CME starts RMB futures trading

In another big step to the further internationalization of China's currency, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on Monday launched new futures contracts in RMB, deliverable in Hong Kong-based bank accounts.

The RMB futures will be available in three-year contracts worth either 100,000 U.S. dollars, for large, institutional investors or 10,000 dollars for retail customers.

The Hong Kong-based accounts will now settle in RMB on a daily basis as opposed to previous contracts that converted to dollars at the end of each day.

Derek Sammann, Senior Managing Director of the CME Group says this could be a mean to hedge against exchange rate risks between the RMB and the U.S. dollar.