Kansas City Board of Trade

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The Kansas City Board of Trade (KCBT), located at 4800 Main Street in Kansas City, Missouri, is a commodity futures and options exchange regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that specializes in the hard red winter wheat -- the principal ingredient of bread.

The primary product traded at the exchange are futures contracts on hard red winter wheat, and the underlying option contracts. Due to its nutritional value, the hard red winter wheat usually trades at a premium to the Chicago Board of Trade's soft red winter wheat. The exchange facilitates the transfer of ownership of the futures and options contracts through the open outcry system.

The Board originally was organized in 1856 shortly after Kansas City itself was founded and served as the city's Chamber of Commerce. It was formally chartered in 1876. The Board celebrated its 150th anniversary in December of 2006.

It was originally located at 8th and Wyandotte. In 1925 it moved to 10th and Wyandotte and in 1966 it moved to 48th and Main in the Country Club Plaza.

In 1982, the Kansas City Board of Trade introduced Value Line futures, making it the first exchange offering a stock index futures contract. Options on Value Line futures were introduced in 1992. As of December 12, 2004, the Value Line futures are now traded solely through an electronic platform.