futuresspecs

CBOT · Agriculture · Futures

KC Hard Red Winter Wheat Futures (KE)

KC HRW Wheat (KE) tracks US hard red winter wheat, the bread-wheat benchmark: 5,000 bushels, quoted in cents per bushel, physically delivered.

COT data as of Sep 22, 2026 · Margins as of Sep 30, 2026 · Roll & expiry dates checked daily

Tick size / value
0.25 ¢/bu = $12.50
Point value
$50 / 1¢
Active contract
KEZ26 Dec 2026
Next roll
Nov 24 in 56 days
Globex right now
Checking…
01

Contract specifications

Exchange
Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT, CME Group)
Underlying
No. 2 Hard Red Winter wheat
Contract unit
5,000 bushels
Minimum tick
1/4 cent per bushel = $12.50 per contract
Point value
$50.00 per 1 cent per bushel · 4 ticks per 1¢
Price quotation
U.S. cents per bushel
Contract months
March, May, July, September, December (H, K, N, U, Z)
Settlement
Physical delivery
Final settlement
Delivery via shipping certificates at approved locations
Termination of trading
Trading terminates on the business day prior to the 15th calendar day of the contract month
Globex code
KE

Source: CME Group contract specifications · reviewed Sep 30, 2026

02

Roll dates, first notice & expiration

ContractRoll dateFirst noticeLast trading dayDays left
KEZ26 Dec 2026 Active Tue, Nov 24, 2026 Mon, Nov 30, 2026 Mon, Dec 14, 2026 76
KEH27 Mar 2027 Tue, Feb 23, 2027 Fri, Feb 26, 2027 Fri, Mar 12, 2027 164
KEK27 May 2027 Tue, Apr 27, 2027 Fri, Apr 30, 2027 Fri, May 14, 2027 227
KEN27 Jul 2027 Fri, Jun 25, 2027 Wed, Jun 30, 2027 Wed, Jul 14, 2027 288
KEU27 Sep 2027 Thu, Aug 26, 2027 Tue, Aug 31, 2027 Tue, Sep 14, 2027 350
KEZ27 Dec 2027 Wed, Nov 24, 2027 Tue, Nov 30, 2027 Tue, Dec 14, 2027 441

Roll. The date shown is three business days before first notice, when speculators roll to the next active month.

First notice day. Last business day of the month before the contract month. Longs can be assigned delivery from here on – brokers usually require longs to be closed or rolled before this date.

Last trading day. Business day before the 15th calendar day of the contract month.

US exchange holidays ahead: Nov 26 · Dec 25 · Jan 1 · Jan 18 · Feb 15 · Mar 26 · May 31 · Jun 18

Learn more: Futures roll dates explained · First notice day vs. last trading day

Calculated from exchange rules and the US exchange holiday calendar. Confirm with the CME Group expiration calendar.

03

Trading hours (ET / CT)

SessionEastern (ET)Central (CT)Your time
Overnight session (Globex)Sun–Fri 8:00 p.m. – 8:45 a.m.Sun–Fri 7:00 p.m. – 7:45 a.m. –
Day session (Globex)Mon–Fri 9:30 a.m. – 2:20 p.m.Mon–Fri 8:30 a.m. – 1:20 p.m. –
Daily settlement2:15 p.m.1:15 p.m. –

Holiday hours differ – check the CME holiday calendar before trading around US holidays. ET is New York time, CT is Chicago time (always one hour behind ET).

04

Margins

CME Group maintenance margin per contract, outright position · as of Sep 30, 2026
ContractMaintenance
KEZ26 Dec 2026 Active $2,000
KEH27 Mar 2027 $1,950
KEK27 May 2027 $1,900
KEN27 Jul 2027 $1,800

Exchange margins are the minimum your clearing firm must collect for positions held overnight. Brokers may require more – and usually offer much lower day-trading margins for positions closed before the session ends. A neutral broker day-margin comparison is coming soon.

Learn more: Futures margin explained

05

COT positioning

CFTC Disaggregated Report, futures only · positions as of Tue, Sep 22, 2026 · released Sep 25, 2026

Producers / Merchants

−107,988 net contracts

+3,408 vs. prior week · −34.6% of OI

COT Index 26 wk 12
COT Index 3 yr 6

Movement (6 wk): +3

Producers, merchants, processors and users hedging physical business – the classic commercials. They tend to buy weakness and sell strength.

