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CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange)

CME is a major global derivatives exchange.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) is one of the world’s largest and most significant derivatives exchanges, providing a marketplace for trading futures, options, and other financial contracts across a wide range of asset classes. Founded in Chicago in 1898, CME originally focused on agricultural products but has since expanded to include energy, interest rates, foreign exchange, equity indices, metals, cryptocurrencies, and commodities.

CME enables market participants to manage price risk, hedge exposures, and gain access to global financial and commodity markets through standardised derivative contracts. The exchange plays a critical role in price discovery, liquidity provision, and risk management for producers, consumers, financial institutions, asset managers, and trading firms worldwide.

The exchange operates electronically through the CME Globex trading platform, allowing nearly continuous global trading access. CME also provides clearing services through its clearing house, which reduces counterparty credit risk by acting as the intermediary between buyers and sellers.

Today, CME Group includes several major exchanges, including the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), and Commodity Exchange (COMEX). Together, these exchanges form one of the most influential marketplaces in global derivatives trading and financial risk management.