CME sets 7 December tungsten start as brokers prepare a new reporting unit

CME has set 7 December 2026 as the first trade date for COMEX tungsten futures, pending the relevant CFTC review periods. Its 3 November notice specifies financial settlement and trading opening on Sunday 6 December.[1]

For brokers, the nearer operational milestone is 8 November. A separate CME notice says customer testing starts then for both the futures and a new MTU value in its post-trade reporting messages. Production support is scheduled for 6 December.[2]

The unit needs careful handling. The British Geological Survey defines one mtu as 10 kilograms of contained tungsten trioxide, WO3. Thus 88.5 mtu represents 885 kilograms of WO3 content. CME describes that as approximately one metric tonne of ammonium paratungstate, or APT, at 88.5% WO3. The reference is Fastmarkets’ Rotterdam/Baltimore APT assessment, according to the FAQ.[4][3]

A hypothetical $10-per-mtu rise produces an $885 gross gain per long contract, and an equivalent short loss, before costs. Margin is separate.[1]

CME’s FAQ gives a two-contract minimum for block trades and a 15-minute reporting window. At that minimum, the trade represents 177 mtu, doubling the exposure in the one-contract example.[3]

The new timetable is more specific than CME’s 19 October announcement, which targeted a launch by early Q1 2027. That earlier wording did not commit the exchange to a particular month.[5]

The FAQ still carries Q1 2027 launch wording. The dated November listing and operational notices provide the December schedule used here.[3][1]

CME will add MTU as an accepted value in instrument, price, commission and notional unit fields in its FIX and FIXML trade reporting. The implementation task for brokers is therefore broader than adding a symbol to a trading screen: trade capture and reconciliation must preserve the unit alongside the price and quantity.[2]

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