Contract Month

If you’re an options trader, you’re going to want to know the contract date. Because the month listed on that contract is when it expires, and it's time to get the delivery done.

Let’s say that you’re selling corn for September delivery with a call option at $4.00 per bushel, right around the time that harvest has started. The contract expires during the third Friday of the month, and now you have to settle that contract and ensure that you get all that corn off your farm.

So that you know, different months have different codes ahead of the commodity contract. It's not supposed to make any sense, just to warn you.

Contract Month Options Code

January F
February G
March H
April J
May K
June M
July N
August Q
September U
October V
November X
December Z

Different commodities have different delivery months, depending on a variety of factors. Certain grains may coincide with different months in the growing cycle. For example, primary soybean trading months are January, March, May, July, August, September, and November. However, wheat and corn contracts are set for delivery in March, May, July, September, and December.