The Commodity Futures Trading Commission will stay a contract that would have let Chicago Mercantile Exchange start 24/7 trading on crude oil futures, blocking a listing CME could have opened as soon as the next day.
Two filings, one stayed
CME sought to list the contract on July 8 through the commission's self-certification process, under rule 17 C.F.R. 40.2(c). That process normally lets an exchange list a new contract without waiting for commission approval. CME filed for the same contract a second way too, asking the commission to review and approve it under a separate rule, 40.3. The CFTC said July 9 it will use its authority to stay the 40.2 filing, which bars CME from listing the contract in oil futures markets until the commission finds it complies with the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations. The commission said it will still conduct a full review of the contract under its 40.3 authority.
The stay follows a public comment period the CFTC opened June 22, asking whether standard futures contracts across asset classes, including crude oil, should extend to round-the-clock trading.
Chairman calls the timing inappropriate
Chairman Michael S. Selig said the commission is examining whether 24/7 trading fits its statutory core principles across different futures markets, and does not take "a one-size-fits all approach to 24/7 trading." He called CME's move to file for self-certification during the open comment period "wholly inappropriate," saying it forced the commission to act. Selig said the commission wants exchanges to work with its staff on legal questions before filing new contracts of this kind.
