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 officially begun seeking public comments on two issues related to the energy derivatives market, including extending the trading hours of standard futures contracts to 24/7 and introducing 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 relevant innovations on the market, supporting innovation while protecting the market from manipulation and disruption.

This request for comments primarily covers two areas: first, extending standard futures contracts to round-the-clock trading while retaining the fixed expiration date mechanism; second, studying the feasibility of perpetual contracts involving physical delivery energy commodities. Comments must be submitted within 30 days of the notice's publication in the Federal Register.