Expiry (contract month)
Definition · Level 7 · Futures, rates & macro
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The month in which a futures contract settles, named by its letter code (Z = December). Trading stops on an exchange-set last day — for ES the third Friday of that month, for CL three business days before the 25th of the prior month (four if the 25th isn’t a business day; around the 20th).
Example
ESZ6: December 2026, last trade on the third Friday of December.
Rules and market figures change: check the current ones before relying on this.
Where Tradecraft teaches it
Level 7 · Futures, rates & macro, in the lesson “Futures: the contract”: Standardized contracts, month codes, notional and tick value: the specs every desk knows by heart.
Related terms
- CLNYMEX WTI crude oil future: 1,000 barrels, tick $0.01 = $10, monthly expiries, physically delivered at Cushing, Oklahoma.
- ESCME E-mini S&P 500 future: $50 × index, tick 0.25 = $12.50, quarterly H/M/U/Z expiries, cash-settled.
- Futures contractExchange-traded, standardized agreement to buy or sell a set quantity of an asset at a price fixed today for settlement on a specific future date; a…
- GCCOMEX gold future: 100 troy ounces, tick $0.10 = $10, physically delivered.
- MESMicro E-mini S&P 500 future: one-tenth of the E-mini, $5 × index, tick 0.25 = $1.25.
- Month codesSingle letters for expiry months: F Jan, G Feb, H Mar, J Apr, K May, M Jun, N Jul, Q Aug, U Sep, V Oct, X Nov, Z Dec.