Open Interest In Minneapolis Grain Exchange Hard Winter Wheat Index (HWI) Futures And Options Doubles In Two Weeks - November 10, 2003

MINNEAPOLIS–The Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX) announced today that in two weeks, open interest in Hard Winter Wheat Index (HWI) futures and options has doubled.  HWI open interest at the end of trading day on Friday, November 7 reached 6,367 contracts.  Of the 6,367 HWI contracts, 2,308 were futures and 4,059 were options.  Open interest is the number of open positions held at the end of the day by market participants in all contract months and is a measure of a market’s liquidity.

HWI futures reflect country origin pricing for hard red winter wheat and are financially settled at the end of each month to the spot HWI, calculated by Data Transmission Network (DTN), a data services provider out of Omaha, Neb.  HWI futures are an excellent way for buyers and sellers of hard red winter wheat to manage basis risk by hedging in a futures contract that very closely reflects their local cash market.  More information on the contracts, including price quotes, daily volume and open interest and contract specifications, may be found on the Minneapolis Grain Exchange’s website at www.mgex.com. 

MGEX, established in 1881, is the only market for hard red spring wheat, Hard Winter Wheat Index (HWI), National Corn Index (NCI) and National Soybean Index (NSI) futures and options. www.mgex.com