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Unleaded Gas Futures
Ticker Symbol: RB
Exchange: NYMEX
Hours of Trading: open outcry 9:00 Am to 2:30 PM Eastern Standard Time
Unit/Contract Size: 42,000 U.S. gallons
Price Quote: Dollars and cents/gal
Min. Price Change: $.0001 per gallon or $4.20 per contract
Max Price Fluctuation: $.25 per gallon or $10,500 per contract
Months of Trading: 36 consecutive months, January through December
Last Trading Day: At conclusion of the business day of the month before delivery month.
Almost one half of the United States oil consumption is for gasoline.
It is the largest single volume refined product. Gasoline is made from
crude oil and gas futures prices more or less share a relationship
with crude futures. Considered altogether, the market for unleaded gas
is diverse one; from wholesale distributors, to trucking fleets, to
the retail pump outlets.
The New York Harbor unleaded gasoline futures contract/reformulated gasoline
blendstock (RBOB), similar to heating oil futures, is a legally binding
contract to accept physical delivery in the New York harbor; the major
trading center of refineries as well as for Gulf Coast refineries, accepting
both imports and domestic shipments.
Gasoline futures are traded by hedgers and speculators alike. Hedgers in the
market include heavy consumers of fuel that look to manage their risk
in inventories and better manage costs and their uncertainties. These
include transportation concerns and refineries among others.
Speculators have interests in unleaded RBOB futures contracts, for the
intent of making a profit from movements in the price of trading in
a market that can be price volatile; with links to weather (for example;
Hurricanes in the Gulf) and refinery output, seasonal cycles, and the
broader economic
climate driving the demand, not to mention the relation with the crude
oil barrel from which it is made.
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