SUBMISSION COVER SHEET

IMPORTANT: Check box if Confidential Treatment is requested 

Registered Entity Identifier Code (optional): 23-267

Organization: New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. ("NYMEX")

Filing as a: DCM SEF DCO SDR 

Please note - only ONE choice allowed.

Filing Date (mm/dd/yy): 07/26/23 Filing Description: Increase of Spot Month Position 

Limits and the Single and All-Month Accountability Levels of the Gasoline Eurobob NonOxy NWE Barges (Argus) Future and Related Amendments to Aggregated Futures 

Contracts. 

SPECIFY FILING TYPE 

Please note only ONE choice allowed per Submission.

Organization Rules and Rule Amendments

Certification § 40.6(a)

Approval § 40.5(a)

Notification § 40.6(d)

Advance Notice of SIDCO Rule Change § 40.10(a)

SIDCO Emergency Rule Change § 40.10(h)

Rule Numbers: 

New Product Please note only ONE product per Submission.

Certification § 40.2(a) 

Certification Security Futures § 41.23(a)

Certification Swap Class § 40.2(d)

Approval § 40.3(a)

Approval Security Futures § 41.23(b)

Novel Derivative Product Notification § 40.12(a)

Swap Submission § 39.5

Product Terms and Conditions (product related Rules and Rule Amendments)

Certification § 40.6(a) 

Certification Made Available to Trade Determination § 40.6(a)

Certification Security Futures § 41.24(a)

Delisting (No Open Interest) § 40.6(a) 

Approval § 40.5(a)

Approval Made Available to Trade Determination § 40.5(a)

Approval Security Futures § 41.24(c)

Approval Amendments to enumerated agricultural products § 40.4(a), § 40.5(a)

“Non-Material Agricultural Rule Change” § 40.4(b)(5)

Notification § 40.6(d)

Official Name(s) of Product(s) Affected: See filing.

Rule Numbers: See filing.
300 Vesey Street New York, NY 10282 T 212 299 2200 F 212 301 4645 christopher.bowen@cmegroup.com cmegroup.com

1

Christopher Bowen 

Managing Director and Chief Regulatory Counsel

Legal Department

July 26, 2023

VIA ELECTRONIC PORTAL

Mr. Christopher J. Kirkpatrick

Office of the Secretariat

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Three Lafayette Centre

1155 21st Street, N.W.

Washington, DC 20581

Re: CFTC Regulation 40.6(a) Certification. Increase of Spot Month Position Limit and the 

Single and All-Month Accountability Levels of the Gasoline Eurobob Non-Oxy NWE 

Barges (Argus) Futures Contract and Related Amendments to Aggregated Futures 

Contracts.

NYMEX Submission No. 23-267

Dear Mr. Kirkpatrick:

New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. (“NYMEX” or “Exchange”) certifies to the Commodity Futures Trading 

Commission (“CFTC” or “Commission”) an increase of the spot month position limits of the Gasoline 

Eurobob Non-Oxy NWE Barges (Argus) Futures contract (the “Parent Contract”) and related amendments 

to the spot month position limits of five (5) related Argus futures contracts that aggregate into the Parent 

Contract (the “Child Contracts") (collectively, the “Contracts”). In addition, the Single Month Accountability 

levels for the Contracts will be increased from 750 to 2,000 contracts and the All-Month Accountability levels 

for the Contracts will be increased from 1,000 to 2,500 contracts effective on August 10, 2023 and 

commencing with the August 2023 contract month and beyond (collectively, the “Rule Amendments). 

Table 1. 

Contract Title Rulebook 

Chapter

Commodity 

Code

Current Spot 

Month 

Position 

Limit

Increased 

Spot Month 

Position 

Limits

Parent Contract

Gasoline Eurobob Non-Oxy 

NWE Barges (Argus) Futures 1027 GNO 150 400

Child Contracts

Gasoline Eurobob Non-Oxy NWE 

Barges (Argus) BALMO Futures 1028 GNB 150 400

Gasoline Eurobob Non-Oxy NWE 

Barges (Argus) Crack Spread 

Futures

1029 GNS 150/7,000 400/7,000

Gasoline Eurobob Non-Oxy NWE 

Barges (Argus) vs Gasoline 

Eurobob Oxy NWE Barges 

(Argus) Futures

1031 GES 150/500 400/500
300 Vesey Street New York, NY 10282 T 212 299 2200 F 212 301 4645 christopher.bowen@cmegroup.com cmegroup.com

2

RBOB Gasoline vs Eurobob NonOxy NWE Barges (Argus) 

