International Monetary Market (IMM) Overview The International Monetary Market (IMM) is the division of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) that handles currency and interest-rate futures and options. It was established in the early 1970s as part of the CME’s expansion into financial futures and remains a key venue for hedging and speculating on foreign exchange and interest-rate risk. What the IMM trades Key instruments traded on the IMM include:
Major currency futures and options (e.g., U.S. dollar, British pound, euro, Canadian dollar)
Interest-rate products such as LIBOR-based contracts and government bond futures (including a 10-year Japanese bond contract)
* Inflation-related contracts tied to price indexes (for example, U.S. Consumer Price Index derivatives) Explore More Resources
Brief history
* The Chicago Mercantile Exchange began in 1898 as the Chicago Butter and Egg Board and later expanded into a wide range of commodity and financial futures.
* In 1961 the CME introduced its first futures market (frozen pork bellies). By 1969 it had added financial futures and currency contracts.
* The IMM’s trading activity began in the early 1970s when the CME launched its interest-rate, bond, and currency futures programs.
* Over subsequent decades the CME Group grew through mergers and acquisitions:
* 2007: merged with the Chicago Board of Trade to form CME Group
* 2008: acquired NYMEX/COMEX
* 2010: formed a joint venture to operate Dow Jones indexes
* 2012: acquired the Kansas City Board of Trade
* 2017: began trading Bitcoin futures
* By 2019 the CME reported average daily trading volumes in the tens of millions of contracts and had moved the majority of trading to its electronic platform.
Trading and clearing
* Trading methods: while some open-outcry trading remains, the vast majority of activity occurs electronically via the CME Globex platform.
* Clearing: CME Group operates CME Clearing, a major central counterparty that manages counterparty credit risk for exchange-traded derivatives.
Risks and limitations Trading IMM products can offer significant opportunities but also involves substantial risks, including:
Economic, political, and geopolitical events that drive market moves
Legislative and regulatory changes affecting markets or specific contracts
Rapid shifts in market conditions, volatility, price levels, and contract volumes
Correlated moves across underlying markets (equities, foreign exchange, interest rates, commodities)
* Changes in global or regional supply and demand for commodities that affect related derivatives Sources Primary information is drawn from CME Group materials and public filings. Explore More Resources