Contract Expiration Calendar

Every futures contract you trade on Slay Markets has a scheduled expiration date, and knowing it is essential for avoiding unintended settlement or physical delivery. Most futures follow a quarterly expiration cycle — March, June, September, and December — and each contract has two critical dates: the First Notice Day (FND) and the Last Trading Day (LTD). This Slay Markets Contract Expiration Calendar explains how expiration cycles work, lists the key dates for equity index, energy, metals, and agricultural futures, and shows where to confirm exact dates before you trade near expiration.

⚠️ Delivery risk on physically-settled contracts: For physically-settled futures — crude oil (CL), natural gas (NG), RBOB gasoline (RB), heating oil (HO), gold (GC), silver (SI), copper (HG), corn (ZC), soybeans (ZS), and wheat (ZW) — close or roll your position BEFORE the First Notice Day, not just before the Last Trading Day. Once the First Notice Day passes you may be assigned a delivery obligation even if the Last Trading Day has not yet arrived. Cash-settled equity index and crypto futures (ES, NQ, YM, RTY and their micros, plus BTC and ETH) have no delivery risk. For what happens at delivery and how to avoid it, see Contract Expiration — What Happens and What to Do.

Most futures contracts traded on Slay Markets follow a quarterly expiration cycle: March, June, September, and December. Each contract is identified by a product code, a month letter, and a two-digit year. For example, ESU25 is the E-mini S&P 500 (ES) contract expiring in September (U) 2025; the contract that follows ESU25 is ESZ25 (December 2025). The month letter tells you which month a contract expires — March is H, June is M, September is U, and December is Z for the standard quarterly cycle.

Each Slay Markets futures contract code ends in a month letter and a two-digit year. The quarterly months used by most contracts are H (March), M (June), U (September), and Z (December). The full set of futures month letter codes for all twelve calendar months is listed below.

The twelve futures month letter codes are F (January), G (February), H (March), J (April), K (May), M (June), N (July), Q (August), U (September), V (October), X (November), and Z (December).

Every expiring futures contract on Slay Markets has two critical dates that determine when you must act: the First Notice Day (FND) and the Last Trading Day (LTD).

For physically-settled futures (crude oil, natural gas, RBOB gasoline, heating oil, gold, silver, copper, corn, soybeans, and wheat), close or roll your position BEFORE the First Notice Day — not just before the Last Trading Day. Once the FND passes, you may be assigned a delivery obligation even if the Last Trading Day has not yet arrived. For the full delivery process and how to avoid it, see Contract Expiration — What Happens and What to Do.

Equity index futures on Slay Markets — ES, NQ, YM, RTY and their micro equivalents (MES, MNQ, MYM, M2K) — expire quarterly and are cash-settled, so they carry no physical delivery risk and have no First Notice Day. Each of these contracts has its Last Trading Day on the third Friday of March, June, September, and December at 9:30 AM ET, and each settles in cash using a Special Opening Quotation (SOQ).

Equity index futures (ES, NQ, YM, RTY) settle based on a Special Opening Quotation (SOQ) — the opening prices of the individual stocks in the index on expiration Friday, NOT the futures price at 9:30 AM. Because individual stocks can open late, the SOQ can create unexpected settlement values, so many traders roll out before expiration Friday to avoid SOQ risk. To move a position to the next contract month, see How Rollovers Work.

Energy futures on Slay Markets are physically settled. For energy futures the Last Trading Day is the binding deadline — crude oil (CL) stops trading about 3 business days before the 25th calendar day of the month prior to delivery; natural gas (NG) stops trading near the end of the month prior to delivery. Close or roll energy positions before the Last Trading Day; once trading terminates, remaining positions enter the delivery process. RBOB gasoline (RB) and heating oil (HO) both have their First Notice Day and Last Trading Day on the last business day of the prior month. Energy expiration dates are product-specific and shift month to month, so always confirm the exact First Notice Day and Last Trading Day for your contract month at cmegroup.com before trading near expiration.

Energy expiration dates are product-specific and shift from month to month. The dates above are a general reference only — always confirm the exact First Notice Day and Last Trading Day for your contract month at cmegroup.com before trading near expiration.

