Right now the continuous Corn contract is still looking at the May-12 contract prices.

It's 11:00 EST an the volumes for the day so far are:

ZC 05-12 - 2,190
ZC 07-12 - 46,120

Obviously, May is done now. I spoke to support and apparently, we won't see the continuous reflecting Junes prices until the May contract closes. That's almost 2 weeks.

Is there anything I can do about this?

Hello Pedro01,

I understand your view on this, but the continuous contracts for grains are currently designed to roll on the expiration date. You will need to use the individual contract symbols to get data for the July contract. We appreciate your opinion on this and I have recorded your request so that it gets considered.

It's not really a view, Todd. It's the way the contract is traded and the way people analyse historical data, especially with products such as I/RT and MarketDelta.

I can't use the July contract because I'm using I/RT with the volume profiles & therefore I need a continuous contract so that I can work with current data on the active contract and also see historical data going back a few years.

Is this something you are or aren't going to address? I ask that because the person on support I spoke to said it was something being worked on whilst you imply this is just my opinion.

The historical data will be spotty too because for people that use volume profiles, there's going to be 2-3 weeks of low volume when next contract starts being traded.

Hello Pedro01,

The current continuous contract for grains has an appreciation in the agribusiness industry and that was considered when it was originally created.
Because we appreciate your feedback and others that we have heard from, we are in the process of developing a continuous contract that will better reflect the most active trading month. Again, thank you for your input and, while we are still in the early stages, we are working to make that happen.

Thanks for that Todd - if you need any help with testing that, I'll be happy to spend time on it.

Thank you Pedro01 - we appreciate that.

I would also be in favour of this

I am trading SOYBEANS and Wheat and the current Continuous Contract is stuck in July rather than rolling to September for Wheat for example....

Expiration date is the 13th of July but this is too late! The contract should have rolled on the 29th of June to the Sept contract.

When will "TRADING" continuous contracts be available so we can backtest too?

Hello,

Thank you for your input on that. Developing a more active continuous contract for grains is part of a larger data project that we are working on, but we do not have an estimated completion date yet. We do appreciate hearing that it is important to you and will keep working at it.

I would also very much like to see a continuous contract that rolls on a more appropriate date. This is something I requested a couple of years ago. To create a contract that rolls on the First Notice Date would be a good compromise, since that's when most traders would roll to the next contract.

indeed, this is needed. it is useless to wait until the last day of the contract.
can you give a timeframe, when the new mechanism will be implemented? (weeks, months, years)

Hey Todd, A lot of folks here screaming for this (plus could be more) can you give me an ETA - otherwise will have to switch Data provider...Thanks

Folks,

This is on our development list and is part of a project currently underway. While I wish the answer could be "weeks", it is more likely "Months". We are exploring what options there are to push this piece out a bit faster, but it is part of a large project with many other enhancements and we want to make sure it is done right.

As we get further along, we will update you.

---

Jay Froscheiser
Telvent DTN

+1 for Volume based or at least first notice date based front month change. Has there been any progress with this?
Edited by blt111 on Dec 19, 2012 at 08:27 AM

Hello blt111,

Yes, a new continuous contract for grains is in the works for 2013, but I do not have a specific date to announce yet. We are getting there. . . and thank you for your interest.