CME Group (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) announces plans to expand trading to 24 hours a day, seven days a week for certain energy and precious metals products. The exchange says it will introduce a new, smaller WTI crude oil futures contract and also extend its existing gold contract to operate on an around-the-clock basis. The purpose of the WTI change is to offer a contract size that can be used for more precise hedging, while the 24/7 schedule is intended to broaden market access and keep trading active beyond standard market hours. For gold, CME says the continuous schedule is designed to provide always-on trading, supporting ongoing price discovery.
Across the reports, CME is the sole organizer and the focus remains on the exchange’s expansion of continuous trading for WTI and gold, rather than changes to contract pricing or trading rules beyond the shift to a new or extended 24/7 model. The announcements are presented as an exchange initiative to increase availability of these derivatives products.