Metals futures on Slay Markets — gold (GC), silver (SI), and copper (HG) — are physically settled, so you must close or roll before the First Notice Day to avoid a delivery obligation. As an approximate guide, all three (GC, SI, HG) have a First Notice Day around the 4th-last business day of the month before the delivery month and a Last Trading Day around the 3rd-last business day of the delivery month. These metals dates are approximate and shift month to month, so always confirm the exact First Notice Day and Last Trading Day for your contract month at cmegroup.com before trading near expiration.

These metals expiration dates are approximate and product-specific. Always confirm the exact First Notice Day and Last Trading Day for your gold, silver, or copper contract month at cmegroup.com before trading near expiration.

Agricultural futures on Slay Markets — corn (ZC), soybeans (ZS), and wheat (ZW) — are physically settled, so you must close or roll before the First Notice Day to avoid a delivery obligation. As an approximate guide, all three (ZC, ZS, ZW) have an electronic Last Trading Day around the 12th business day of the delivery month. These agricultural dates are approximate and shift month to month, so always confirm the exact First Notice Day and Last Trading Day for your contract month at cmegroup.com before trading near expiration.

Corn (ZC), soybean (ZS), and wheat (ZW) futures have a First Notice Day around the last business day of the month BEFORE the delivery month — earlier than the Last Trading Day — so close or roll grain positions before the end of the month prior to your contract's delivery month. Always confirm the exact First Notice Day for your contract at cmegroup.com.

These agricultural expiration dates are approximate and product-specific. Always confirm the exact First Notice Day and Last Trading Day for your corn, soybean, or wheat contract month at cmegroup.com before trading near expiration.

The expiration dates listed in this Slay Markets calendar are approximate references. For exact, confirmed First Notice Day and Last Trading Day dates, use these official sources:

We recommend bookmarking the CME Group contract specs page for any product you trade regularly. Expiration dates are published months in advance.

Q: How do I know which futures contract I am currently holding on Slay Markets?

A: The futures contract you are holding is shown in your Positions tab. The contract code (for example, ESU25) includes the product, expiration month, and year. If you are unsure, contact support at support@slaymarkets.com.

Q: What happens if I do nothing when my futures contract expires on Slay Markets?

A: It depends on whether the contract is cash-settled or physically-settled. For cash-settled contracts (equity indexes such as ES, NQ, YM, RTY and crypto such as BTC, ETH), your position settles automatically at expiration and the cash gain or loss is credited or debited to your account. For physically-settled contracts (energy, metals, and agriculture — CL, NG, RB, HO, GC, SI, HG, ZC, ZS, ZW), accounts holding an open position are subject to liquidation and associated fees before or at expiration to prevent an unintended delivery obligation; you should not rely on this and should always close or roll before the First Notice Day yourself. For the full delivery and auto-liquidation process, see Contract Expiration — What Happens and What to Do.

Q: Does Slay Markets automatically roll my futures position to the next contract month?

A: No. Slay Markets does not automatically roll positions. You are responsible for managing your own roll schedule, which is a two-step manual process: close the expiring contract, then open the next contract month. For step-by-step instructions, see How Rollovers Work.

Q: Which Slay Markets futures are cash-settled and which are physically-settled?

A: Cash-settled contracts (no delivery risk) include the equity indexes ES, NQ, MES, MNQ, YM, MYM, RTY, M2K and crypto BTC and ETH. Physically-settled contracts (close or roll before the First Notice Day) include the energy products CL, NG, RB, HO; the metals GC, SI, HG; and the agricultural products ZC, ZS, ZW. For the full product list, see Products and Contracts Offered.

Slay Markets futures contracts follow quarterly expiration cycles (March, June, September, December). Equity index and crypto futures are cash-settled with no delivery risk. Energy, metals, and agricultural futures are physically settled — close or roll your position BEFORE the First Notice Day, not just the Last Trading Day. Slay Markets does not auto-roll positions, so you must manage your own roll schedule. Always verify exact First Notice Day and Last Trading Day dates at cmegroup.com before trading near expiration.