(349,860 gallons) Futures

1030 RGF 2,000/150 2,000/400

Singapore Gasoline 92 Unleaded 

(Platts) vs Gasoline Eurobob NonOxy NWE Barges (Argus) Futures1032 SGF 1,000/150 1,000/400

The Position Limit, Position Accountability and Reportable Level Table and Header Notes located in the 

Interpretations and Special Notices Section of Chapter 5 of the NYMEX Rulebook is being amended to 

reflect the changes in the position limits for the Contracts (see Exhibit A: Position Limit, Position 

Accountability, and Reportable Level Table in Chapter 5 of the NYMEX Rulebook (attached under a 

separate cover.)

Exhibit B below provides an updated the cash market overview and analysis of deliverable supply for the 

Parent Contract. 

The Exchange reviewed the designated contract market core principles (“Core Principles”) as set forth in 

the Commodity Exchange Act (“Act” or “CEA”) and identified that the Rule Amendments may have some 

bearing on the following Core Principles:

• Contract Not Readily Susceptible to Manipulation: Due to the liquidity and robustness in the 

underlying physical market, the contract is not readily susceptible to manipulation.

• Position Limitations or Accountability: The speculative position limits for the Contract as 

demonstrated in this submission are consistent with the Commission’s guidance. 

• Availability of General Information: Information regarding the Rule Amendments will be 

disseminated to the marketplace via a Market Surveillance Notice which will also be posted on the 

CME Group website.

Pursuant to Section 5c(c) of the Act and CFTC Regulations 40.6(a), the Exchange hereby certifies that the 

Rule Amendments comply with the Act, including regulations under the Act. There were no substantive 

opposing views to the proposal.

The Exchange certifies that this submission has been concurrently posted on the CME Group website at 

http://www.cmegroup.com/market-regulation/rule-filings.html.

Should you have any questions concerning the above, please contact the undersigned at (212) 299-2200 

or via e-mail at CMEGSubmissionInquiry@cmegroup.com.

Sincerely, 

/s/ Christopher Bowen

Managing Director and Chief Regulatory Counsel

Attachments: Exhibit A: Position Limits, Position Accountability and Reportable Level Table in Chapter

 5 of the NYMEX Rulebook (attached under separate cover)

Exhibit B: Cash Market Overview and Analysis of Deliverable Supply
3

Exhibit A

NYMEX Rulebook

Chapter 5

(“Trading Qualifications and Practices”)

Position Limits, Position Accountability and Reportable Level Table 

(attached under separate cover)
4

Exhibit B

Cash Market Overview and Analysis of Deliverable Supply

Data Sources:

Data provided by Eurostat was used as the basis of the analysis for Eurobob non-oxy gasoline and 

European naphtha. Eurostat is compiled by the statistical office of the European Union and aims to provide 

the EU with accurate statistics that enable comparisons between countries and regions. The statistical 

authorities in each individual member state are responsible for collecting the data. After verification and 

analysis, the individual authorities send the data to Eurostat who consolidate such data. In addition, 

Eurostat ensures that all parties are employing the same methodology in collecting and reporting data. The 

Exchange determined to use Eurostat data for sulphur content of gasoline in Northwest Europe because of 

the highly specialized statistical categories collected by Eurostat.

European Environment Agency is a governmental body in charge of environmental policy for Europe. 

The agency works closely with 33-member countries and gathers data and produces assessments on a 

wide range of topics related to the environment. They produce the European Fuels Quality Report on an 

annual basis which the Exchange has used as the basis of calculation for the E10 in this analysis. 

Argus was founded in 1970 and is a privately held UK-registered company. It is owned by staff 

shareholders and global growth equity firm General Atlantic. Argus is a leading provider of data on prices 

and fundamentals, news, analysis, consultancy services and conferences for the global crude, oil products, 

LPG, natural gas, electricity, coal, emissions, bioenergy, fertilizer, petrochemical, metals, and transportation 

industries. Data provided by Argus are widely used for indexation of physical trade. Companies, 

governments, and international agencies use Argus information for analysis and planning purposes. Argus’ 

assessment methodology for the Northwest European Eurobob non-oxy Gasoline market is available on 

the Argus website.

European Gasoline

Motor gasoline is a major road transport fuel and the ethanol content being blended into it is increasing, in 

part due to tightening European environmental regulations. Since 2009, some European countries have 

been introducing higher blends of ethanol into their gasoline supply. In Northwest Europe, majority of 

member states in the European Union have converted domestic supplies from a 5% (E5) to a 10% (E10) 

ethanol blend in finished gasoline.

