Monday, May 28, 2012

CME increases pit trading around announcements

Information events will lead to strong changes in price. These events may have even greater impact if it is during non-trading hours. It can have especially negative impact for trading and liquidity if the main market is closed but there are secondary OTC markets which may be open. 

This has been the case for grain markets which are closed during the key period surrounding USDA announcements. The USDA announcements are especially important because there are much fewer announcements in the grain markets than in fixed income or equity  markets which receive information from numerous sources. The closed markets mean that there is no price discovery during an critical period. Those who have future hedges will have to wait for the open and sit with the potential risk of not knowing the price during critical post-announcement period. The CME, by allowing pit trading pre and post the USDA announcements will help the market determine price and allow all market participants to have access to liquidity during a key announcement period. This is a good market structure move.

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