US CFTC Seeks Public Comments on 24/7 Futures Trading and Energy Perpetual Contracts

According to an announcement by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the CFTC has formally solicited public comments on two issues related to the energy derivatives market, including extending standard futures contract trading hours to 24/7 and launching perpetual contracts based on storable energy commodities such as crude oil.

CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig stated that this initiative aims to gather data-driven market feedback to better assess the impact of related innovations on the market, supporting innovation while safeguarding the market against manipulation and disruption.

This request for comments primarily covers two aspects: first, extending standard futures contracts to round-the-clock trading while retaining a fixed maturity date mechanism; second, studying the feasibility of perpetual contracts involving physically delivered energy commodities. Comments must be submitted within 30 days following publication in the Federal Register.