The blendstock for E10 gasoline is non-oxygenated whereas the E5 market is an oxygenated market. In 

the case of E10, the ethanol is blended at the point of supply. The European market is a significant 

consumer of Gasoline, however significant volumes are exported to the United States and increasingly into 

West Africa as their economy continues to develop.

European Gasoline is priced in USD and cents per metric ton. The standardized conversion factor between 

barrels and metric tons is 8.33 barrels per ton. The Eurobob non-oxy is similar in quality to the U.S RBOB 

gasoline market as the ethanol content is the same as the makeup of the blendstock is broadly equivalent 

meaning that cargoes exported to the U.S can be blended to finished grade gasoline on arrival into the U.S. 

The EU has stipulated that the share of renewables in road transport should reach 14% by 2030 and 

products like renewable ethanol (typically produced from biomass) could play a significant role in reaching 

the higher blending target. European figures for 2021 show that around 9% of renewables was used in road 

transport. 

The northwest European market is comprised of domestic production and imports. The Exchange has 

defined northwest Europe as Belgium, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. Total production and import 

volumes over the 3-year period to February 2023 was around 3.5 million tons per month. A reduction of 

50% has been applied to the France data to reflect northwest Europe with the remainder considered as the 

Mediterranean. The data is shown in Appendix A.
5

The split between E5 and E10 gasoline varies by country so the Exchange has relied on estimates by 

ePure, the renewable ethanol association.

The European Union collates data on the volume of E5 and E10 sold across the member states and the 

exchange has used this data for the period of 2019 to 2021, the latest period available. The data is shown 

in the tables below. The figures are gathered from each of the petrol retailer associations in each country 

and the data is based on a sample over a period of months to determine the approximate share of E5 and 

E10 gasoline of the total sales in each country.

Table 2: Volume of sales of E5 and E10 gasoline

Units: metric tons

Source: European Environmental Agency (Fuel Quality Monitoring in the EU report)

20211 E10 E5 Total Petrol E10 share of gasoline sales

Belgium 1,551,387 422,133 1,973,520 79%

France 4,561,999 4,140,041 8,969,697 51%

Germany 2,825,933 12,761,880 16,514,582 17%

Netherlands 3,688,630 131,000 3,819,630 97%

20202 E10 E5 Total Petrol E10 share of gasoline sales

Belgium 1,266,992 353,923 1,620,915 78%

France 3,574,561 3,650,142 7,496,189 48%

Germany 2,256,274 13,124,861 16,259,058 14%

Netherlands 3,583,000 120,000 3,703,000 97%

20193 E10 E5 Total Petrol E10 share of gasoline sales

Belgium 1,538,546 392,496 1,931,042 80%

France 4,084,206 4,453,856 8,792,631 46%

Germany 2,464,388 14,668,534 17,965,914 14%

Netherlands 4,328,000 66,000 4,394,000 98%

Using the three-year average volumes in the table above, the Exchange has applied a reduction of 20% to 

Belgium, 85% to Germany, 50% to France and has not applied a reduction to the Dutch volumes shown in 

Appendix 1 below. The reduction has been applied to both the production and import volumes for each 

country.

1ET-CM Report 2021 

https://www.eionet.europa.eu/etcs/etc-cm/products/etc-cm-report-2023-01/@@download/file/ETC%20Report%202023-01.pdf

2 ETC-CM Report 2020 https://www.eionet.europa.eu/etcs/etc-cm/products/etc-cme-report-11-2021-fuel-quality-monitoring-in-theeu-in-2020/@@download/file/ETC_CME_Report_11-2021_final%20update%2020230509.pdf

3 ETC-CM Report 2019

https://www.eionet.europa.eu/etcs/etc-cme/products/etc-cme-reports/etc-cme-report-1-2021-fuel-quality-monitoring-in-the-eu-in2019/@@download/file/ETC-CME_EIONET_report_01_2021_2.pdf
6

Analysis of Deliverable Supply

Appendix C to part 38 of the Commission’s regulations defines deliverable supply as “the quantity of the 

commodity meeting the contract’s delivery specifications that can reasonably be expected to be readily 

available to short traders and saleable by long traders at its market value in normal cash marketing channels 

at the derivative contract’s delivery points during the specified delivery period, barring abnormal movement 

in interstate commerce.”

Term supply contracts do exist but in a typical term agreement in the cash market there is a provision that 

allows flexibility for re-trading of the contracted quantity in the spot market, so the term agreements do not 

restrict the potential deliverable supply. 

