Market Operations

1. Market Hours. The Exchange and the Clearinghouse will be open for, respectively, trading and clearing in all listed Contracts on all business days excluding holidays specified on the Website. Market hours shall be 19:00 to 16:00 CPT, Sunday through Friday unless otherwise specified in the Contract Specifications.

2. Procedures. With respect to trading on or through the Exchange, the Exchange and the Clearinghouse may adopt, without limitation, procedures relating to Transactions in Contracts and trading on the Exchange, including procedures to:

   1. disseminate the prices of bids and offers and the prices of trades in Contracts;

   2. record and account for Contracts;

   3. perform market surveillance and regulation on matters affecting Contracts;

   4. establish limits on the number and/or size of Orders that may be submitted by a Participant or Authorized User to the Exchange;

   5. establish position limits on the number of Contracts that can be held by a Participant or customer on the Exchange;

   6. establish limits on the number of messages a Participant can send to the Exchange for a Contract in a given time frame;

   7. establish a limit on the maximum daily price fluctuations for any Contracts and provide for any related restriction or suspension of trading in such Contracts; and

   8. require a suspended or expelled Participant, or a Participant with restricted trading rights, to cause Contracts to be executed for such Participant's account to reduce or eliminate such Participant's open positions.

3. Market Suspension and Emergencies. The Exchange and the Clearinghouse reserve the right to adjust Market Hours and suspend market activities for all or a subset of Contracts in the case of extenuating market circumstances which include, but are not limited to, any occurrence or circumstance which threatens or may threaten such matters as the fair and orderly trading in, or the liquidation of or delivery pursuant to, any Contracts, and which is determined by the Exchange to require immediate action, or any Emergency as defined in Rule 213.

4. Price Limit Timer. If a trade occurs at the Price Limit for a side, the Trade Matching Engine triggers a timer. If the timer elapses and no trades occur inside of the Price Limit, the Price Limits are re-calculated and reset. The resultant Price Limits are outside the original Price Limits to allow for additional price movement. The Exchange Market Operations & Risk Team may adjust the daily Price Limits at its sole discretion based on market conditions.

1. Contracts/Expiries. Contract Specifications are set forth on the Website. Contract Specifications are subject to revision or amendment from time to time. Revised Contract Specifications may be listed for trading by self-certification in accordance with CFTC Rule 40.2, sent electronically to the CFTC for receipt by the open of business on the business day preceding the Contract's listing, which shall include:

   1. a description of the Contract and its rules related to its terms and conditions,
   2. the intended listing date,
   3. certification by the Exchange that the Contract to be listed complies with the CEA and the CFTC Rules thereunder,
   4. a concise explanation and analysis of the product and its compliance with applicable provisions of the CEA, including core principles, and the CFTC Rules thereunder, including supporting documentation, and
   5. certification that the Exchange posted a notice of pending product certification with the Commission on its Website with a copy of the submission, with confidential treatment requests as appropriate. The Exchange will permit trading only in Contracts that are not readily susceptible to manipulation.

2. New Contracts. To offer new products, the Exchange may request that the CFTC approve a new product prior to listing the product for trading. The submission to the CFTC shall be filed electronically in accordance with CFTC Rules 40.3 and include:

   1. a description of the product with the rules that set forth the Contract's terms and conditions,
   2. an explanation and analysis of the product and its compliance with applicable provisions of the CEA, including core principles, and the CFTC Rules thereunder, including documentation relied upon to establish the basis for compliance with the applicable law, or incorporate information contained in such documentation, with appropriate citations to data sources,
   3. description of any agreements or Contracts entered into with other parties that enable the Exchange to carry out its responsibilities,
   4. certification that the Exchange posted on its Website a notice of its request for CFTC approval of the new product with a copy of the submission,
   5. a request for confidential treatment as permitted under CFTC Rule 40.8, if appropriate, and
   6. the filing fee required in accordance with CFTC Rules. If requested by CFTC staff, the Exchange will provide evidence, information or data demonstrating that the Contract meets, initially or on a continuing basis, the requirements of the CEA, or other requirements for designation or registration under the CEA or the CFTC Rules thereunder. The Exchange shall submit the requested information by the open of business on the date that is two business days from the date of request by CFTC staff, or at the conclusion of such extended period agreed to by CFTC staff after timely receipt of a written request from the Exchange.

3. Contract Listing.

   1. Futures. The Exchange may list up to twelve consecutive Contract expiries for all non-Perpetual Futures.

   2. Perpetual Futures. The Exchange may list up to two quarter-century Perpetual Futures expiries per Contract, with the further dated Contract listed no sooner than one year prior to the next-to-expire Contract expiry.

