New York Mercantile Exchange

What New York Mercantile Exchange does

New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) operates as a physical commodities exchange founded in 1872 (originally as the Butter and Cheese Exchange of New York) and headquartered in New York City. Acquired by CME Group in 2008 for approximately $8.7 billion, NYMEX functions as one of four Designated Contract Markets (DCMs) under the CME Group umbrella, alongside CME, CBOT, and COMEX. The exchange's core specialization is energy derivatives, offering global benchmark contracts including WTI Crude Oil Futures, Henry Hub Natural Gas Futures, Brent Last Day Financial Futures, RBOB Gasoline Futures, and NY Harbor ULSD Futures. NYMEX also lists agricultural and metals products, and through CME Group provides access to equity index, FX, interest rate, and cryptocurrency futures across standard, E-mini, and Micro contract sizes.

The exchange generates revenue through per-contract transaction fees on futures and options trades, with pricing varying by contract type and execution method (electronic vs. floor). Trading is available nearly 24 hours a day, six days a week, via the proprietary CME Direct electronic trading platform, with additional distribution through futures commission merchants, clearing firms, and a mobile application. The technology stack includes market regulation and surveillance systems for detecting trade rule violations, real-time market data feeds, risk management analytics, and OTC clearing services. Customer segments span energy industry participants (producers, refiners, utilities, trading firms) for hedging and price discovery, institutional investors (hedge funds, asset managers, proprietary trading firms) for portfolio hedging and macro strategies, and individual active traders accessing Micro-sized contracts for precision trading.

Name

New York Mercantile Exchange

Legal name

CME Group Inc.

Website

https://cmegroup.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1872

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Derivatives Exchange

NAICS

Securities and Commodity Exchanges (52321), Commodity Contracts Intermediation (523160), Securities and Commodity Contracts Intermediation and Brokerage (5231)

SIC

Commodity Contracts Brokers & Dealers (6221), Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200)

akta.pro primary industry

Commodity Derivatives Exchanges (Futures & Options on Commodities) (FSAFAMAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Listed Derivatives Execution Platforms (Futures/Options) (FSAFANAD), Cleared OTC Derivatives Trading Facilities (SEF/OTF-like platforms) (FSAFABAL), Crypto Derivatives Exchanges (Futures, Options & Perpetuals) (FSADAAAD), Commodity Derivatives (Energy, Metals, Ags) (FSACADAE)

Keywords

• Commodity futures exchange
• Energy derivatives trading
• Futures and options
• Electronic trading platform
• Risk management derivatives

Headquarters

HQ city

Manhattan

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Futures and Options Trading Fees: Transaction fees charged on futures and options contracts traded on NYMEX. Revenue is generated through trading volume with fees varying by contract type and execution method (electronic vs. floor).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

NYMEX operates as a physical commodities derivatives exchange providing electronic trading access nearly 24 hours a day, six days a week for futures and options contracts across energy, agriculture, metals, equity indices, FX, and interest rate asset classes. It offers global benchmark contracts such as WTI Crude Oil and Henry Hub Natural Gas, plus Micro-sized variants, and operates as one of four Designated Contract Markets under CME Group.

Product overview

NYMEX (New York Mercantile Exchange), a part of CME Group, operates as a derivatives marketplace offering futures and options trading across six major asset classes for risk management. The platform provides global benchmark products including Agriculture contracts (Corn, Soybean, Soybean Oil, Soybean Meal, Wheat, Live Cattle), Energy contracts (Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Brent, Gasoline, Heating Oil), Equity Index contracts (S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, Dow Jones, Russell 2000, MidCap 400, Nikkei, Single Stock), FX contracts (G10 currencies), Interest Rate contracts (SOFR, Treasury Notes and Bonds), and Metals contracts (Gold, Silver, Platinum, Palladium, Copper, Aluminum). The product suite also includes Micro Futures variants across major contracts providing smaller contract sizes for precision trading, cryptocurrency futures (Bitcoin, Ether, Solana), and specialized platforms like BrokerTec (European government bonds) and EBS (FX trading), plus OTC Clearing services. Trading access is available nearly 24 hours a day, six days a week.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Crude Oil Futures (WTI)

Quantifiable outcome

• Global benchmark pricing for energy commodities including WTI crude oil and Henry Hub natural gas
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• CME GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNYMEX is a wholly-owned subsidiary exchange of CME Group, operating as one of four Designated Contract Markets (DCMs) alongside CME, CBOT, and COMEX. CME Group provides technology infrastructure, clearing services, and regulatory oversight for NYMEX operations.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Intercontinental Exchange (ICE): ICE operates the leading competing energy derivatives exchange (ICE Futures Europe/ICE Futures U.S.), hosting Brent crude, TTF natural gas, and gasoil benchmarks that directly compete with NYMEX's WTI and Henry Hub contracts.
• Eurex (Deutsche Börse): Eurex is Europe's largest derivatives exchange, offering futures and options on European equities, fixed income, and commodities. It competes with NYMEX/CME for cross-border derivatives volume, particularly in European benchmark products.
• London Metal Exchange (LME): LME is the world's premier exchange for industrial metals futures (copper, aluminum, zinc). Now owned by Hong Kong Exchanges, it competes with NYMEX/COMEX metals products and serves overlapping industrial hedgers.
• CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE): CBOE Futures Exchange operates U.S. futures on volatility indices (VIX), equity indices, and bitcoin. As a U.S.-based derivatives venue, it directly competes for institutional volume that could otherwise flow to NYMEX/CME products.
• Nasdaq Futures (NFX): Nasdaq Futures offered U.S. energy and interest rate futures before being wound down, but Nasdaq still operates Nordic derivatives exchanges and competes with NYMEX/CME for U.S. equity index futures volume through Nasdaq-100 licensing.

Broad incumbents

• CME Group: NYMEX's parent company and the world's largest derivatives marketplace, operating CME, CBOT, COMEX, and NYMEX exchanges. Comparable as the broad incumbent offering similar products across all major asset classes.

Regional players

• Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX): HKEX operates Asian derivatives markets including equity index futures, RMB currency futures, and metals via LME ownership. It competes for Asian trading hours and emerging market hedging flow that might otherwise reach NYMEX/CME.
• Singapore Exchange (SGX): SGX is Asia's leading multi-asset exchange with active commodity (rubber, freight), equity index (Nikkei, MSCI), and FX derivatives. It captures Asian trading hours volume and serves as a regional alternative to NYMEX/CME products.
• B3 (Brasil Bolsa Balcão): B3 is Latin America's largest exchange operator, offering commodities (soybeans, corn, cattle), FX, and equity derivatives. It serves Brazilian and broader Latin American hedging demand that competes with NYMEX agricultural contracts.

Emerging players

• Binance: Binance operates the largest crypto derivatives venue globally by volume, competing directly with CME/NYMEX Micro Bitcoin, Micro Ether, and Micro SOL futures, particularly for retail and non-U.S. institutional flow.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/CMEGroup
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/cmegroup
• Facebookfacebook.com/cmegroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cme-group
• Instagraminstagram.com/cmegroup

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about New York Mercantile Exchange