Chicago Futures Markets: Selecting Agricultural Futures Delivery Points Involves Trade-offs

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information about the selection of delivery points for grain and soybean futures contracts traded at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBT), focusing on the: (1) trade-offs between the economic purposes and antimanipulation goals of the Commodity Exchange Act in selecting delivery points; (2) differences between CBT and Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) priorities regarding those goals; (3) issues regarding the continued suitability of Chicago as a primary delivery point; and (4) usefulness of current research in selecting delivery points.