   3. Options. Initial options Contract listing shall include at least one strike at the underlying Contract's previous Settlement Price, rounded down to the nearest minimum strike interval. Additional strikes may be listed at the discretion of the Exchange on any trading day.

4. Contract Trading Termination. Trading in a Contract shall terminate ("Trading Termination") on the Last Trading Day and time as follows or as otherwise specified in the Contract Specifications. If the Last Trading Day is not both a London and U.S. business day, trading terminates on the prior London or U.S. business day.

   1. Futures: 10:00 CPT on the trading day on the last Friday of the expiry month.

   2. Options: 15:00 CPT on the trading day six business days prior to Trading Termination of the underlying futures Contract.

5. Options Exercise. Options expiry is European style unless otherwise specified in the Contract Specifications. Following Trading Termination, any options Contract that is in the money shall be automatically exercised by the Clearinghouse and any options Contract that is out of the money shall be abandoned by the Clearinghouse. For the avoidance of doubt, no such options Contract that expires in the money may be abandoned, and no such options Contract that expires out of the money may be exercised.

6. Spot Contracts. Spot contracts shall be offered subject to the provisions set forth in Exchange Rule 514.

1. Each Participant must request one or more Trading Account ID as needed to accommodate the nature and volume of the Participant's business.

2. Each Participant and its Authorized Users must have a unique, Exchange-assigned, registered User ID.

3. Each Order entered will track to a User ID that identifies the Authorized User that entered the Order.

4. No Person may use a User ID to place any Order except as permitted by these Rules, nor may any Person knowingly permit or assist the unauthorized use of a User ID. Each Participant and Authorized User shall ensure that no User ID is used by any Person not authorized by these Rules. Each Participant that is not an individual must have in place policies and procedures acceptable to the Exchange to ensure the proper use and protection of User IDs.

5. Each Participant shall ensure the accuracy of the registration information of its Authorized Users at all times.

6. Each Participant shall be solely responsible for controlling and monitoring the use of all User IDs issued to it and its Authorized Users of the Exchange.

7. Each Participant shall notify the Exchange promptly upon becoming aware of:

   1. any unauthorized disclosure or use of any User ID assigned to it or any of its Authorized Users and of any other reason for deactivating a User ID; and

   2. any unauthorized access to the Exchange by any Authorized User or by any Person using a User ID assigned to such Participant or Authorized User.

8. Each Participant and its Authorized Users shall be bound by any actions taken through the use of a User ID assigned to such Participant or Authorized User (other than any such actions resulting from the fault or negligence of the Exchange), including the submission of Orders and/or execution of Transactions, whether or not such actions were taken or authorized by such Participant or Authorized User, as the case may be.

9. Each Participant must be able to identify all Orders submitted under an Authorized User's respective User ID at all times.

1. Order Requirements. To be valid, an Order must consist of the following information:

   1. Contract: The Order must be submitted for a Contract for which Orders may be placed.

   2. Order ID: Must be present for identification purposes.

   3. Side: Must be either buy or sell.

   4. Quantity: Number of Contracts to be traded. Must be a positive integer greater than zero and less than maximum Order Quantity as defined in Contract Specifications.

   5. Price: As defined by Contract Specification.

   6. Time-In-Force: Day or Immediate-or-Cancel ("IOC"). Day orders are cancelled at the end of the day's trading session. IOCs are Orders that are immediately executed against resting Orders. If the Order cannot be fully filled, the remaining Quantity is cancelled

2. Order Types. The following types of Orders are allowed on the Exchange.

   1. Limit Order. Allows the buyer to define the maximum purchase Price and the seller to define the minimum sale Price for a Contract. If any portion of the Order can be matched, it will be immediately executed. Buy Limit Orders will only be executed at or below the limit Price. Sell Limit Orders will only be executed at or above the limit Price. If a Limit Order is not immediately executed, it will remain in the book at the limit Price until the Order is either executed, cancelled, or expires at the end of the trading session.

3. Submission. Submission of an Order to the Trading Platform constitutes a representation by the submitting Participant that it is acting as principal in respect of such Order. Orders may be submitted to the Trading Platform via the API.

   The Exchange reserves the right to temporarily or permanently defer processing Orders that may interfere with the proper functioning of the Exchange. For previously submitted Orders, additional validation checks may be run to ensure that the Order contents are still valid and that the submitting Participant has not been suspended.

