CME Eyes Regional Crop Markets as Brazil Soy Futures Gain Steam

CME Group Inc. plans to target more regional agriculture contracts as its South American soybean futures starts to gain traction.

The Chicago-based exchange, home of the global benchmarks for corn, wheat and soybeans, is turning its attention to markets in areas like Brazil, Argentina and the Black Sea. The bourse sees more opportunities in South American markets that could benefit from greater transparency, said Tim Andriesen, CME’s managing director of agricultural products.

Competition between commodity exchanges is intensifying as cash-settled contracts based on assessments by price-reporting agencies become more widely accepted, just like in energy and metals. CME started ...