Soybean Meal (ZM) Futures Contract Specifications

What Are Soybean Meal (ZM) Futures?

Soybean Meal Futures (ZM) provide traders with exposure to this critical livestock feed ingredient. These contracts allow for speculation on soybean meal prices, hedging for producers and users, or trading the soybean crush spread.

Contract Size

Contract Size: 100 tons

Example: This contract size allows traders to gain exposure to grains with controlled leverage and risk.

Tick Value and Increment

  • Tick Size: 10 cents per ton
  • Tick Value: $10.00 per tick
  • Point Value: $100.00 per dollar

These specifications make Soybean Meal (ZM) Futures suitable for traders seeking exposure to grains markets.

Trading Hours

Soybean Meal (ZM) Futures trade with extended hours, providing flexibility for traders in different time zones.

  • Trading Hours: Sunday to Friday, 7:00 PM to 7:45 AM and 8:30 AM to 1:20 PM
  • Time Zone: Central Time (CT)

Trading Symbol

Platform Symbol: ZM

Margins

To trade Soybean Meal (ZM) Futures, you'll need to meet specific margin requirements. Check with your broker for the latest margin rates and details.

Why Trade Soybean Meal (ZM) Futures?

  • Exposure to a key component of the livestock feed industry
  • Component for trading soybean crush spreads
  • Effective hedging tool for feed producers and livestock operations
  • Responds to protein demand trends in global markets
  • More stable price characteristics than whole soybeans

Position Sizing for Soybean Meal (ZM) Futures

Proper position sizing is crucial when trading Soybean Meal (ZM) Futures. Use our position size calculator to determine the optimal number of contracts based on your risk tolerance and account size.

Position Size Calculator Example

For Soybean Meal (ZM) Futures (ZM):

  • Tick Size: 10 cents per ton
  • Tick Value: $10.00 per tick
  • Point Value: $100.00 per dollar

If you want to risk $500 with a 10-point stop loss:

Risk per Contract = Stop Loss in Points × Point Value = 10 × 100.00 per dollar = $1000

Maximum Contracts = Risk Amount ÷ Risk per Contract = $500 ÷ $1000 = 0 contracts