   1. Price Bands. The Exchange shall apply a price range for aggressive Orders at which new Orders will be accepted. The initial Price Bands are based on the previous day Settlement Price +/- the Price Band variation set by the Exchange Market Operations & Risk Team. The Price Band variation range is continuously re-calculated from the top-of-book price. Calendar spread Price Band variation shall be 50% of the Price Band variation listed in the Contract Rules.

   2. Price Limits. The Exchange shall apply a price range, which may change throughout the trading session according to Rule 501.4, at which new Orders will be accepted and are computed as follows:

      1. Futures Contracts: the greater of 50% of the previous day Settlement Price or the price listed in the Contract Specifications.
      2. Options Contracts: the greater of 100% of the previous day Settlement Price or the price listed in the Contract Specifications.
      3. Calendar spreads: 50% of the Price Limit listed in the outright Contract Specifications.

   3. Self-Match Prevention. The Exchange enforces Self-Match Prevention ("SMP") to protect against self-trading that violates the Exchange's Wash Trade prohibition set out in Rule 402.10. SMP prevents the matching of orders with the same Trading Account ID. The Exchange reserves the right to change behavior of SMP from time to time.

4. Order Modification. Previously submitted Orders can be modified prior to being fully filled.

5. Order Cancellation. Previously submitted Orders can be cancelled prior to being fully filled.

6. Order Submission Period. The Exchange will accept Orders during the period as defined in Rule 501 and Rule 502. The Exchange reserves the right to modify this schedule. All submissions, modifications or cancellations will receive acknowledgement after Exchange processing if they have been accepted.

7. Trade Matching. The Trade Matching Engine matches and fills Orders using a central limit order book ("CLOB") and a price-time priority algorithm, meaning best prices first then on a first-in-first-out (FIFO) basis at identical prices, or as otherwise specified in the Contract Specifications.

8. Clearing. All matched trades generated by the Trade Matching Engine after the application of trade risk limits give rise to binding Exchange Transactions between the applicable Participants, which will be automatically submitted to the Clearinghouse for registration and novation, as described in Chapter 8 and 9 of these Rules. Further description of Clearinghouse procedures and rules can be found in the Clearinghouse rulebook. The Exchange reserves the right to cancel erroneous trades submitted to the Clearinghouse in accordance with Rule 508.

9. Trading Information. The Exchange shall make public daily information on settlement prices, volume, open interest, and opening and closing ranges for actively traded contracts on the contract market. Trading information will be published on the Exchange Website at the end of the day.

10. Messaging Policy. The Exchange enforces a messaging policy that limits the number of messages a Participant can submit to the API.

1. The Exchange shall designate the Contracts in which Block Trades shall be permitted and determine the minimum block size for such transactions. Block sizes will be posted on the Website.

2. The following rules shall govern Block Trades:

   1. A Block Trade must be for a quantity that is at or more than the applicable minimum threshold. Orders may not be aggregated to achieve the minimum transaction size unless expressly permitted under Applicable Law.

   2. Each Participant entering into a Block Trade must be an Eligible Contract Participant, as defined by the CEA, and approved for Block Trading by the Exchange. Each Participant must have a separate and independent bona fide business purpose for entering a Block Trade.

   3. The price at which a Block Trade is executed must be fair and reasonable in light of:

      1. the size of the Block Trade,
      2. the prices and sizes of other transactions in the same contract at the relevant time,
      3. the prices and sizes of transactions in other relevant markets, including the underlying cash market and related futures markets, at the relevant time, and
      4. the circumstances of the markets or the Participants to the Block Trade.

   4. Block Trades shall not affect Orders on the Exchange's regular market.

   5. Parties to a Block Trade must ensure that each Block Trade is submitted without delay upon execution of the trade, in no event later than fifteen (15) minutes after execution via web platform. The submission must include the Contract(s), contract month(s), price, quantity of the Transaction, time of execution, the respective Clearing Member, as well as any other information that the Exchange may require. The Exchange shall promptly publish price and volume information separately from the reports of Exchange transactions.

   6. Participants involved in the execution of Block Trades must maintain electronic records of all such Block Trades, including an electronic timestamp reflecting the date and time each such Order was received as well as an electronic timestamp reflecting the date and time such Order occurred or was cancelled.

3. Trade Entry. Block Trades must be submitted via web platform, where both approved Participants must confirm the Block Trades, specifying the identical Expiry(s) to be traded, the quantity and price, and the buyer and seller.

4. Modification and Cancelation. Block Trades submitted during the Exchange's Market Hours, and up to fifteen (15) minutes thereafter, are subject to immediate confirmation by the Exchange and may not be modified or cancelled. If erroneous information has been submitted as part of a Block Trade, the Exchange should be notified as soon as the error is detected. If appropriate, the Exchange will facilitate the modification of the trade on a discretionary basis; any trade modification the Exchange agrees to submit to the Clearinghouse will be done during normal Market Hours.

