Product Notation

Symbology

Trading and clearing systems use a numerical "Product ID" to uniquely identify listed and cleared products, which is not discussed in this document. For convenience and external 3rd party use, legacy "Product Codes" are also assigned but not used by the trading and clearing systems. See Market Taxonomy for terminology definitions.

Product Code Structure

Product Codes are serialized multi-field strings composed of alphanumeric characters following standardized patterns based on contract type.

Size Codes

Contract size multipliers use SI units:

*Non-standard: S (Standard) is not an SI prefix. I is used for deci instead of D to avoid confusion with deca. L is used for milli and A for mega to avoid confusion with micro (M). Y (Myra) is based on an obsolete SI prefix. N (Penta) is not an SI prefix.

Month Codes

Futures Contracts

Pattern

[Base][Quote][Size][Month][Year]

Components

Examples

Perpetual Futures

Perpetual futures follow the same naming convention as futures but use a far future expiry date (ex: December 2050).

Pattern

P[Base][Quote][Size]Z50

Examples

The Z50 suffix indicates December 2050, representing the perpetual nature of the contract.

Options on Futures

Options on futures use the underlying future's symbol with an option specification appended.

Pattern

[Underlying Future]O[Month][Year][C/P][Strike]

Where:

• Underlying Future - The futures contract symbol (e.g., BUCF26)
• O - Indicates this is an option
• Month/Year - Option expiration date
• C/P - Call or Put
• Strike - Strike price in whole dollars (no decimal point)

Examples

Calendar Spreads

Calendar spreads combine two futures contracts with different expiration dates.

Pattern

[Front Month Contract]-[Back Month Contract]

Components

Structure

Each calendar spread has a leg ratio of -1:+1. When buying a calendar spread:

• The front month is sold (-1)
• The back month is bought (+1)

This means buying the spread is a roll from the long perspective. Leg 1 (front month) is always used as the anchor for pricing purposes. When a calendar spread match occurs, the Leg 2 price is calculated by adding the match price to the last known price of Leg 1.

Examples

Spot

Spot products use a simplified notation without size codes or expiry dates.

Pattern

[Base][Quote]

Examples

Minimum Price Fluctuation (Tick Size)

Products are quoted in ticks to normalize the prices traders see. A tick is the minimum amount a price can move at once.

Examples

CQG Name

CQG maintains uniquely identifiable symbol names across all exchanges. The assigned prefix is B, making the BUS contract BBUS on CQG, the BUI contract BBUI on CQG, and so forth.