The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT®) today announced plans to establish clearing services for two new over-the-counter (OTC) Ethanol Calendar Swap contracts. The new products, which will include contracts for both forward and previous month calendar swaps, will be based on the price of CBOT Ethanol futures contracts. Scheduled to be introduced on December 4, 2006, CBOT Ethanol Swap contracts are the first exchange-cleared OTC products to be specifically tailored for use in the ethanol industry.

CBOT Ethanol Swap OTC transactions will take place “off exchange” – away from the Exchange’s trading environment – where they are privately negotiated by counterparties. After negotiations are complete, the transaction is submitted to a CBOT clearing firm. The benefits of exchange-cleared OTC trades are many, including daily mark to market, which allows customers to better manage their capital costs, and elimination of counterparty risk. In addition, exchange-cleared OTC trades offer a standard, transparent reference point for marking and valuing OTC positions along with the CBOT Ethanol futures contract.

CBOT Senior Vice President of Business Development Robert D. Ray said, “OTC transactions have become commonplace in energy sectors such as crude oil and natural gas. With the Ethanol market continuing its rapid expansion, we feel that now is the ideal time to establish the clearing for OTC Ethanol Swap contracts and provide new and innovative opportunities for Ethanol industry market participants. The new contracts demonstrate our strong commitment to the Ethanol industry, following on the heels of our Ethanol futures contract, which is viewed as the pricing benchmark for the industry.”

CBOT Ethanol Swap contracts will be cleared by the Exchange’s clearing services provider. Clearing hours will be 6:36 p.m. CT through 4:00 p.m. CT, Sunday through Friday. For each listed Ethanol futures contract, there will be a corresponding previous and forward month OTC Ethanol Swap contract.

For more information, please visit www.cbot.com/ethanol