Hundredweight (Cwt)

Hundredweight (CWT) is a traditional unit of weight measurement used in international commodity trading — particularly for agricultural commodities in North American markets — equivalent to 100 pounds (approximately 45.36 kilograms) in the United States (short hundredweight) or 112 pounds (approximately 50.8 kilograms) in the United Kingdom (long hundredweight). Commodity futures contracts for agricultural products including wheat, corn, soybeans, oats, and sugar are often quoted in dollars per hundredweight on US exchanges such as the CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade). For Indian commodity market participants and investors tracking global agricultural price benchmarks, familiarity with CWT as a pricing unit is important for accurately converting international commodity price quotes into per-tonne equivalents for comparison with Indian MCX and NCDEX prices. For example, CBOT wheat prices quoted in cents per bushel or dollars per hundredweight must be converted to rupees per quintal or per metric tonne — incorporating the CWT conversion factor and the prevailing USD/INR exchange rate — to assess the import parity price and its implication for Indian wheat market dynamics. As India's agricultural commodity markets integrate more deeply with global benchmarks — particularly for edible oils, wheat, and cotton — understanding international commodity pricing conventions including CWT becomes increasingly relevant for Indian commodity traders and analysts.