5. Risk Limit Validation and Clearing. All Block Trades will be subject to the Exchange's risk controls. Upon verification, the Block Trade will be submitted to the Clearinghouse for novation. The Exchange will make available, via a web interface, confirmation that the Block Trade has been accepted.

The Exchange may permit transfer trades to move positions between Trading Accounts for administrative purposes ("Position Transfers") where no change in ownership is involved. Participants and Clearing Members must obtain approval from the Exchange for a Position Transfer; such approval to be granted at the sole discretion of the Exchange. Position Transfers will not contribute to any reported volume, price, or trading range.

1. Trade Cancellation Authority. The Exchange may adjust trade prices or cancel (bust) trades when such action is necessary to mitigate market disrupting events caused by the improper or erroneous use of the Exchange or by system defects or malfunctions. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Rule 508.1, the Exchange may adjust trade prices or cancel any trade if the Exchange determines that allowing the trade to stand as executed may have a material, adverse effect on the integrity of the market. Any decision of the Exchange with respect to an adjustment or cancellation subject to this Rule 508.1 shall be final.

2. Review of Trades. The Exchange may review a trade based on its analysis of market conditions or a request for review by a user of the Exchange. A request for review must be made within five minutes of the execution of the trade. The Exchange shall promptly determine whether the trade will be subject to review, and upon deciding to review a trade, the Exchange will promptly issue an alert to all Participants on the Exchange indicating that the trade is under review. In the case of Contracts determined by the Exchange to be illiquid, the Exchange may initiate a review up to one hour after the execution of the trade, and has the authority, but not the obligation, to review trades reported more than one hour following execution if it determines that the trade price was significantly out of line with fair value. In the course of its review of any trade, the Exchange may, but is not obligated to, inform any of the parties to the trade of the identity and contact information of any other party to the trade.

1. Definitions

   • Daily Settlement Period: 14:55-15:00 CPT
   • Final Settlement Period: Five minutes prior to Trading Termination
   • Settlement Period: Daily or Final Settlement Period
   • Implied Spot Price: The spot price implied by the futures curve.
   • Floating Market Price: The first available of the following methods:
     1. The volume-weighted average price (VWAP) of all the trades during the Settlement Period.
     2. The time-weighted average price (TWAP) of the bid-ask spread midpoint during the Settlement Period.
     3. The price implied from the futures or options curve of which the Contract is a constituent:
        • Futures: Futures curve interpolation.
        • Options: Black-Scholes model based on the Settlement Price and 30-day volatility of the underlying Contract.
     4. The Contract's previous day's Settlement Price.
     5. Market data sources deemed acceptable by the Exchange.

2. Daily Settlement. The Exchange will provide the Clearinghouse with Settlement Prices at least once per day. The Daily Settlement price shall be determined at the end of the Daily Settlement Period.

3. Final Settlement. The Exchange will provide the Clearinghouse with the Final Settlement Prices at the end of the Final Settlement Period on the expiration day of the Contract.

4. Sole Discretion. The Exchange has sole discretion to determine an alternative Settlement Price if the stated Settlement procedure produces prices which are not representative of the fair value of the Contract. The Exchange reserves the right to adjust Daily and Final Settlement Prices as it deems necessary based on current market conditions or otherwise.

5. Tick Alignment. All Settlement Prices are rounded to the nearest tick.

6. Futures Settlement Prices

   1. Physically (Delivery) Settled

      • Daily: The Floating Market Price.
      • Final: The Floating Market Price.

   2. Financially (Cash) Settled

      • Daily: The Floating Market Price.
      • Final: The underlying index price.

   3. Perpetually Settled.

      • Daily: The median of (1) the Implied Spot Price, (2) the Floating Market Price, and (3) the Implied Spot Price plus the simple moving average.
      • Final: The Implied Spot Price.

7. Options Settlement Prices

   • Daily: The Floating Market Price.
   • Final: The underlying Settlement Price.

1. Each Clearing Member and Participant that accesses the Exchange electronically is responsible for maintaining or causing to be maintained a front-end audit trail for all electronic Orders, which shall include Order entry, modification, and cancellation (the "Audit Trail") entered into the Exchange System by the Participant for which the Clearing Member is identified in the order or quote submission as the Clearing Member for the execution of the order or quote, including all related modifications and cancellations.

