Gold and oil markets will soon enter an almost non-interrupted trading phase as CME Group - the world's largest derivatives exchange prepares to deploy 24/7 trading for some gold and crude oil futures contracts.
According to an announcement from CME Group, 1-ounce gold futures contracts and small-scale WTI crude oil contracts will be allowed to trade throughout the weekend, helping investors react faster to unexpected fluctuations in the global market.
This move took place in the context of gold and oil continuously recording strong fluctuations at the opening of the Asian market earlier this week – the period when investors first reacted to events that arose at the end of the week.
Because the futures contract market usually closes from Friday evening to Sunday evening, many investors have previously turned to alternative assets or other risk hedging tools to cope with off-hour volatility.
Mr. Derek Sammann - Senior Managing Director and Head of Global Goods Markets at CME Group - said that the demand for more flexible trading is increasing.
Investors are increasingly looking for ways to diversify their portfolios amid rising uncertainty. New gold and oil contracts will help them manage risks better regardless of when news appears," he said.
According to CME Group, the 1-ounce gold futures contract – launched from January 2025 – is designed with a smaller scale to attract individual investors. This product currently records an average trading volume of about 9,000 contracts per day.
Meanwhile, the new WTI oil contract will be only 1/10 the size of the current Micro WTI contract and will be paid in cash.
According to the plan, gold futures contract trading throughout the weekend will begin from July 26, while WTI oil contracts trading 24/7 will be deployed from August 30.
