The Chicago Board of Trade has launched a survey asking customers whether it should shorten the nearly non-stop electronic trading cycle for grains and hinted that executives had grown less concerned about competition from rival IntercontinentalExchange.
The Board of Trade, which dominates agricultural trading with U.S. grain and oilseed futures and options contracts, in May expanded the trading session to 21 hours from 17 hours to fend off a challenge from upstart ICE.
Customers have already provided “significant feedback” about the controversial change, the Board of Trade said.
“As we start a new year, we think the timing is right to review those changes and industry feedback more formally to ensure we’re continually meeting our customers’ needs,” said CME spokesperson Tim Andriesen.
Some grain traders have circulated a petition calling on the Board of Trade to reduce the trading day because they say the longer cycle has spread out volume, cutting liquidity and increasing volatility. They add that the threat of ICE poaching business has so far proven mostly hollow.
