CME suspends launch of all-weather crude oil futures contract due to industry opposition

According to Bloomberg, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) suspended the launch of a 10-barrel crude oil futures contract that can be traded around the clock and withdrew related declarations due to opposition from industry participants. Market participants are concerned that illiquidity over the weekend could distort WTI crude oil pricing, with continued trading also increasing pressure on weekend staffing, commercial hedging and out-of-hours margin calls. CME stated that this product was originally intended to provide a U.S.-regulated alternative to the all-weather crude oil trading products already provided by domestic prediction markets and overseas platforms.