Canonical contract reference · CME 6S
6S Contract Specs: Tick Value, Hours, Expiry and Margin
125,000 CHF × 0.00005 USD per CHF = $6.25. That is the current CME Globex outright tick for one standard 6S contract. Reconcile the product, quote, month, side and arithmetic before enabling an order.
- Trading unit
- 125,000 CHF
- Outright tick
- 0.00005
- Tick value
- $6.25
- Settlement
- Physical
Current exchange record
Standard 6S Specifications in One Reconciled Table
CME Rulebook Chapter 254 and the CME FX Product Guide 2026 agree on the unit, quote, current Globex outright increment and physical settlement. Execution routes are separated because their price increments are not interchangeable.
| Field | Verified term | Order-control meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Contract | CHF/USD futures; Rulebook Chapter 254 | Globex product code 6S; ClearPort and clearing code E1 |
| Trading unit | 125,000 Swiss francs | Multiply a quote change by 125,000 and the contract count for gross USD P&L |
| Quotation | U.S. dollars per Swiss franc | A higher quote means CHF is stronger versus USD |
| Globex outright increment | 0.00005 USD per CHF | 0.00005 × 125,000 = $6.25 per standard contract |
| Globex other-spread increment | 0.00005 USD per CHF | Verify the exact strategy/security definition rather than assuming an outright order |
| ClearPort increment | 0.00001 USD per CHF | $1.25 per standard contract; it does not change the Globex outright ladder |
| Listed contracts | 20 quarterly months in the March cycle: March, June, September and December | Confirm the live chain and the intended year before sending an order |
| Termination | Second business day immediately before the third Wednesday; CME product materials list 9:16 a.m. CT | Chicago or New York bank holidays can move the termination day earlier under Rule 254 |
| Delivery | Physical delivery, normally the third Wednesday subject to the rule’s holiday adjustment | Open positions can create currency-delivery obligations |
Version boundary: older CME documents and third-party pages can show a 0.0001 outright increment and $12.50 tick. The current Chapter 254 and FX Product Guide 2026 show 0.00005 and $6.25 for the standard Globex outright. The live security definition, current rulebook and exchange notices control.
Side-aware arithmetic
Convert a 6S Price Move to Dollars Two Ways
6S is CHF/USD: a long benefits when USD per CHF rises; a short benefits when it falls. Gross P&L excludes commissions, exchange and data fees, bid-ask spread, slippage, liquidation effects and roll cost.
(exit − entry) × 125,000 × contracts=long gross P&L in USD(entry − exit) × 125,000 × contracts=short gross P&L in USDLong example
1.25000 to 1.25175
The increase is 0.00175, or 35 current outright ticks. Multiplier method: 0.00175 × 125,000 = $218.75 gross. Tick method: 35 × $6.25 = the same $218.75.
Short example
1.25400 to 1.25250
The favorable decline is 0.00150, or 30 ticks. One short standard contract gains $187.50 gross; two gain $375 before all trading costs.
| Quote move | Outright ticks | One 6S | Three 6S |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.00005 | 1 | $6.25 | $18.75 |
| 0.00010 | 2 | $12.50 | $37.50 |
| 0.00050 | 10 | $62.50 | $187.50 |
| 0.00175 | 35 | $218.75 | $656.25 |
Higher 6S/CHFUSD = stronger CHF/more USD. At the illustrative 1.25000 quote, one standard contract represents 125,000 × 1.25000 = $156,250 of quoted value. That represented notional is not the margin deposit and not a maximum-loss amount.
A distinct product
Micro CHF/USD Futures Are MSF, Not a Decimal 6S Order
The current CME FX Product Guide lists Micro CHF/USD under Rulebook Chapter 295 with product code MSF. It is one-tenth of the standard unit, but its minimum increment is different.
Unit
12,500 CHF
The micro contract represents one-tenth of the standard 125,000 CHF unit.
Increment
0.0001 USD per CHF
The micro tick is twice the standard 6S price increment; never copy a 6S ladder into an MSF ticket.
Tick value
$1.25
12,500 × 0.0001 = $1.25 per micro contract. Ten MSF match standard notional, not the same tick count.
