CME Group to Launch European Dairy Futures and Options
CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, announced plans to launch new European dairy futures and options contracts before the end of 2026. The products include European Skimmed Milk Powder, Butter, Whey Powder, and Liquid Milk, marking a strategic expansion following an agreement with the European Energy Exchange (EEX). This move aims to build on recent record activity in CME's U.S.-based dairy complex. The new contracts will be financially settled initially using EEX indices before transitioning to CME Group indices. The initiative is expected to provide market participants a more comprehensive toolkit for managing regional price risk and deploying capital efficiently within the European dairy sector. Additionally, CME Group and EEX are working on transferring existing cheese and butter index data to CME platforms. CME's expansion into Europe reflects its broader strategy of offering global benchmark products across asset classes through various trading platforms like Globex, BrokerTec, and EBS.