CME Group is one company operating four separate exchanges β formally, four Designated Contract Markets. Every contract belongs to exactly one of them. The distinction is largely historical, but it survives in rulebooks, in contract specifications and in the ticker symbols you will see quoted.
The four
| Exchange | Full name | Founded | What it lists |
|---|---|---|---|
| CME | Chicago Mercantile Exchange | 1898 | Equity index, FX, short-term rates, crypto, livestock |
| CBOT | Chicago Board of Trade | 1848 | Treasuries, grains, the Dow contracts |
| NYMEX | New York Mercantile Exchange | 1882 | Crude oil, natural gas, refined products, platinum, palladium |
| COMEX | Commodity Exchange, Inc. | 1933 | Gold, silver, copper |
CBOT is the oldest futures exchange in the world. CME acquired it in 2007, NYMEX and COMEX in 2008 β COMEX having already merged into NYMEX in 1994. What was four competing institutions is now four rulebooks under one roof.
Where the contracts you care about sit
If you trade gold and currencies, these are the ones that concern you:
- Gold, Silver, Copper β COMEX. GC, MGC, 1OZ, SI, SIL, HG.
- Platinum, Palladium β NYMEX, not COMEX. This surprises people: the four precious metals are split across two exchanges, with the two platinum-group metals sitting with the energy contracts for historical reasons.
- Crude, natural gas, refined products β NYMEX. CL, MCL, BZ, NG, RB, HO.
- FX majors β CME. 6E, 6B, 6J, 6A, 6C, 6S.
- S&P 500, Nasdaq, Russell β CME. ES, MES, NQ, MNQ, RTY, M2K.
- Dow β CBOT. YM and MYM sit with the Treasuries, not with the other index contracts β a legacy of the CBOT merger.
- Treasuries β CBOT. ZT, ZF, ZN, ZB.
- SOFR β CME, but Fed Funds β CBOT. The two short-term rate contracts are on different exchanges despite doing closely related jobs.
- Crypto β CME. BTC, MBT, ETH, MET.
Does the distinction actually matter?
For most practical purposes, less than it used to. All four clear through the same clearing house β CME Clearing β so your counterparty is identical regardless of which exchange lists the contract. All four trade on the same electronic platform, CME Globex. Margin can be offset across products from different exchanges within one account.
Where it still shows up:
- Rulebooks are separate. Each DCM has its own rules, and disciplinary matters, position limits and delivery procedures are handled per exchange.
- Contract specifications reference the listing exchange, which is why you will see “COMEX” on a gold spec and “NYMEX” on a platinum one.
- Market data packages are sometimes priced per exchange, so a data subscription covering CME equity index products may not include COMEX metals.
- Delivery facilities differ. COMEX-approved gold vaults and NYMEX’s Cushing crude delivery points are entirely separate systems.
A note on “the COMEX gold price”
You will see this phrase constantly in market commentary, and it is worth being precise about what it means. There is no single “COMEX gold price” β there is a price for each listed contract month, plus an official daily settlement price for each.
When commentary says gold is at a level, it usually means the front-month futures contract or the spot price in the over-the-counter London market, which are related but not identical. The difference between them is the basis, and it reflects cost of carry β see how rollover works.
Spot gold (XAU/USD) is not a COMEX product at all. It is an over-the-counter market centred on London, with its own price discovery. The two track each other closely because arbitrage keeps them aligned, not because they are the same market.
This page describes market structure and is not investment advice. CME Group, CME, CBOT, NYMEX, COMEX and Globex are trademarks of CME Group Inc.; ForexBullion is not affiliated with CME Group.