CHICAGO, April 30 (Reuters) – CME Group Inc on
Monday said it had no formal announcement regarding widespread
rumors that the exchange was considering expanding the trading
hours for its grain and oilseed futures, a spokesman said.
“At CME Group, we regularly engage with industry
participants to discuss ways to enhance our markets. We will
keep our customers and industry participants abreast of any
planned changes, but have nothing formal to announce at this
time,” CME spokesman Chris Grams said in an e-mail.
The exchange was rumored to be planning to expand electronic
trading hours for its Chicago Board of Trade grain and oilseed
futures to 22 hours a day, grain traders said.
CME’s CBOT grain futures currently trade electronically on
the exchange’s Globex platform from 6 p.m. to 7:15 a.m. Central
time, while trade on both Globex and the open-outcry pits runs
from 9:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.
Any change in hours would appear aimed at fending off
competition from the upstart IntercontinentalExchange Inc
, which earlier this month announced plans to launch five
grain and oilseed futures contracts in mid-May.
ICE said its contracts will trade 22 hours a day, from 8
p.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Time.
