U.S. Dollar Index Futures
FAQ
March 2008
© Copyright Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. 2007. All Rights Reserved.
www.theice.com
®
What is the U.S Dollar Index ?
®
The US Dollar Index (USDX ) is a geometrically-averaged calculation of six currencies weighted against
the US dollar. The US Dollar Index has been in existence since 1973. The 1971 Smithsonian Agreement
ended the fixed exchange rates that had been set at Bretton Woods in 1944, and the US Federal Reserve
Bank began the calculation of the US Dollar Index to provide an external bilateral trade-weighted average
of the US dollar as it freely floated against global currencies.
When did the USDX become available for exchange trading?
®
Futures contracts were listed on ICE Futures U.S. FINEX currency division on November 20, 1985.
Options on the futures contracts began trading September 3, 1986.
What is the contract symbol for the US Dollar Index?
ICE Futures U.S.’s symbol for the contract is DX, followed by the month and year code. The US Dollar
Index is commonly referred to as the USDX. The value of the underlying Dollar Index (sometimes called
the cash or spot index) is typically disseminated under the symbol DXY, although different data providers
may use different symbols. A list of the data vendor symbols for the US Dollar Index is available at
www.theice.com.
Which currencies are included in the US Dollar Index?
The US Dollar Index contains six component currencies: the euro, Japanese yen, British pound,
Canadian dollar, Swedish krona and Swiss franc. Originally the USDX contained ten currencies—the
ones listed, with the exception of the euro. The euro replaced the West German mark, French franc,
Italian lira, Dutch guilder and Belgium franc.
What are the formula and the percentage weights of the component currencies?
The formula for the calculation of the US Dollar Index is 50.14348112 multiplied by the product of all
components raised to an exponent equal to the % weighting ((EURUSD ^ 0.576) * (JPY ^ 0.136) * (GBP ^
0.119) * (CAN ^ 0.091) * (SEK ^ 0.042) * (CHF^.036) )
The formula is available on www.theice.com
Currency Weights
Euro = 57.6% Canadian Dollar = 9.1%
Japanese Yen = 13.6% Sweden Krona = 4.2%
British Pound = 11.9% Swiss Franc = 3.6%
Is the ICE Futures U.S. US Dollar Index adjusted or rebalanced?
The USDX has only been adjusted once, when the euro was introduced as the common currency for the
European Union (EU) bloc of countries. Without any other adjustments, the combination of components
and their respective weightings in the USDX have yielded performance results similar to other commonly
used US dollar indexes, whether those index methodologies are based on trade weights or capital flow
weights.
How is the US Dollar Index calculated?
The ICE Futures U.S. US Dollar Index is calculated in real time from a multi-contributor feed of the spot
prices of the Index’s component currencies from a major data vendor. This real-time calculation is
delivered to the Exchange and redistributed to all data vendors. The prices of the DX futures contracts
are set by the market, and reflect interest rate differentials between the respective currencies and the US
dollar.
Given the foreign exchange market is a 24-hour marketplace, can I trade the US Dollar Index
contracts at any time?
The DX futures contracts will trade electronically on the Intercontinental Exchange electronic trading
platform from 8:00 pm – 6:00 pm. Eastern time Sunday through Friday, with trading ending at 6:00 p.m.
sm
on Friday afternoon.Trading in DX futures rates may be accessed through WebICE or through multiple
ICE Futures U.S. – USDX Frequently Asked Questions – v2.3 – March 2008 Page 2
www.theice.com
independent software vendors (ISVs). DX contracts are also traded via open outcry on ICE Futures
U.S.’s New York or Dublin trading floors; please visit ICE Futures U.S.’s website for details of the open
outcry trading hours https://www.theice.com/publicdocs/nybot/ICE_Dollar_Index_Contract_Specs.pdf
Exchange rules allow for EFP trades to be executed off the floor. If an EFP is executed when the trading
floor is open, the futures leg of the EFP must be posted to the Exchange within two minutes of the
execution. If the trading floor is closed, the EFP must be posted immediately on the open of the next
trading session. EFPs can be entered by a clearing member either directly into the Exchange’s Trade
®
Information Processing System (TIPS ) or through the services of a ICE Futures U.S. trading floor
member.
How does the market trade the performance of the US dollar now? Why is the ICE Futures U.S. US
Dollar futures contract a better choice?
Institutional investors, hedge fund managers, commodity trading advisors and high net worth investors all
trade variations of US dollar indexes with commercial and investment banks. These various formulations
of dollar indexes are proprietary indexes and do not offer the price discovery and transparency of an
exchange-listed contract. The ICE Futures U.S. DX futures contract is the only successful, publicly-
available, regulated market for US Dollar Index trading allowing access to all investors and offering
competitive pricing and full market liquidity.
