CHICAGO, March 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CME Group, the world's largest and most diverse derivatives exchange, announced today that futures and options on futures on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) Nonfarm Payroll data are scheduled to launch Sunday, April 27, 2008, in anticipation of the Friday, May 2, release of the April economic data. The contracts, based on the monthly BLS Establishment Survey of 375,000 businesses that is usually released on the first Friday of each month, will allow customers to directly manage their exposure to the government labor number or to offset positions in financial markets. The Nonfarm Payroll report is typically the first major economic release of each month and speaks to the condition of employment from the prior month. It is closely followed as a way to gauge how the Federal Open Markets Committee perceives economic growth. "There is a strong correlation between the Nonfarm Payroll report and CME Group financial futures contracts as well as other financial instruments," said Rick Redding, CME Group Managing Director of Products and Services. "Listed futures and options on futures on the Nonfarm Payroll are a transparent, straightforward and accessible way for our customers to offset unexpected financial market moves that often occur when this number comes out." The Nonfarm Payroll contracts will be listed exclusively on the CME Globex(R) electronic trading platform, Sunday through Thursday from 5:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Chicago time. One contract will be listed at a time and each contract will be listed on the Monday after the previous month's release. Trading in the expiring contract concludes at 7:25 a.m. on the day that the BLS releases its Nonfarm Payroll report. Each contract is valued at $25 times the change in the Nonfarm Payroll number from the previous month. For more information, please go to http://www.cmegroup.com/NFP. CME Group (http://www.cmegroup.com/) is the world's largest and most diverse derivatives exchange. Formed by the 2007 merger of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), CME Group serves the risk management needs of customers around the globe. As an international marketplace, CME Group brings buyers and sellers together on the CME Globex electronic trading platform and on its trading floors. CME Group offers the widest range of benchmark products available across all major asset classes, including futures and options based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, agricultural commodities, and alternative investment products such as weather and real estate. CME Group is traded on the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ under the symbol "CME." The Globe logo, CME, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, CME Group, Globex and E-mini, are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. CBOT and Chicago Board of Trade are trademarks of the Board of Trade of the City of Chicago. These trademarks are used herein under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Further information about CME Group and its products can be found at http://www.cmegroup.com/. CME-G DATASOURCE: CME Group CONTACT: Media, Pamela Plehn, +1-312-930-3446, or Allan Schoenberg, +1-312-930-8189, , http://www.cmegroup.mediaroom.com/, or Investors, John Peschier, +1-312-930-8491, all of CME Group Web site: http://www.cmegroup.com/

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