Orange Juice Futures and Options

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The frozen concentrate orange juice futures at ICE Futures U.S. have the second slimmest volumes of the softs. The 15,000 pounds of orange solids specified by the contracts can come in drums or tanks, at the sellers option.

The United States and Brazil outpace all others in orange juice production.

The orange crop is another commodity more susceptible to weather than most. Systems such as hurricanes, freezes and tropical storms can shock the market into the stratosphere if they hit at the right time. It's obvious why. More than 98% of the U.S. crop comes from Florida, a geographic concentration soybean crushers would dread.

Another measure of the orange juice supply is the number and quality of citrus trees, a number published bi-annually by the Florida Agricultural Statistics Service. The report also breaks down trees by type - 1996 orange trees up 3% to 84.2 million, of which 78.5 million produced fruit, for example.

A tree can take as long as 15 years to reach maturity.

Once a supply pattern becomes established, unless there's a weather surprise, we're likely to see it continue at the same rate. While the United States produces a great deal of oranges, its not always enough to feed America's thirst for frozen concentrate orange juice, which the country is importing at near-record levels. While U.S. dependence on the primary contributor Brazil has increased recently, analysts predict imports are leveling off.

FCOJ Contract Specifications
Orange Juice Futures

Trading Unit - 15,000 lbs. of orange solids (3% more or less).

Trading Hours - 10:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. (NY time).

Price Quotation - Prices quoted in cents and hundreths of a cent.

Trading Months - January, March, May, July, September, November with at least two January months listed at all times.

Ticker Symbol - OJ

Minimum Fluctuation - 5/100 of a cent per pound ($7.50 per contract).

Last Trading Day - 14th business day prior to the last business day of the month.

First Notice Day - First business day of contract month.

Daily Price Limit - Daily limit: 5 cents ($7.50 per contract) above or below the previous day's settlement price.
Spot Month Limit: A moveable 10 cents ($1500 per contract) above or below the previous day's settlement price. Additionally, on and after first notice day of the spot month, this same moveable 10 cent limit also applies to the next nearby contract month. Wider limits can take affect under certain market conditions. Also, substantial price moves (2,000 points or more) can activate imputed settlement prices.

Point Value - $1.50

Basis Grade - U.S. Grade A with a Brix value of not less than 62.5 degrees.

Delivery Points - Exchange licensed warehouses in Florida, New Jersey, Delaware and California.

Delivery Methods - Drums or tanks, at the seller's option.

Orange Juice Options

Trading Unit - One FCOJ Futures Contract

Trading Hours - See Orange Juice Futures

Price Quotation - Prices quoted in cents and hundreths of a cent

Trading Months - In addition to a February options contract, each listed futures month will have its option month listed for trading (two Januaries, March, May, July, September, November). In addition, the newest calendar month which is not a futures month will be listed (April, June, August, October, December).

Ticker Symbol - OJ

Minimum Fluctuation - 5/100 of a cent per pound ($7.50 per contract)

Last Trading Day - The third Friday of the month preceding named option month

Expiration Date/Time - Until 5:00 p.m (New York time) on any trading day including last trading day.

Daily Price Limits - None

Strike Price Increments - 5 cent increments for all contract months

Minimum Price Fluctuation - 1/100 of a cent

Position Limits - See Orange Juice Futures specifications for combined Futures/Options Limits