What are the contract specifications of the US Dollar Index futures contract?
The DX contract is settled quarterly. Unlike many index contracts, the US Dollar Index contract is settled
by the delivery of its six component currencies. The contract size is $1,000 times the index value—e.g.,
with the Index at 89.45, the value of the contract is $89,450. Each full Index point is worth $1000
(1.00=$1000). The smallest price increment for trading in the US Dollar Index futures contract is .005,
which is worth $5.
The futures contracts are listed for the March/June/September/December quarterly cycle. The futures
contracts settle daily to the volume-weighted average price of all transactions executed both in open
outcry and electronic trading in the closing period (2:59 – 3:00 p.m. Eastern time).
The quarterly settlement at the expiration of the contract is on the third Wednesday of the contract month.
The last day of trading is the two business days prior to the third Wednesday of the contract month, and
trading ends at 10:16 am Eastern time on the last trading day.
Full contract specifications for the US Dollar Index futures contracts are available at
https://www.theice.com/publicdocs/nybot/ICE_Dollar_Index_Contract_Specs.pdf
Are options on US Dollar Index futures available for electronic trading?
Options on US Dollar Index futures are not currently available for electronic trading.
How is the US Dollar Index contract settled at its expiration?
Unlike many index futures contracts, the US Dollar Index futures contract is a physically delivered
contract. The contract settles by physical delivery of the Index’s six component currencies in the
percentages indicated in the composition of the Index. (see above, percentages and weights of
component currencies)
Are the DX contracts liquid?
The USDX futures contract derives its liquidity directly from the spot currency market, estimated to have
turnover of over $2 trillion daily. There will be a market maker program in place for the launch of
electronic trading of the contracts, which should help to assure continuous liquidity. The electronic
distribution of the futures contract on the ICE trading platform should also enhance liquidity.
ICE Futures U.S. – USDX Frequently Asked Questions – v2.3 – March 2008 Page 3
www.theice.com
Can I trade calendar spreads? How far out will the contract list? Will there be implied prices?
ICE Futures U.S. will list all combination of the first four quarterly contracts of US Dollar Index futures as
calendar spreads, with all spread prices being fully implied.
Can I get real time prices from quote vendors?
The real-time prices for the futures contracts will be available WebICE, on conformed
independent software vendor solutions. (see
https://www.theice.com/publicdocs/technology/Independent_Software_Vendors_Conformance.pdf), from
market data vendors (https://www.theice.com/data_vendor_matrix.jhtml) and on direct access users
systems.
Where can I find margin information for the USDX futures contract? Are there margin offsets
against other ICE Futures U.S. futures contracts?
Margin levels are subject to change. The contract is cleared by ICE Clear U.S. (prior to June 1, 2007,
known as the New York Clearing Corporation). You can check the most current margin requirement by
visiting https://www.theice.com/publicdocs/futures_us_reports/all/Futures_US_Margin_Requirements.pdf.
Margin credit is available for spread positions between the U.S. Dollar Index and the Euro currency
contract traded on ICE Futures U.S. Please see
https://www.theice.com/publicdocs/futures_us_reports/all/Futures_US_Margin_Requirements.pdf for
further information on the credit for this intra-market spread
What regulatory body has oversight responsibility for trading in the US Dollar Index contract?
ICE Futures U.S. is a designated contract market (DCM), as defined by the US Commodity Exchange
Act. ICE Futures U.S. and its contracts are regulated by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission
(CFTC).
What are the exchange fees for trading US Dollar Index futures contracts?
The fee for screen transactions is $1.35 per contract per side for non-members. Please see
https://www.theice.com/publicdocs/futures_us/NYBOT_Exchange_and_Clearing_Fees.pdf for transaction
fees for other categories of market participants. There is no additional charge for EFPs.
Who can provide further information?
Your usual ICE account manager can provide additional information and assistance in accessing
electronic trading in the USDX futures contract on the ICE platform. Other contacts are provided below.
Chicago:
Chuck Mackie
Tel: +1 312-214-2016
Email: chuck.mackie@theice.com
The information herein has been compiled by ICE Futures U.S. for general purposes only and is not
intended to serve as investment advice. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, ICE
Futures U.S. does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness or that any particular trading result can be
achieved. ICE Futures U.S. assumes no responsibility and cannot be liable for any errors or omissions.
Futures and options trading involves risk and is not suitable for everyone. Trading on ICE Futures U.S.
is governed by specific rules set forth by the Exchange and is the authoritative source on all current
contract specifications. These rules are subject to change
ICE Futures U.S. – USDX Frequently Asked Questions – v2.3 – March 2008 Page 4