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Period Codes

A period code represents an absolute or relative delivery period for some commodity or financial future

Valid Period Codes​

Here is a list of the standard naming portions of period codes:

NameDefinitionExample
ABS_YEARyyyy2020
ABS_DAYABS_YEAR D MONTH DAY2020D1022
ABS_DAYAHEADABS_YEAR DA MONTH DAY2020DA1022
PERIOD[0-9]([0-9])*01
MONTHNAME3 char English month nameJAN

Here is a list of the syntax for valid period codes

Intraday periods​

NameDefinitionExample
Quarter hourABS_DAY “-QH” PERIOD2020D1022-QH01
Relative quarter hour“QH” PERIODQH01
Half hourABS_DAY “-HH” PERIOD2020D1022-HH01
Relative half hour“HH” PERIODHH01
HourABS_DAY “-H” PERIOD2020D1022-H01
Relative hour“H” PERIODH01
DayABS_DAY2020D1022
Relative day“D” PERIODD01
Day AheadABS_DAYAHEAD2020DA1022
Relative Day Ahead“DA“ PERIODDA01

Standard periods​

NameDefinitionExample
WeekendABS_YEAR “WKD” PERIOD2020WKD01
Relative weekend“WKD” PERIODWKD01
Working weekABS_YEAR “WW” PERIOD2020WW01
Relative working week“WW” PERIODWW01
WeekABS_YEAR “W” PERIOD2020W01
Relative week“W” PERIODW01
Half monthABS_YEAR “HM”((DAY))? PERIOD2020HM01 or 2020HM(14)01
Relative half month“HM”((DAY))? PERIODHM01 or HM(14)01
MonthABS_YEAR “M” PERIOD2020M01
Relative month“M” PERIODM01
QuarterABS_YEAR “Q” PERIOD2020Q01
Relative quarter“Q” PERIODQ01
SeasonABS_YEAR “S” PERIOD2020S01
Relative season“S” PERIODS01
US Winter SeasonABS_YEAR “USW”2020USW
US Winter Relative season“USW” PERIODUSW01
US Spring SeasonABS_YEAR “USP”2020USP
US Spring Relative season“USP” PERIODUSP01
US Summer SeasonABS_YEAR “USS”2020USS
US Summer Relative season“USS” PERIODUSS01
Half yearABS_YEAR “HY” PERIOD2020HY01
Relative half year“HY” PERIODHY01
Year starting on monthABS_YEAR “Y” MONTHNAME2020YJAN
Relative year starting on month“Y” MONTHNAME PERIODYJAN01
YearABS_YEAR “Y”2020Y
Relative year“Y” PERIODY01

End of period periods​

NameDefinitionExample
End of monthABS_YEAR “EOM” PERIOD2020EOM01
Relative end of month“EOM” PERIODEOM01
End of quarterABS_YEAR “EOQ” PERIOD2020EOQ01
Relative end of quarter“EOQ” PERIODEOQ01
End of yearABS_YEAR “EOY” PERIOD2020EOY01
Relative end of year“EOY” PERIODEOY01

Relative only periods​

NameDefinitionExample
Balance of week“BOW”BOW
Balance of month“BOM”BOM
Balance of quarter“BOQ”BOQ
Balance of year“BOY”BOY
Within day“WD”WD
Spot“SPOT”SPOT
Prompt“PROMPT”PROMPT
Dated“DTD”DTD
Saturday“SAT”SAT
Sunday“SUN”SUN

Financial periods​

NameDefinitionExample
Spot“SP”SP
Overnight“ON”ON
Tomorrow next“TN”TN
Spot next“SN”SN
Spot week“SW”SW
Financial weekPERIOD “W”1W
Financial monthPERIOD “M”1M
Financial yearPERIOD “Y”1Y

Spreads​

NameDefinitionExample
Absolute spreadperiod “-” period2021Y-2022Y
Relative spreadperiod “-” periodM01-M02

Custom​

You can create custom period codes where you can specify the following:

  • Relative code
  • Absolute code
  • Start of delivery
  • End of delivery
  • Expiry/Last trade date

These custom codes can be used for one-off strange periods or in the case that the required period isn't supported in the list above. All custom period codes start with a 'C', e.g. C2024HW

Gas Periods​

If you prefix any of the following period codes with a 'G' it turns it into a gas period which has a 6 hour offset using Central European Time.

  • Within Day - GWD
  • Day - GD
  • Day Ahead - GDA
  • Saturday - GSAT
  • Sunday - GSUN
  • Any of the standard period codes
  • Any of the end of period codes
  • Any of the balance of period codes

For years, you can choose between the following:

  • Gas year (GYnn/yyyyGY) which covers a gas year (October to September)
  • Gas calendar year (GCYnn/yyyyGCY) which covers a calendar year (January to December)