[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 98 (Friday, May 21, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27759-27760]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-12879]


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COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION


Chicago Mercantile Exchange: Proposal To List Additional Contract 
Months in the CME Russian Ruble Futures Contract

AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

ACTION: Notice of availability of proposal to list new months in a 
commodity futures contract.

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SUMMARY: The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME or Exchange) has 
submitted a proposal to list additional contract months in the CME 
Russian Ruble Futures Contract. Under the proposal, the CME would, as 
is the case with the currently listed June 1999 contract month, base 
the cash settlement price on two surveys performed by the CME clearing 
house at random times on the last day of trading.
    The Acting Director of the Division of Economic Analysis 
(Division), acting pursuant to the authority delegated by Commission 
Regulation 140.96, has determined that publication of the proposal for 
comment is in the public interest, will assist the Commission in 
considering the views of interested persons, and is consistent with the 
purpose of the Commodity Exchange Act.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 7, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons should submit their views and comments to 
Jean A. Webb, Secretary, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Three 
Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street, NW, Washington, DC 20581. In 
addition, comments may be sent by facsimile transmission to facsimile 
number (202) 418-5521, or by electronic mail to [email protected]. 
Reference should be made to the proposal to list additional contract 
months in the CME Russian Ruble futures contract.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please contact Michael Penick of the 
Division of Economic Analysis, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 
Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20581, 
telephone (202) 418-5279. Facsimile number: (202) 418-5527. Electronic 
mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 6, 1998, the Commission approved 
the suspension of listing of new contract months in the Russian ruble 
futures contract. In a letter to the CME dated December 9, 1998, the 
Commission approved proposed amendments to the cash settlement 
procedure of the Russian ruble futures contract and notified the CME 
that it was approving those proposed amendments for application to 
existing contract months only. The Commission also notified the CME in 
that letter that the CME must submit any proposal to list additional 
contract months pursuant to Commission Regulation 1.41(b) rather than 
the expedited procedure of Regulation 1.41(l).\1\
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    \1\ Commission Regulation 1.41(l) provides that an exchange 
proposal to list additional contract months in a futures or option 
contract will be deemed approved 10 days after receipt by the 
Commission if it does not provide for the listing of a contract 
month outside the currently established cycle of contract months.
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    Under the CME's current cash settlement procedure, as approved by 
the Commission on December 9, 1998 for months listed through June 1999, 
the CME performs two surveys of financial institutions at randomly 
selected times during MICEX's afternoon System for Electronic Trading 
(SELT) session for transactions between commercial banks (currently 
conducted between 12 noon and 4:30 p.m. Moscow time) on each Moscow 
business day.\2\ The final settlement price is the reciprocal of the 
average of the two rubles-per-dollar exchange rates calculated from the 
two surveys on the last trading day.
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    \2\ MICEX currently runs two daily trading sessions--a morning 
session for importers and exporters and an afternoon session for 
transactions between commercial banks.
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    During each survey, the CME asks participants for two separate 
rubles per dollar exchange rates as well as an overnight interbank 
ruble interest rate. Those two rubles per dollar exchange rates are a 
``today rate'' (the exchange rate for same-day settlement) and a 
``tomorrow rate'' (the exchange rate for settlement on the next Moscow 
business day).\3\ In its calculation of the final settlement price, the 
CME uses the today rate from each participant that provides a today 
rate. If any participant provides a tomorrow rate and overnight 
interest rate, but not a today rate, the CME calculates an ``implied 
today rate'' for such participants. The implied today rate is 
calculated using the interest rate parity relation based on the 
tomorrow rate, the overnight ruble interest rate, and the federal funds 
overnight U.S. dollar interest rate.\4\ Thus, the result of any single 
survey (and, thus, the cash settlement price) could consist of a 
mixture of actual and implied today rates. In practice, given that 
trading for same day settlement is not permitted in the MICEX afternoon 
session, past cash settlement prices based on this procedure have 
consisted entirely of implied today rates.
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    \3\ At the afternoon MICEX session, trading is currently allowed 
only for settlement on the next Moscow business day.
    \4\ In this case, the tomorrow rate and overnight ruble interest 
rate used are average rates calculated from the daily survey 
results. The overnight federal funds rate is obtained from Telerate.
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    In the event that the CME is unable to complete both daily surveys 
on the last trading day, the CME calculates the final settlement price 
based on two surveys, performed under the same procedures, conducted on 
the Moscow business day following the last trading day. If the CME is 
also unable to complete two surveys on the second day, then the final 
settlement price is based on the survey results from the most recent 
business day prior to the last trading day on which two surveys were 
successfully completed.
    The CME proposes to implement the proposal to list additional 
contract months shortly after receipt of Commission approval. The CME 
characterized the Russian ruble contract as ``an important hedging 
mechanism'' and stated that, without additional contract months, the 
``international marketplace will lose the premier tool for managing 
Russian ruble vs. U.S. dollar price risk.'' The CME also affirmed that 
any basis risk that may be associated with positions in the ruble 
contract is less than the risk exposure that would be faced by hedgers 
in the absence of the ruble contract, since there is no other viable 
means to hedge ruble positions.
    Moreover, with respect to susceptibility to manipulation, the CME 
stated in its submission that since the events that occurred last 
summer, ``the Russian economy has stabilized and is taking steps to 
recovery.'' The CME noted that real consumer spending and industrial 
production have increased, while monthly inflation rates have 
decreased. In addition, the CME cited the Russian Finance Ministry 
claim that