Eurobob Oxy Gasoline

To define the deliverable supply of Eurobob non-oxy, we have used production and imports of Gasoline 

for Belgium, France, Germany, and the Netherlands as the basis for deliverable supply. The same reduction

has been applied for France, so the data has been halved to reflect Northwest European volumes only. The 

Exchange has used Eurostat monthly data and averaged the data over the three-year period month to date 

February 2023. Based on the data, production was 2.542 million metric tons per month and imports were 

971,000 metric tons per month. 

In addition, the Exchange has calculated the percentage of supply that best reflects E10 gasoline. To do 

this, the Exchange has based its analysis on data provided by the European Environment Agency which 

shows the total volume of E10 and E5 gasoline sold in each country. The data for the period 2019 to 2021 

has been used for this purpose. 

Using the National statistics, we have calculated that the size of the E10 retail market in Belgium, France, 

Germany, and the Netherlands. The Exchange has applied a reduction of 20% to Belgium, 85% to 

Germany, 50% to France but has not applied a reduction to the Dutch volumes given the large proportion 

of sales that reflect the E10 blendstock grade. The reductions have been applied to both the production 

and import volumes for each country.

The data in table 3 reflects the combined production and import volumes for gasoline including all relevant 

reductions to account for E10 gasoline. Using this data, the total import volumes into northwest Europe 

were estimated to be 1.712 million tons per month or 1,712 futures contract equivalents (based on a futures 

contract size of 1,000mt). The month-by-month breakdown for Production and Imports is shown in table 3 

in Appendix A.

Given the higher volume of deliverable supply, the Exchange proposes to increase the spot month position 

limit for the Eurobob non-oxy gasoline (commodity code GNO) to 400 contracts which equates to 23.36% 

of the monthly deliverable supply and well below the maximum 25% threshold. 

A month-by-month breakdown for Production, Imports, and the adjusted production plus imports” after all

reductions have been applied is shown in Appendix A.

The Exchange will also amend the Single Month Accountability level and the all-month Accountability levels. 

The Single Month Accountability level will increase from 750 to 2,000 contracts and the All-Month 

Accountability Level will increase from 1,000 to 2,500 contracts. 

Appendix A

Monthly production volumes of Gasoline in Northwest Europe

Source: Eurostat data (Transformation output from refineries)4

Units: Thousand metric tons per month

4 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/main/data/database (Environment and energy - Supply and Transformation of Oil and Petroleum 

