COMEX

COMEX, short for Commodity Exchange, is a major futures and options exchange specializing in metals. Founded in New York City in the 20th century, it became known for trading gold, silver, copper and other metal contracts. Today COMEX is a division of CME Group, and it operates as part of one of the world's leading derivatives marketplaces. Most trading is conducted electronically on the CME Globex platform, with the exchange clearing through CME Clearing. Contracts traded on COMEX include gold futures (100 troy ounces per contract), silver futures (5,000 troy ounces), and copper futures (usually 25,000 pounds of Grade A copper). Options on futures are also available on these contracts. The prices discovered on COMEX are widely used as benchmarks for physical metal markets and are important for hedging, price discovery, and risk management by producers, processors, manufacturers, and investors.

History and structure: COMEX began as a dedicated exchange for metal futures and options. In 1994, NYMEX and COMEX merged to form NYMEX Holdings, Inc. In 2008, CME Group acquired NYMEX Holdings and integrated COMEX into CME Group’s markets. Today, COMEX operates as a division within CME Group, contributing to a global network of futures markets for price discovery and risk transfer. The exchange is regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).