CHICAGO, Feb. 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- As open outcry futures trading has fallen to just one percent of the company's total futures volume, CME Group today announced it will close most of its futures trading pits in Chicago and New York by July 2, 2015. The floor-based S&P 500 futures market, which continues to provide an important venue for trading the underlying futures contract for the open outcry S&P 500 options on futures contract, will remain open on CME Group's Chicago trading floor.

Options on futures contracts, which continue to trade actively on both the floor and the screen, will remain open on both trading floors except for the DJIA ($10) and NASDAQ-100 open outcry equity index options markets which are designed to deliver into floor-based futures contracts.

With the exception of the S&P 500 futures and options on futures pits which will remain open, equity index futures pits and the DJIA ($10) and NASDAQ-100 options pits will close following the expiration of the June 2015 contract on June 19, 2015. All other futures pits will close on July 2. In addition, in Chicago, all options pits will be located on a single floor in the company's Financial Room by September.

To assist floor traders with the transition going forward, the company will make every attempt to make booth space available to those who want to trade electronically following the closure of the open outcry futures pits.

CME Group will hold members' meetings in Chicago and New York to answer questions and discuss transition plans. Only current member owners will be admitted.

As the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, CME Group (www.cmegroup.com) is where the world comes to manage risk. CME Group exchanges offer the widest range of global benchmark products across all major asset classes, including futures and options based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities, metals, weather and real estate. CME Group brings buyers and sellers together through its CME Globex® electronic trading platform, its trading facilities in New York and Chicago, and through its London-based CME Europe derivatives exchange. CME Group also operates one of the world's leading central counterparty clearing providers through CME Clearing and CME Clearing Europe, which offer clearing and settlement services across asset classes for exchange-traded contracts and over-the-counter derivatives transactions. These products and services ensure that businesses everywhere can substantially mitigate counterparty credit risk.

CME Group is a trademark of CME Group Inc. The Globe Logo, CME, Globex and Chicago Mercantile Exchange are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. CBOT and the Chicago Board of Trade are trademarks of the Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Inc. NYMEX, New York Mercantile Exchange and ClearPort are registered trademarks of New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. COMEX is a trademark of Commodity Exchange, Inc. KCBOT, KCBT and Kansas City Board of Trade are trademarks of The Board of Trade of Kansas City, Missouri, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Further information about CME Group (NASDAQ: CME) and its products can be found at www.cmegroup.com.

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SOURCE CME Group