Swap Dealers

+79,585 net contracts

−466 vs. prior week · +25.5% of OI

COT Index 26 wk 82
COT Index 3 yr 96

Movement (6 wk): +1

Swap dealers – banks hedging OTC swaps, including commodity index money. Often structurally positioned; read against their own range, not the sign.

Managed Money

+40,635 net contracts

−3,778 vs. prior week · +13.0% of OI

COT Index 26 wk 84
COT Index 3 yr 94

Movement (6 wk): +4

Managed money – CTAs, commodity pools and hedge funds. Trend followers; their positioning tends to peak near turning points.

Net positions, last 3 years contracts, long minus short
Producers / MerchantsSwap DealersManaged Money
COT Index, 3-year window 0 = most net short in 3 years, 100 = most net long · shaded: extreme zones
Producers / MerchantsManaged Money
Disaggregated Report · open interest 311,936 (+1,100 w/w)
GroupLongShortNet Δ 1 wkΔ 4 wkIndex 26 wkIndex 3 yrMove 6 wk
Producers / Merchants 16,198124,186−107,988 +3,408−6,295 126+3
Swap Dealers 82,5692,984+79,585 −466+360 8296+1
Managed Money 76,73936,104+40,635 −3,778−1,879 8494+4
Other Reportables 8,36022,505−14,145 −67+6,224 7429−3
Nonreportables 21,02719,114+1,913 +903+1,590 10089+0
Legacy Report · open interest 311,936 (+1,100 w/w) · WILLCO (26 wk, commercials vs. OI): 14
GroupLongShortNet Δ 1 wkΔ 4 wkIndex 26 wkIndex 3 yrMove 6 wk
Commercials 107,481135,884−28,403 +2,942−5,935 137+4
Non-Commercials 85,09958,609+26,490 −3,845+4,345 8491−4
Nonreportables (small) 21,02719,114+1,913 +903+1,590 10089+0
Weekly net positions, last 12 reports (Disaggregated Report)
Report dateProducers / MerchantsSwap DealersManaged MoneyOther ReportablesNonreportablesOpen interest
Sep 22, 2026−107,988+79,585+40,635−14,145+1,913311,936
Sep 15, 2026−111,396+80,051+44,413−14,078+1,010310,836
Sep 8, 2026−115,151+79,573+48,676−13,289+191305,216
Sep 1, 2026−112,257+79,872+48,826−17,076+635306,154
Aug 25, 2026−101,693+79,225+42,514−20,369+323294,391
Aug 18, 2026−96,138+79,816+31,497−15,423+248288,733
Aug 11, 2026−94,131+79,057+25,606−12,392+1,860305,725
Aug 4, 2026−97,034+78,895+31,496−13,839+482313,006
Jul 28, 2026−95,309+78,573+31,411−15,453+778303,684
Jul 21, 2026−90,379+77,657+26,710−12,410−1,578294,133
Jul 14, 2026−74,377+74,350+13,789−12,020−1,742267,937
Jul 7, 2026−68,550+77,898+8,729−14,742−3,335268,328

Learn more: How to read the COT report · COT overview of all contracts

How to read these numbers
  • Net position = long minus short contracts (spread positions excluded).
  • COT Index = where today's net position sits within its range over the window: 100 × (net − min) / (max − min). It is a stochastic, not a percentile. Readings above 80 or below 20 are commonly treated as positioning extremes (after Stephen Briese and Larry Williams).
  • Movement Index = change of the 3-year COT Index over 6 weeks. Moves of ±40 points mark unusually fast repositioning.
  • WILLCO (Legacy report) = COT Index of commercials' net position as a share of open interest, 26-week window.
  • Positions are as of Tuesday and released Friday at 3:30 p.m. ET. COT data shows positioning, not timing – it is context, not a trading signal. Open-interest-based indicators are left out for stock index futures because quarterly expirations distort open interest.

Source: CFTC Public Reporting Environment · contract market code 001612 (WHEAT-HRW - CHICAGO BOARD OF TRADE)

06

KE profit & loss calculator

Price change– Ticks– Profit / loss–

Learn more: Tick value and point value explained

Before commissions and exchange fees. Prices round to the nearest tick of 0.25.

07

FAQ

What is the tick value of KE futures?

One tick is 1/4 cent per bushel, worth $12.50 per contract. A 1-cent move is worth $50.

When is first notice day for KE?

The last business day of the month before the contract month.

What does the COT Index show?

The COT Index places a group's current net position within its own range over a lookback window: 100 = the most net long in that window, 0 = the most net short. It measures positioning extremes, not timing.