Products (nrg_cb_cosm)
7

Belgium Germany France France

(adjusted)* Netherlands Adjusted Production

Mar-20 300 1,576 596 298 297 2,471

Apr-20 250 1,269 385 193 262 1,974

May-20 288 1,507 372 186 265 2,246

Jun-20 238 1,603 566 283 251 2,375

Jul-20 253 1,704 684 342 308 2,607

Aug-20 233 1,759 688 344 325 2,661

Sep-20 224 1,627 808 404 355 2,609

Oct-20 219 1,854 837 419 400 2,891

Nov-20 228 1,648 707 354 362 2,591

Dec-20 240 1,594 584 292 337 2,463

Jan-21 256 1,637 609 305 333 2,530

Feb-21 238 1,290 474 237 325 2,089

Mar-21 253 1,340 569 285 360 2,237

Apr-21 284 1,535 545 273 352 2,443

May-21 293 1,605 609 305 340 2,543

Jun-21 258 1,517 595 298 351 2,424

Jul-21 296 1,651 688 344 361 2,652

Aug-21 279 1,773 707 354 355 2,760

Sep-21 217 1,624 592 296 320 2,457

Oct-21 278 1,784 641 321 467 2,850

Nov-21 279 1,684 650 325 385 2,674

Dec-21 314 1,718 620 310 396 2,738

Jan-22 270 1,659 672 336 264 2,528

Feb-22 239 1,529 530 265 256 2,289

Mar-22 240 1,666 460 230 361 2,496

Apr-22 260 1,700 528 264 418 2,643

May-22 256 1,692 610 305 383 2,636

Jun-22 299 1,768 676 338 258 2,663

Jul-22 284 1,807 749 375 286 2,752

Aug-22 299 1,714 791 396 347 2,755

Sep-22 253 1,718 634 317 379 2,667

Oct-22 223 1,734 332 166 218 2,341

Nov-22 178 1,706 632 316 268 2,468

Dec-22 235 1,760 738 369 305 2,669

Jan-23 278 1,706 781 391 396 2,770

Feb-23 283 1,480 640 320 481 2,564

3-year average 259 1,637 619 310 337 2,542

*Data for France is halved to exclude Mediterranean volumes
8

Monthly import volumes of Gasoline in Northwest Europe5

Source: Eurostat data

Units: Thousand metric tons per month

Belgium Germany France France

(adjusted)* Netherlands Adjusted Imports

Mar-20 51 147 95 48 503 749

Apr-20 23 136 36 18 562 738

May-20 29 141 111 56 915 1,141

Jun-20 43 123 131 66 1,155 1,386

Jul-20 48 215 107 54 693 1,010

Aug-20 41 218 178 89 419 767

Sep-20 75 191 97 49 245 560

Oct-20 97 190 158 79 305 671

Nov-20 114 113 76 38 530 795

Dec-20 47 101 114 57 985 1,191

Jan-21 60 96 177 89 438 683

Feb-21 28 66 168 84 967 1,144

Mar-21 78 172 184 92 350 692

Apr-21 92 223 241 121 888 1,324

May-21 109 274 177 89 769 1,241

Jun-21 120 191 239 120 1,023 1,453

Jul-21 47 239 283 142 289 716

Aug-21 78 282 251 126 610 1,095

Sep-21 73 243 231 116 610 1,041

Oct-21 64 160 222 111 761 1,096

Nov-21 46 138 187 94 448 725

Dec-21 39 186 200 100 784 1,109

Jan-22 64 172 153 77 843 1,155

Feb-22 26 123 147 74 652 875

Mar-22 77 109 204 102 674 962

Apr-22 91 235 267 134 1,004 1,462

May-22 139 111 219 110 527 887

Jun-22 76 96 236 118 641 930

Jul-22 69 142 347 174 783 1,167

Aug-22 67 196 162 81 698 1,042

Sep-22 47 187 153 77 509 820

Oct-22 98 97 496 248 497 940

Nov-22 96 179 235 118 377 769

5 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/main/data/database (Trade by partner country, Imports, Imports of Oil and Petroleum Products 

by partner country (monthly data (nrg_ti_olm)
9

Dec-22 75 147 286 143 516 882

Jan-23 65 184 240 120 470 838

Feb-23 76 152 144 72 601 901

3-year 

average

68 166 193 97 640 971

*Data for France is halved to exclude Mediterranean volumes

The data shown in the table below reflects the reduction for France plus the associated reductions for E10 

gasoline across each country. The data reflects the resulting production plus import volumes for E10 across 

northwest Europe. 

Units: Thousand metric tons per month

Belgium Germany France France 

(adjusted)*

Netherlands

Adjusted 

production and 

imports*

Mar-20 281 258 346 173 800 1512

Apr-20 218 211 210 105 824 1358

May-20 254 247 242 121 1180 1802

Jun-20 225 259 348 174 1406 2064

Jul-20 241 288 396 198 1001 1728

Aug-20 219 297 434 217 744 1477

Sep-20 239 273 452 226 600 1338

Oct-20 252 307 498 249 705 1513

Nov-20 274 264 392 196 892 1626

Dec-20 230 254 350 175 1322 1981

Jan-21 253 260 394 197 771 1481

Feb-21 212 203 322 161 1292 1868

Mar-21 265 227 376 188 710 1390

Apr-21 301 264 394 197 1240 2002

May-21 322 282 394 197 1110 1911

Jun-21 302 256 418 209 1374 2141

Jul-21 274 284 486 243 650 1451

Aug-21 285 308 480 240 965 1798

Sep-21 232 280 412 206 929 1647

Oct-21 274 292 432 216 1228 2010

Nov-21 260 273 418 209 834 1576

Dec-21 282 286 410 205 1180 1953

Jan-22 267 275 412 206 1107 1855

Feb-22 212 248 338 169 909 1538

Mar-22 253 266 332 166 1035 1720

Apr-22 280 290 398 199 1422 2191
10

May-22 316 270 414 207 910 1703

Jun-22 300 280 456 228 898 1706

Jul-22 282 292 548 274 1069 1917

Aug-22 293 287 476 238 1044 1862

Sep-22 240 286 394 197 888 1611

Oct-22 257 275 414 207 715 1454

Nov-22 219 283 434 217 645 1364

Dec-22 248 286 512 256 822 1612

Jan-23 274 283 510 255 866 1678

Feb-23 287 245 392 196 1082 1810

3-year 

average

262 271 407 203 977 1712

*Data for France is halved to exclude Mediterranean volumes