CME Group Announces First Trade of US Zinc Futures | LeapRate
On Tuesday, CME Group announced the first trades of its US Zinc Futures contracts, executed on CME Globex by Glencore and Trafigura.
The derivatives exchange operator said the trades were executed on screen on 20 August, for September delivery. CME Group updated its zinc contract to US duty-paid in March 2026 in response to client demand for a tool to manage US pricing dynamics.
The exchange-traded, centrally cleared contract provides a risk management tool for the all-in US zinc price and is designed to improve accuracy, transparency and hedging for producers, consumers and intermediaries.
“As geopolitical fragmentation reshapes global supply chains, regional price signals matter more than ever,” commented Jin Hennig, managing director and global head of metals at CME Group. “The U.S. zinc market increasingly moves to its own dynamics — driven by domestic policy and supply security — and our new futures contract addresses this gap by providing participants a precise tool to manage their exposure.”
CME Group added that it was the first to introduce regional products in industrial metals, steel and battery metals.
It noted that both its US and European hot-rolled coil steel futures were trading at record levels year to date, while copper futures were up 12% year on year in the first half of 2026, averaging 107,000 contracts per day.
The US Zinc Futures contract is physically settled and listed by and subject to the rules of COMEX.
