CME plans Romania/Bulgaria wheat futures in new Black Sea push, traders say

Financial markets operator CME Group is working on plans for a Black Sea wheat futures contract tracking Romanian and Bulgarian prices, European traders said. CME, which has U.S. corn, wheat and soybean futures that act as global price benchmarks, suspended trading in its previous Black Sea wheat futures based on a Russian price index following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. While Russia and Ukraine are much larger wheat suppliers, the export role of European Union members Romania and Bulgaria has expanded in recent years. The new product would be linked to an index of export prices for 12.5% protein wheat in the “CVB” zone that comprises the Romanian port of Constanta and the Bulgarian ports of Varna and Burgas, traders said. A draft document seen by Reuters showed that the futures would be cash-settled, rather than physically deliverable, priced in U.S. dollars and traded in 50 metric ton lots. Traders, citing CME consultations, said the expectation was that the ...