CBOT
30-Year T-Bond (ZB) Tick Value & Contract Specs
Tick value $31.25 per tick — $100,000 face value, 30-Year US Treasury Bond.
The 30-Year US Treasury Bond future (ZB) prices in a convention all its own: points and 32nds of face value, so a quote of 118'16 means 118 and 16/32. The minimum tick is 1/32 of a point — 0.03125 — worth $31.25 per contract on $100,000 face value. A full point (32 ticks) is exactly $1,000 per contract, which makes back-of-envelope P&L quick once the 32nds convention clicks.
ZB is the long end of the US yield curve in tradeable form. Because 30-year bonds have the highest duration of the Treasury complex, ZB moves the most per basis-point change in long-term yields — CPI releases, Fed meetings and refunding announcements produce its biggest sessions. Rate traders pair it against ZN (the 10-year) for curve positions; macro traders use it outright. Either way, the tick math is unforgiving of guesswork: use the pre-filled calculator below to convert your planned move into dollars.
- Exchange
- CBOT
- Contract size
- $100,000 face value, 30-Year US Treasury Bond
- Tick size
- 0.03125
- Tick value
- $31.25
- Point value (multiplier)
- $1000
- Trading hours
- Sun–Fri 6:00pm–5:00pm ET, with a daily trading halt 5:00pm–6:00pm ET
- Margin
- Margin varies by broker and is generally lower relative to notional than equity index futures.
How ZB tick value works
Tick value is the dollar amount one futures contract gains or loses when the price moves one minimum increment (one tick).
tick value = tick size × multiplier. For ZB, that is 0.03125 × $1000 = $31.25 per tick, per contract.
One contract represents $100,000 face value, 30-Year US Treasury Bond. P&L for a move from entry to exit is (exit − entry) ÷ tick size × tick value × contracts.
ZB contract months and ticker symbols
A futures ticker is three parts: the root, a one-letter delivery month, and the year. ZBZ2026 is the December 2026 ZB contract. The month letters skip I and L, which would read as 1 and 7 on a ticker.
| Code | Month | Listed for ZB? |
|---|---|---|
| F | January | No |
| G | February | No |
| H | March | Yes — ZBH |
| J | April | No |
| K | May | No |
| M | June | Yes — ZBM |
| N | July | No |
| Q | August | No |
| U | September | Yes — ZBU |
| V | October | No |
| X | November | No |
| Z | December | Yes — ZBZ |
Which ZB contract am I looking at?
Most charts default to the continuous front-month series rather than a dated contract — one stitched-together chart that rolls to the next month as the current one nears expiry. Every platform spells it differently, which is why the same contract appears under so many names.
| Written as | Platform | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ZB1! | TradingView | Continuous front-month contract. "2!" is the next one out, and a dated contract is written in full, e.g. ZBZ2026. |
| ZB00 | Barchart | Continuous front-month series. "ZBZ26" style codes name a specific month and year instead. |
| ZBc1 | Refinitiv / Reuters | Continuous front month; c2 is the second month out. |
| /ZB | thinkorswim, tastytrade | The leading slash marks it as a future rather than a stock. A specific month is /ZBZ26. |
| ZB=F | Yahoo Finance | The "=F" suffix denotes the front-month futures series. |
| $ZB | StockTwits, social | A cashtag, not an exchange symbol. It usually means the front month, but it is informal and ambiguous. |
A dated code such as ZBZ26 always means one specific contract; the continuous forms never do. Check which you are quoting before comparing a price to someone else’s — around a roll they differ.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the tick value for ZB?
- $31.25 per tick — a 0.03125 tick size × a $1000 multiplier (point value).
- What is one ZB contract worth?
- One contract represents $100,000 face value, 30-Year US Treasury Bond. Notional value = price × $1000; use the tick value calculator with the current price for an exact figure.
- Which exchange lists ZB?
- 30-Year T-Bond (ZB) trades on the CBOT.
- What are the trading hours for ZB?
- Sun–Fri 6:00pm–5:00pm ET, with a daily trading halt 5:00pm–6:00pm ET.
- How much margin do I need to trade ZB?
- Margin varies by broker and is generally lower relative to notional than equity index futures.
- What are the ZB contract months?
- ZB lists March, June, September and December.
- What does ZBZ2026 mean?
- It is one specific ZB contract: the root ZB, the delivery-month code Z, and the year. Z is December, so ZBZ2026 is the December 2026 contract. The codes run F G H J K M N Q U V X Z for January through December — I and L are skipped because they read as 1 and 7 on a ticker.
- What is ZB00, ZB1! or /ZB?
- All three name the same thing: the continuous front-month ZB contract, written differently by different platforms. Barchart uses ZB00, TradingView ZB1!, thinkorswim and tastytrade /ZB, Yahoo Finance ZB=F, and ZB on social media is usually written $ZB. None of them is a separate instrument — each stitches together whichever dated contract is currently the front month.
- How is P&L calculated for ZB?
- P&L = (exit price − entry price) ÷ 0.03125 tick size × $31.25 tick value × number of contracts. Use the tick value calculator to compute this directly.
More futures contract specs
- ZN — 10-Year T-NoteTick value $15.625 · CBOT
- ZF — 5-Year T-NoteTick value $7.8125 · CBOT
- ZT — 2-Year T-NoteTick value $7.8125 · CBOT
- ZC — CornTick value $12.50 · CBOT
See all futures contract specs or use the futures contract & tick value calculator with any symbol or custom specs.
Specs last reviewed 2026-09-06. Exchanges can amend contract specs — always confirm against the exchange or your broker before trading.