Chart, order ticket, risk system and fill ledger must name 6S or MSF explicitly, including month and year. A broker nickname or generic continuous symbol is not enough.
Dated contracts and an exchange clock
Map the Quarter, Daily Pause and Holiday Exceptions
CME lists 20 March-cycle quarterly contracts. Regular FX Globex access is Sunday through Friday from 5:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Chicago time, with a 60-minute daily break beginning at 4:00 p.m. CT. CME holiday schedules and special notices override the regular pattern.
1. Identify
Record 6S or MSF, the quarter month code and full year on chart and order.
2. Observe
Check spread, depth, trades, volume and open interest in that exact maturity.
3. Compare
Inspect the next quarter; activity can migrate before a calendar rule says it should.
4. Fence
Set the earlier of the exchange lifecycle date and the broker’s operational cutoff.
European and U.S. participation, scheduled releases and daylight-saving transitions can change the book. Verify live market quality for the order size instead of treating an open venue as an executable market.
The legal end state
Termination and Physical Delivery Need Separate Deadlines
Chapter 254 ends trading on the second business day immediately preceding the third Wednesday of the contract month. If that date is a bank holiday in Chicago or New York City, termination moves to the preceding business day common to those banks and CME. Physical delivery normally occurs on the third Wednesday, with its own holiday adjustment.
Read the calendar
Record the official termination day/time, delivery day and current exchange holiday advisory.
Apply broker rules
A futures commission merchant can require offset, roll, funds or instructions before the exchange deadline.
Offset or roll
A roll is a close in one month plus an open in another, each with price and execution risk.
Reconcile positions
Confirm the expiring month is flat, the new side/quantity are correct and stale orders are cancelled.
Delivery boundary: many speculative accounts offset or roll, but custom does not remove the physical-delivery obligation. Delivery requires clearing-member instructions, currency settlement and funding. Never improvise it from a retail ticket.
Four different control numbers
Margin Is a Performance Bond, Not Maximum Loss
CME publishes and can revise clearing performance-bond requirements. A broker can require more, set liquidation buffers and advertise a lower intraday amount. None of those figures caps the contract’s loss.
Stops are instructions, not guarantees. A gap, thin book, outage, rejected order, delayed liquidation or delivery problem can cause a worse exit and an account deficit. Recheck current margin in CME and broker systems immediately before use; a static article should not publish a supposedly permanent dollar requirement.
Roll economics are separate again: realized P&L on the old month, the price difference to the new month, two-sided costs, possible leg risk and any basis change. A back-adjusted continuous chart can hide the visible month gap; the cash account cannot.
Final control
Reconciled 6S Pre-Order Checklist
The order remains disabled until every required field can be answered from the exchange record, live ticket and written risk plan.
6S or MSF, exact month and full year; chart, ticket and risk system agree.
USD per CHF; long benefits from higher and short from lower.
Product unit multiplied by its own increment equals the ticket’s dollar tick.
Integer contracts fit loss budget, costs, gap stress and liquidity limits.
Spread, depth and stressed slippage pass for the intended order.
Termination, delivery, holiday, broker cutoff and roll/offset plan are recorded.
Current exchange/broker requirements plus buffer are available; margin is not used as loss.
Outage, rejection, partial fill, stale order and delayed-exit procedures are written.
Sources, methods and editorial disclosure — reviewed August 21, 2026
- CME Rulebook Chapter 254: Swiss Franc/U.S. Dollar futures for unit, current Globex and ClearPort increments, termination rule and physical delivery.
- CME FX Product Guide 2026 for current standard 6S and Micro CHF/USD codes, units, increments and settlement.
- CME Swiss franc futures contract-specifications page for regular hours, listed quarterly contracts and the stated 9:16 a.m. CT termination time.
- CME Micro FX futures specifications for the current MSF code, 12,500 CHF unit, 0.0001 increment and $1.25 tick value.
- CME Group trading-hours and holiday schedules for live exceptions to regular hours.
- CME Clearing margin services for current performance-bond lookup; no static margin dollar amount is represented as current on this page.
Exchange sources were reviewed August 21, 2026. This is the 6S library’s canonical mechanics page. Current exchange rules, security definitions, notices and the broker agreement supersede this summary.