Originally published December 12th -- Revised December 23rd

We plan to re-introduce SLEDS -- Single-Line Entry of Differential Spreads -- for CBOT products this coming February.

SLEDS will be available both for CBOT pit trades and for reduced-tick calendar spread trades on e-cbot®. A phased implementation is planned, to be completed in time so that SLEDS will be in use for all CBOT products in time for the March roll. Subsequently, SLEDS will be deployed for trades in CME calendar spread instruments executed on GLOBEX.

For pit trades, SLEDS allows trades executed as calendar spreads to be submitted as a single transaction, with a single price referred to as the "differential price", or sometimes as the "spread price." Both sides submit the transaction as a single entry, and the two sides then match as a unit. This simplifes trade submission, reduces out-trades, and facilitates out-trade resolution.

For electronically-executed SLEDS, obviously, there is no need to reduce out-trades. But both electronic SLEDS and pit SLEDS also provide the very important benefit that each side of the SLED transaction may select its own prices for each of the two legs. As long as the differential price is maintained, and subject in certain cases to special restrictions detailed below, it doesn't matter that each side has different values for the leg prices.

For the full text of this advisory as updated on Dec. 23rd......