracts will be listed under CBOT rules and aim to improve price discovery and risk management for South Asian importers, a region responsible for an estimated 45% of soyoil and 30% of palm oil trade.

Positive

• Four new contracts launching March 2, 2026 (pending approval)
• Fastmarkets-based pricing to enhance regional price discovery
• Listed under CBOT rules, leveraging established exchange infrastructure
• Record 2025 agricultural ADV of 1.9 million contracts, indicating trading scale

Negative

• Launch is pending regulatory review, creating timing uncertainty
• Contracts are cash-settled, so they do not provide physical delivery

CHICAGO and SINGAPORE, Feb. 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, today announced plans to launch four South Asia edible oil futures contracts on March 2, 2026, pending regulatory review. 

The new products are cash-settled and include two outright contracts and two spread contracts that will be based on the Fastmarkets Soyoil CFR India and Crude Palm Oil CFR West Coast India assessments:

• South Asia Soybean Oil (Fastmarkets) Futures
• South Asia Crude Palm Oil (Fastmarket) Futures
• South Asia Soybean Oil (Fastmarkets) vs. CBOT Soybean Oil Futures
• South Asia Crude Palm Oil (Fastmarkets) vs. USD Malaysian Crude Palm Oil Futures

"South Asia is the world's largest importer of edible oils in the world, and our new contracts will bring enhanced price discovery and risk management capabilities to the region," said John Ricci, Managing Director and Global Head of Agricultural Products, CME Group. "By using Fastmarkets indices, these new futures contracts will serve as additional tools for South Asian market participants to insure against soybean and palm oil price risk or trade the spread between oils as a proxy to hedge basis exposure."

"South Asia is a crucial hub in the global supply chain, accounting for an estimated 45% of soyoil and 30% of palm oil trade," said Przemek Koralewski, Global Head of Market Development at Fastmarkets. "Our prices bring much-needed transparency to this critical market. Partnering with CME Group will enable traders to discover prices and manage risk more effectively."

"ICAP has been instrumental in launching new markets in energy and commodities for many years," said James McKay, Co-Head, APAC Ags, Softs & Biofuels at ICAP. "We're particularly eager to encourage trading and grow liquidity in Asia-centric markets, therefore the South Asia edible oils contracts are a welcome initiative."

CME Group achieved record annual average daily volume (ADV) of 1.9 million contracts for Agricultural products in 2025, with record annual ADV for soybean futures (293,000 contracts) and soybean oil futures (182,000).

The new South Asia edible oils futures contracts will be listed and subject to the rules of CBOT. For more information on these products, please visit http://www.cmegroup.com/south-asia.

As the world's leading derivatives marketplace, CME Group (www.cmegroup.com) enables clients to trade futures, options, cash and OTC markets, optimize portfolios, and analyze data – empowering market participants worldwide to efficiently manage risk and capture opportunities. CME Group exchanges offer the widest range of global benchmark products across all major asset classes based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, cryptocurrencies, energy, agricultural products and metals.  The company offers futures and options on futures trading through the CME Globex platform, fixed income trading via BrokerTec and foreign exchange trading on the EBS platform.  In addition, it operates one of the world's leading central counterparty clearing providers, CME Clearing. 

CME Group, the Globe logo, CME, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Globex, and E-mini are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc.  CBOT and Chicago Board of Trade are trademarks of Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Inc.  NYMEX, New York Mercantile Exchange and ClearPort are trademarks of New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc.  COMEX is a trademark of Commodity Exchange, Inc. BrokerTec is a trademark of BrokerTec Americas LLC and EBS is a trademark of EBS Group LTD. The S&P 500 Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC ("S&P DJI"). "S&P®", "S&P 500®", "SPY®", "SPX®", US 500 and The 500 are trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC; Dow Jones®, DJIA® and Dow Jones Industrial Average are service and/or trademarks of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. These trademarks have been licensed for use by Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. Futures contracts based on the S&P 500 Index are not sponsored, endorsed, marketed, or promoted by S&P DJI, and S&P DJI makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in such products. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 

CME-G

 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cme-group-to-launch-four-south-asia-edible-oil-futures-contracts-302685292.html

SOURCE CME Group

FAQ

What contracts is CME (CME) launching on March 2, 2026 for South Asia edible oils?

CME will list four cash-settled contracts: two outright and two spread contracts. According to the company, they are based on Fastmarkets Soyoil CFR India and Crude Palm Oil CFR West Coast India assessments.

How do the new CME South Asia edible oil futures affect price discovery for soyoil and palm oil?

They aim to improve regional price transparency and risk management. According to the company, Fastmarkets indices will underpin contracts to enhance price discovery for South Asian participants.

Will CME's South Asia edible oil contracts allow physical delivery on March 2, 2026?

No, the new contracts are cash-settled and do not provide physical delivery. According to the company, settlement will reference Fastmarkets assessments rather than physical delivery mechanisms.

Are CME's South Asia edible oil contracts already approved for trading on March 2, 2026?

The launch is scheduled for March 2, 2026 but remains subject to regulatory review. According to the company, final listing depends on completing necessary regulatory approvals.

How does CME's 2025 agricultural trading volume relate to the new South Asia contracts?

CME reported a record agricultural ADV of 1.9 million contracts in 2025, showing scale in agricultural liquidity. According to the company, this trading depth supports launching new Asia-centric oil contracts.