Futures Options Expiration - Quarterly, Serial and Weekly
Reviewed by Leon Moyer - Published October 9, 2026 - Last reviewed October 9, 2026
In this lesson
Identify when a futures option expires and which futures contract it exercises into, for quarterly, serial and weekly options.
Futures options expiration is set product by product by the exchange: each option lists its own last trading day and the specific futures contract it exercises into, and that day is often days or weeks before the futures contract's own month begins.
Stock options follow a mostly uniform calendar. Futures options do not. A December gold option can stop trading in November. An August corn option is an option on September futures. A weekly Treasury option can skip past one futures contract to the next. None of this is hard once you know the three building blocks: quarterly (or standard) options, serial options and weekly options.
Why do futures options expire before the futures month?
Because the futures contract itself may lead to delivery, and the exchange wants exercised option holders to arrive in the futures position with time to spare. For physically delivered products, the futures' own delivery period can begin at the start of the contract month.
Gold is a clear example. CME Group's gold option rules state that an option expires at the close of trading four business days before the end of the month preceding the option contract month, moving one business day earlier if that day is a Friday or falls just before an exchange holiday (CME Rulebook, Chapter 115: Gold Option).
A December gold option expires in November
December gold option
Trades until late November
Option expires
4 business days before Nov month-end
December gold futures
Keep trading into December
So a trader holding a "December" gold option has to plan around a late-November last trading day. The futures contract keeps trading after the option is gone.
Not every product works this way. CME's quarterly options on E-mini S&P 500 futures, for example, stop trading on the same date and at the same time as their futures. The only reliable rule is to read the termination of trading line on the product's contract spec.
What are quarterly, serial and weekly futures options?
Quarterly or standard options are options in the same month as a listed futures contract, and they exercise into that contract. Equity index and Treasury futures list quarterly months (March, June, September, December). CME Group lists American-style quarterly options on E-mini S&P 500 futures in that cycle (CME Group: E-mini S&P 500 options specs).
Serial options fill the gaps. A serial option is listed in a month that has no futures contract of its own, and it exercises into the next listed futures. CME Group explains that a serial option exercises into the nearby futures contract (CME Group: Get to know agricultural options on futures). Corn, for example, has no August futures contract, so an August corn option exercises into September corn futures. Serial options are shorter-dated than the standard option on the same futures, so all else equal they tend to cost less.
A serial option exercises into the next listed futures
August corn option
Serial month: no August futures
Exercised
Automatically, if in the money
September corn futures
The nearby futures contract
Weekly options add short-dated expirations between the monthly and quarterly ones. Many products now list them, some for several days of the week. Each weekly exercises into a specific futures contract, and it is not always the obvious one. CME's Treasury FAQ explains that a weekly option exercises into the same futures as its nearest following quarterly option (CME Group: FAQ on weekly Treasury options).
Worked example
Futures option expiration example: which futures does a weekly exercise into?
CME Group's own Treasury example, from its weekly options FAQ:
- The September 2025 quarterly Treasury options expired on August 22, 2025.
- A weekly option expiring a week later, on August 29, 2025 (the "August Week 5 Friday" weekly), was therefore after the September options had gone.
- Its nearest following quarterly option was December, so the weekly exercised into December 2025 Treasury futures, not September.
The practical lesson: two options that expire a week apart can be options on different futures contracts, with different prices. Before you trade, check the underlying futures month shown in the option's description, not just its expiration date.
Illustrative and hypothetical. The ticker and prices are invented for teaching, and the figures exclude commissions, fees, margin interest and taxes, which reduce real results. Past or hypothetical outcomes do not indicate future results.
Which futures a weekly option exercises into
Weekly, expires Aug 29
August 2025 Week 5 Friday
Sep quarterly options
Already expired Aug 22
December 2025 futures
Next quarterly's underlying
What happens to a futures option at expiration?
At expiration, the general rule is that options in the money are exercised into futures positions and options out of the money expire worthless. What you can change depends on the product:
- Products that accept contrary instructions. Your broker may let you abandon an in-the-money option or exercise an out-of-the-money one by a set deadline. Brokers often set earlier cutoffs than the exchange.
- Products that do not. CME Group's weekly and end-of-month European-style options on E-mini S&P 500 futures do not accept contrary instructions: in-the-money options are exercised automatically and the rest are abandoned, with moneyness judged against a fixing price CME derives from the underlying quarterly futures at expiration (CME Group: Weekly and EOM options FAQ). CME notes the same for its Monday to Thursday weekly Treasury options (CME Group: Interest rate options expirations). Check the product's rules before you rely on a contrary instruction.
Either way, a long option that is exercised turns into a futures position overnight, with margin requirements and daily gains and losses. If you do not want that, the usual step is to sell the option before its last trading day. The lesson Exercising Futures Options covers the mechanics.
How do you check a futures option's expiration?
Three places, in order of authority:
- The exchange's contract spec and rulebook. The "termination of trading" and "underlying" lines give the rule for every month.
- The exchange's expiration calendar. CME Group publishes product calendars listing each option's last trading day.
- Your broker's option description. It should show the option's contract month, its expiration date and the underlying futures month. If the option's contract month differs from the futures month, you are looking at a serial or weekly option.
Check your understanding
You hold a December gold call. Roughly when is its last trading day?
Show answer
In late November: four business days before the end of the month preceding December, or a day earlier if that day is a Friday or comes just before a holiday.
There is no August corn futures contract. What does an August corn option exercise into?
Show answer
September corn futures, the nearby futures contract. That makes the August option a serial option.
Why might two Treasury options expiring one week apart be on different futures contracts?
Show answer
A weekly exercises into the same futures as its nearest following quarterly option. If the earlier option expires before the quarterly does and the later one after it, they point to different futures months.
Key takeaways
- Each futures option has its own last trading day and underlying futures month, set by the exchange.
- Many options, gold included, expire before their futures contract month begins.
- Quarterly options are on the same-month futures; serial options are on the next listed futures; weeklies point to a specific futures, often the next quarterly's.
- In-the-money options are generally exercised automatically into futures; some products allow contrary instructions and some do not.
- Check the contract spec, the exchange calendar and your broker's description before you trade.
Common questions
Do futures options expire at the same time as the futures?
Often not. Many futures options stop trading before their futures contract month begins. CME's gold options, for example, expire four business days before the end of the month before the contract month. Some do: the quarterly options on E-mini S&P 500 futures stop trading at the same time as their futures. Check each product's spec.
What is a serial option in futures?
A serial option is a monthly option listed in a month that has no futures contract of its own. It exercises into the next listed futures contract. For example, there is no August corn futures contract, so an August corn option exercises into September corn futures.
What happens to a futures option at expiration?
Options that are in the money are generally exercised automatically into a position in the underlying futures, and the rest expire worthless. Some products let you give contrary instructions through your broker before a deadline; others, such as CME's European-style E-mini S&P 500 weeklies, do not.
Are there weekly options on futures?
Yes. CME Group lists weekly options on many products, including equity index, Treasury, energy and metals futures. A weekly option exercises into a specific futures contract, often the same one as the next quarterly or monthly option, so check which one before you trade.