CME Launches 10-Barrel WTI Futures Contract

According to CNBC, CME Group began offering a new futures contract on Sunday that represents 10 barrels of West Texas Intermediate crude, or about $860 at current prices. The contract is smaller than CME's Micro WTI contract, which covers 100 barrels, and its standard contract, which covers 1,000 barrels. The launch comes as oil prices inched lower on Monday after OPEC+ agreed to further increase output targets from August and exports from key producers via the Strait of Hormuz recovered. Market participants said the smaller contract could make crude trading more accessible to retail investors, following growth in online brokerage platforms, exchange-traded funds and smaller futures products. CME said its 100-barrel Micro WTI futures averaged 272,000 contracts a day in May, up 317% from a year earlier.