Perhaps no other market in the world has the universal appeal of the gold market. It was one of the first metals to attract human interest. For centuries, gold has been coveted for its unique blend of rarity, beauty, malleability, and near indestructibility. Nations have embraced gold as a store of wealth and a medium of international exchange; individuals have sought to possess gold as insurance against the day-to-day uncertainties of paper money. Gold is one of the heaviest metals and highly conductive. The largest industrial usage of gold is in the electric and electronics and industry.

The New York Mercantile Exchange has made available an Asian gold futures contract. This contract is traded solely on the CME Globex® electronic trading system. The size of each contract is 1,000 grams and prices are quoted in U.S. dollars and cents per gram.

The contract is cash settled, and the final settlement price is the floating price calculated for each contract month.