Definition of "Expiration Cycle"

Cycles used to designate expiration dates in options trading. Corporations and indexes that have options trading are assigned a specific cycle to follow. There are three cycles: 1: January, April, July, October; 2: February, May, August, November; 3: March June September, December. Only three of the four months in a set are traded at one time. For example, when February options expire, trading in November options will begin.