2. Such Audit Trail shall include Orders submitted and the times of Order entry and of any Order modification or cancellation. Times that are so captured must not be capable of being modified by the Person entering the Order and must reflect all necessary data fields specified by the Exchange from time to time. For executed Orders, the Audit Trail must record the execution time of the trade along with all award information.

3. Each Clearing Member and Participant shall maintain such Audit Trail information for a minimum of five (5) years and must have the ability to produce Audit Trail data in a standard format upon request of the Exchange. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, each Participant is required to comply with the provisions of Commission Regulation §1.35 as applicable to that Participant.

Each order submitted to the Exchange must include the correct Customer Type Indicator ("CTI") code. The CTI codes are as follows:

• CTI 1: Orders entered, or trades executed, by an individual for their own account, or for an account they control or have a financial interest in, that does not fall under the CTI 2 definition.

• CTI 2: Orders entered, or trades executed, for the proprietary account of a firm which is either a Participant registered with the Exchange, or a Clearing Member.

• CTI 3: Orders entered, or trades executed, for the personal account of an individual Participant.

• CTI 4: Orders entered, or trades executed, for customers which do not fall under CTI 1, CTI 2, or CTI 3 codes. These would include orders entered by, or on behalf of, clients which are not registered as Participants of the Exchange and are not Clearing Members.

1. The Exchange will make information regarding Orders (including prices bid or offered), trades and any other matters it may deem appropriate available to Participants and other Persons at such times and in such manner (whether through the Exchange, financial information services or otherwise) as it may consider necessary or advisable from time to time.

2. Each Participant or other Person receiving any such information referred to in Rule 512.1 above shall not redistribute such information other than to the extent and in the manner as may be expressly permitted by the Exchange in writing from time to time.

1. Each Participant and Clearing Member shall have written disaster recovery and business continuity policies and procedures in place to ensure it is able to perform certain basic operational functions in the event of a significant internal or external interruption to its operations. At a minimum, the following areas must be addressed in the Participant's or Clearing Member's policies and procedures:

   1. each Participant and Clearing Member must have procedures in place to allow it to continue to operate during periods of stress or to transfer accounts to another fully operational Participant or Clearing Member with minimal disruption to the Exchange and the Clearinghouse.

   2. each Participant and Clearing Member must perform periodic testing of disaster recovery and business continuity plans, duplication of critical systems at back up sites and periodic back-up of critical information and provide the Exchange or Clearinghouse with information regarding the foregoing upon request; and

   3. each Participant and Clearing Member must maintain and, at the request of the Exchange or the Clearinghouse, provide accurate and complete information for its key personnel. Each Participant and Clearing Member must inform the Exchange or Clearinghouse in a timely manner whenever a change to its key personnel is made.

2. The Exchange or the Clearinghouse may prescribe additional and/or alterative requirements for a Participant's or Clearing Member's compliance with this rule.

1. Spot Contracts Offered.

   1. Authorization and Treatment. The Exchange is authorized to designate for listing and trading commodity spot contracts ("Spot Contracts"), including where applicable, those Spot Contracts that constitute retail commodity transactions, as defined in CEA Section 2(c)(2)(D), 7 U.S.C. 2(c)(2)(D). Subject to the rules herein, all Spot Contracts shall be treated by the Exchange as if they are futures contracts.

   2. Actual Delivery Exemption. The Exchange shall treat all Spot Contracts as retail commodity transactions regardless of whether any individual transaction may ultimately qualify for the actual delivery exemption under CEA Section 2(c)(2)(D)(ii)(III)(aa), 7 U.S.C. 2(c)(2)(D)(ii)(III)(aa).

2. Financing.

   1. Availability. Financing may be offered to Customers and Participants specifically for the purpose of funding trading and settlement activity related to Exchange Spot Contracts. Such financing shall be contractual, documented in writing, and subject to inspection by the Exchange.

   2. Lenders. Financing provided by a third-party lender, affiliate of an FCM, or other market participant shall constitute activity by a Person acting in concert with the Exchange so long as such financing is specifically for the purpose of funding trading and settlement activity related to Spot Contracts offered on the Exchange.

3. Clearing. Spot Contract transactions designated hereunder shall be subject to the mandatory clearing requirements set forth in CFTC Rule 38.601, 17 CFR § 38.601, and shall be cleared by the Clearinghouse as set forth in Chapter 8. Consistent with CEA Section 2(c)(2)(D), 7 U.S.C. 2(c)(2)(D), cleared Spot Contract customer collateral shall not be treated as segregated customer funds under CEA Section 4d, 7 U.S.C. 6d.

4. Settlement and Delivery. Spot Contracts shall be subject to the settlement and delivery procedures set forth in Chapter 11.