futuresspecs

CBOT · Agriculture · Futures

Rough Rice Futures (ZR)

CBOT Rough Rice (ZR): 2,000 hundredweight (cwt) of long-grain rough rice, physically delivered.

Tick size / value
0.005 $/cwt = $10.00
Point value
$20 / 1¢
Active contract
ZRX26 Nov 2026
Next roll
Oct 27 in 28 days
Globex right now
Checking…
01

Contract specifications

Exchange
Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT, CME Group)
Underlying
U.S. No. 2 or better long-grain rough rice
Contract unit
2,000 hundredweight (cwt)
Minimum tick
$0.005 per cwt = $10.00 per contract
Point value
$20.00 per 1 cent per cwt · 2 ticks per 1¢
Price quotation
U.S. dollars and cents per hundredweight
Contract months
January, March, May, July, September, November (F, H, K, N, U, X)
Settlement
Physical delivery
Final settlement
Delivery via receipts from approved warehouses
Termination of trading
Trading terminates on the business day prior to the 15th calendar day of the contract month
Globex code
ZR

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

02

Roll dates, first notice & expiration

ContractRoll dateFirst noticeLast trading dayDays left
ZRX26 Nov 2026 Active Tue, Oct 27, 2026 Fri, Oct 30, 2026 Fri, Nov 13, 2026 45
ZRF27 Jan 2027 Mon, Dec 28, 2026 Thu, Dec 31, 2026 Thu, Jan 14, 2027 107
ZRH27 Mar 2027 Tue, Feb 23, 2027 Fri, Feb 26, 2027 Fri, Mar 12, 2027 164
ZRK27 May 2027 Tue, Apr 27, 2027 Fri, Apr 30, 2027 Fri, May 14, 2027 227
ZRN27 Jul 2027 Fri, Jun 25, 2027 Wed, Jun 30, 2027 Wed, Jul 14, 2027 288
ZRU27 Sep 2027 Thu, Aug 26, 2027 Tue, Aug 31, 2027 Tue, Sep 14, 2027 350

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

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
ZRX26 Nov 2026 Active $1,250
ZRF27 Jan 2027 $1,200
Mar 2027 – Nov 2027 $900

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.

05

COT positioning

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

Producers / Merchants

−4,382 net contracts

+37 vs. prior week · −33.0% of OI

COT Index 26 wk 0
COT Index 3 yr 25

Movement (6 wk): −12

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

Swap Dealers

+259 net contracts

±0 vs. prior week · +1.9% of OI

COT Index 26 wk 39
COT Index 3 yr 47

Movement (6 wk): −10

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

Managed Money

+1,840 net contracts

−152 vs. prior week · +13.8% of OI

COT Index 26 wk 97
COT Index 3 yr 75

Movement (6 wk): +11

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 13,288 (+124 w/w)
GroupLongShortNet Δ 1 wkΔ 4 wkIndex 26 wkIndex 3 yrMove 6 wk
Producers / Merchants 4,3788,760−4,382 +37−1,007 025−12
Swap Dealers 2590+259 ±0±0 3947−10
Managed Money 3,6121,772+1,840 −152+871 9775+11
Other Reportables 1,7031,298+405 +27+218 6430+14
Nonreportables 2,822944+1,878 +88−82 8586−4
Legacy Report · open interest 13,288 (+124 w/w) · WILLCO (26 wk, commercials vs. OI): 1
GroupLongShortNet Δ 1 wkΔ 4 wkIndex 26 wkIndex 3 yrMove 6 wk
Commercials 4,6378,760−4,123 +37−1,007 026−13
Non-Commercials 5,3153,070+2,245 −125+1,089 9871+14
Nonreportables (small) 2,822944+1,878 +88−82 8586−4
Weekly net positions, last 12 reports (Disaggregated Report)
Report dateProducers / MerchantsSwap DealersManaged MoneyOther ReportablesNonreportablesOpen interest
Sep 22, 2026−4,382+259+1,840+405+1,87813,288
Sep 15, 2026−4,419+259+1,992+378+1,79013,164
Sep 8, 2026−4,284+259+1,799+375+1,85112,959
Sep 1, 2026−4,081+259+1,320+458+2,04412,982
Aug 25, 2026−3,375+259+969+187+1,96013,990
Aug 18, 2026−2,958+259+433+172+2,09414,009
Aug 11, 2026−2,887+370+463+60+1,99413,780
Aug 4, 2026−3,009+411+351+208+2,03913,513
Jul 28, 2026−3,227+417+354+354+2,10213,356
Jul 21, 2026−3,162+416+622+317+1,80713,198
Jul 14, 2026−2,756+418+173+228+1,93713,076
Jul 7, 2026−2,431+422−487+520+1,97612,708
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 039601 (ROUGH RICE - CHICAGO BOARD OF TRADE)

06

ZR profit & loss calculator

Price change– Ticks– Profit / loss–

Before commissions and exchange fees. Prices round to the nearest tick of 0.005.

07

FAQ

What is the tick value of rough rice futures (ZR)?

One tick is half a cent ($0.005) per hundredweight, worth $10.00 per contract.

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.