Pending certification by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission the CME Group says the Chicago Board of Trade will offer expanded trading hours for grain and oilseed futures and options.
National Corn Growers Association president Garry Niemeyer says the proposed expanded trading hours could place America’s farmers at a marketing disadvantage.
Wednesday NCGA submitted a letter to CFTC chair Gary Gensler requesting a 30-day public comment period. “It’s really preferable that these expanded hours and new contracts be analyzed in a deliberate fashion for the effects of cash and futures market volatility and producer and customer relations,” Niemeyer says. “Rather than rush to implementations unnecessarily.
Niemeyer says there also are concerns about the impact of releasing USDA reports during electronic trading hours. He notes growers utilize those reports to adjust their risk management strategies. Niemeyer says farmers need time to review to reports. “But if there is this immediacy (regarding reports being released during trading hours) – the markets can go crazy,” he says. “Not giving farmers the opportunity to manage their risks.”
The CME Group has not given a start day for its proposed 21-hour trading day.
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