[[Page 27760]]

wage and pension arrears have been reduced and the government has paid 
all federal wage arrears. Moreover, according to the CME, Russia has 
reached agreements with the IMF and World Bank that would provide 
Russia with access to additional loans and the ability to negotiate 
with creditors to restructure existing debts. Further, Russia has 
restructured most of its domestic debt which had been frozen in August 
1998.
    The CME further noted that its CME/EMTA reference rate survey is 
widely accepted in the cash market. It was noted that the results of 
the survey, which is conducted daily, has been accepted as a rate 
source for non-deliverable forward Russian ruble-US Dollar 
transactions. That rate also has been approved by the Emerging Markets 
Traders Association, the Foreign Exchange Committee, and the 
International Swaps Dealers Association for settlement of U.S. dollar/
Russian ruble transactions in the spot market. Thus, according to the 
CME, the CME/EMTA reference rate has become the de facto price 
discovery mechanism for the Russian ruble market. Moreover, the CME 
noted that the CME/EMTA reference rate survey was used successfully to 
cash settle the October, November, and December 1998 futures contracts 
and the March 1999 futures contract. Moreover, on each of those cash 
settlement days, at least eight survey participants provided quotes, 
consistent with the CME's existing contract terms and conditions 
regarding final cash settlement survey.
    The Division requests comment on the proposal to list additional 
contract months. The Division specifically requests comment on whether 
the survey procedure has resulted, and will continue to result, in a 
cash settlement price that is reflective of the underlying cash market 
and otherwise meets the standards of the Commission's Guideline No. 
1.\5\ In that regard, the Division notes that the CME survey procedure 
is designed to obtain an exchange rate for same-day settlement during 
the afternoon MICEX session but that trading for same-day settlement is 
not currently permitted during that MICEX session. In its December 9, 
1998 letter to the CME, the Commission approved the use of a today rate 
to settle existing contract months, in part because there were 
indications that futures prices in those contract months were based on 
traders' expectations that the cash settlement price ultimately would 
be based on a today rate. The Division now requests comment on the 
appropriateness of using an implied today rate for newly listed months. 
The Division also requests comment on whether the CME procedure will 
continue to result in a cash settlement price that is not readily 
susceptible to manipulation or distortion in light of the degree of 
liquidity of the Russian ruble market and the restrictions on currency 
trading in Russia. Specifically, will the procedures used by the CME, 
including setting the cash settlement price based on two surveys 
conducted at random times, tend to prevent market participants from 
influencing the cash settlement price? Finally, in the current 
environment and given the proposed cash settlement provisions, can the 
Russian ruble contract be used for hedging or price discovery?
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    \5\ The Commission's Guideline No. 1 (17 CFR part 5, Appendix A, 
section (a)(2)(iii)) requires, for cash settled contracts, that the 
cash price series must be reflective of the underlying cash market 
and be reliable, acceptable, publicly available, and timely and not 
readily susceptible to manipulation.
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    The proposal was submitted to the Commission under the Commission's 
45-day Fast Track procedures of Commission Regulation 1.41(b)(2). In 
view of the limited review period under the Fast Track procedures, the 
Division has determined to publish for public comment notice of the 
proposal for 15 days, rather than 30 days as provided for proposals 
submitted under the regular review procedures.
    Copies of the proposal will be available for inspection at the 
Office of the Secretariat, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Three 
Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st St., NW, Washington, DC 20581. Copies of 
the proposal can be obtained through the Office of the Secretariat by 
mail at the above address or by phone at (202) 418-5100.
    Other materials submitted by the CME may be available upon request 
pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) and the 
Commission's regulations thereunder (17 CFR part 145 (1987)), except to 
the extent they are entitled to confidential treatment as set forth in 
17 CFR 145.5 and 145.9. Requests for copies of such materials should be 
made to the FOI, Privacy and Sunshine Act Compliance Staff of the 
Office of the Secretariat at the Commission's headquarters in 
accordance with 17 CFR 145.7 and 145.8.
    Any person interested in submitting written data, views, or 
arguments on the proposal, or with respect to other materials submitted 
by the CME, should send such comments to Jean A. Webb, Secretary, 
Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st 
St., NW, Washington, DC 20581 by the specified date.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on May 17, 1999.
John R. Mielke,
Acting Director.
[FR Doc. 99-12879 Filed 5-20-99; 8:45; am]
BILLING CODE 6351-01-M