History of Wheat

Free $25 Grain & Wheat Trading Kit - Also includes access to the client website with daily grain research and market recommendations.

What is wheat?

Wheat is a plant that is a member of the grain family of vegetation that also includes rye, corn, oats and rice. Wheat is among the most important of cereal crops grown in many regions of the world for human consumption, including all of North America. It is Canada's most important grain crop, produced in nine of Canada's territories.

What is wheat flour?

Wheat flour is a food ingredient that is manufactured from the grain harvested from mature wheat plants. The manufacturing process has evolved over thousands of years, but still involves grinding of whole wheat grains into finely granulated powders (flour) and coarsely granulated meals that can be easily mixed with other food ingredients or further processed in some fashion into foods that are ready to eat.

What foods contain wheat flour?

Wheat flour is the main ingredient in most breads, bakery products, biscuits, cookies and crackers consumed everywhere in the world. It is also the main ingredient in most pasta. In fact, most noodles and pasta are almost 100% wheat.

Wheat flour is also used in a wide range of other processed foods, such as prepared breakfast cereals, prepared meat products, sauces, gravies, soups and confectionery products.

Wheat Specifications

Contract Size
One CBOT Wheat futures contract of 5,000 bushel

Tick Size
1/8 cent per bushel $6.25/contract

Wheat Futures Contract Months
July, September, December, March, May; a monthly (serial) option contract is listed when the front month is not a standard option contract. The monthly option contract exercises into the nearby futures contract. For example, 8th month's option exercises into the 9th month's futures position.

Trading Hours
Open Auction: 9:30 a.m. - 1:15 p.m. Central Time, Mon-Fri.
Electronic: 7:34 p.m. - 6:00 a.m. Central Time, Sun.-Fri. Trading in expiring contracts closes at noon on the last trading day.

Exercise
The buyer of a futures option may exercise the option on any business day prior to expiration by giving notice to the Board of Trade clearing service provider by 6:00 p.m. Chicago time. Option exercise results in an underlying futures market position. Options in-the-money on the last day of trading are automatically exercised.

Strike Price Intervals
5 cents/bu for the first two months and 10 cents/bu for all other months. At the commencement of trading, list 5 strikes above and 5 strikes below the at the money strike.

Last Trading Day
For standard option contracts: The last Friday preceding the first notice day of the corresponding wheat futures contract month by at least two business days.
For serial option contracts: The last Friday which precedes by at least two business days the last business day of the month preceding the option month.

Expiration
Unexercised Wheat futures options shall expire at 7:00 p.m. on the last day of trading.

Ticker Symbols
Open Auction: WY for calls/WZ for puts
Electronic: OZW

Daily Price Limit
30 cents/bushel ($1,500/contract) above or below the previous day's settlement premium. Limits are lifted on the last trading day.

*The risk of loss exists in futures trading. Past performance is not indicative of future results.