History

Since 1881, the Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX) has provided valuable price discovery and risk management services to producers and consumers involved in volatile commodities markets around the world.

MGEX past | MGEX present | MGEX future | Contract Timeline

TODAY’S EXCHANGE
The futures pit is madness with method. It is controlled chaos. From 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. each day, the member-traders of the Exchange buy and sell futures and options through a type of auction called “open outcry.” As bids and offers are shouted or signaled through a series of hand signals and as trades are made, prices are reported to the entire trading world.

In addition to the open outcry, there are electronic contracts are now listed at the Exchange. Hard red spring wheat now trades electronically during trading hours and overnight. Five index futures and options contracts trade exclusively on the electronic platform.

The MGEX creates a viable trading environment for large numbers of buyers and sellers in both the cash and futures marketplaces. The only authorized contract market for hard red spring wheat; the MGEX trades an average of 6,500 futures and options contracts daily. The cash market at the MGEX also provides a valuable service for market participants. An average of one million bushels of corn, wheat, barley, oats, rye, flax and soybeans change hands daily.