Frequently Asked Questions: Weekly Options on U.S. Treasury Futures

Monday options will be launched on October 30, 2023, pending regulatory review. The first two listed expiration dates will be November 6 and 13, 2023.

View full expiration calendar

The naming convention is symbol + week of the month + month code + year. For example:

• The CME Globex symbol for a Monday WTO on 10-Year futures expiring on the first Monday in November 2023 is VY1X3.
• The CME Globex symbol for a Wednesday WTO on 10-Year futures expiring on the first Wednesday in November 2023 is WY1X3.
• The CME Globex symbol for a Friday WTO on 10-Year futures expiring on the first Friday in November 2023 is ZN1X3.

Two Monday and Wednesday WTOs will be listed at a time for each Treasury futures product. Each Monday and Wednesday WTO will have about 14 days to expiration upon its initial listing date.

Three Friday WTOs will be listed at a time for each Treasury futures product. Each Friday WTO will have about 28 days to expiration upon its listing date.

New Monday and Wednesday WTO expirations will be listed three hours after the current option expires (5:00 p.m. Central time (CT).

For example, the first two expiration dates for the Monday options will be November 6 and November 13, 2023. Immediately following the expiration of the November 6 expiration, the November 20 expiration will be listed on CME Globex open (5:00 p.m. CT).

New Friday WTO expirations will be listed on the weekend following the expiration of the nearest Friday weekly.

Monday and Wednesday Weekly Treasury options

• The 2:00 p.m. CT futures settlement will determine if the option is in- or out-of-the-money.
• Trading in the options will cease at 2:00 p.m. CT.
• Contrary instructions will not be allowed. At 2:00 p.m. CT, you will know your futures positions per the following rules:
  • In-the-money options will be auto-exercised.
  • Out-of-the money options will be auto-abandoned.
  • If the futures settle exactly at-the-money:
    • ATM Calls will be auto-exercised
    • ATM Puts will be auto-abandoned

Friday Weekly Treasury options

• The 2:00 p.m. CT will determine if the options are in- or out-of-the-money.
• Options will continue to trade on Globex until 4:00 p.m. CT.
• Per the futures settlement at 2:00 p.m. CT.
  • In-the-money options will be auto-exercised.
  • Out-of-the-money options will be auto-abandoned.
  • At-the-money options will be auto-abandoned
• Contrary instructions are allowed, giving the long position holder the ability to exercise an out-of-the-money option or abandon in-the-money options.

A Monday option will expire on the subsequent business day, most likely a Tuesday, if the expiration falls on a holiday.

• U.S. Treasury Bond and Ultra Bond options: ½ of one point
• 5-Year Note, 10-Year Note, and Ultra 10-Year Note options: ¼ of one point
• 2-Year Note options: 1/8 of one point

All WTOs exercise physically into their underlying Treasury futures contracts. A weekly option will exercise into the same futures contract as its nearest subsequent quarterly option. This is illustrated below in the November 2023 WTO schedule:

There is no Week 4 November 23 Friday WTO, because a standard quarterly Treasury option expiration occurs on that day.

Learn more about weekly Treasury options.

Matters discussed herein are pending and subject to CFTC review.

U.S. Treasury Options are listed with and subject to the rules and regulations of the CBOT. Eurodollar Options are listed with and subject to the rules and regulations of CME.

CME Group is a trademark of CME Group Inc. The Globe Logo, CME, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Globex, and CME Direct are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. ClearPort, New York Mercantile Exchange and NYMEX are registered trademarks of New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc.

The information within this fact card has been compiled by CME Group for general purposes only. Although every attempt has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information within this brochure, CME Group assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions. Additionally, all examples in this brochure are hypothetical situations, used for explanation purposes only, and should not be considered investment advice or the results of actual market experience.

Futures trading is not suitable for all investors, and involves the risk of loss. Futures are a leveraged investment, and because only a percentage of a contract’s value is required to trade, it is possible to lose more than the amount of money deposited for a futures position. Therefore, traders should only use funds that they can afford to lose without affecting their lifestyles. And only a portion of those funds should be devoted to any one trade because they cannot expect to profit on every trade. All examples in this brochure are hypothetical situations, used for explanation purposes only, and should not be considered investment advice or the results of actual market experience.

Copyright © 2017 CME Group. All rights reserved