New - Old Trading Hours

I’m Greg Martin with the Market Line Report.?
Well the markets were closed last Friday for the Good Friday and Easter holiday so we don’t have any market numbers to report but thought we’d remind everyone that CME is going to revert back to their old trading hours as the idea of keeping the markets open longer just didn’t work. Jim Bower of Bower Trading says the CME heard from more than four-thousand customers before making the decision.?
BOWER: We basically go from 21 hours down to 17 and 1/2 --for all practical purposes. I guess it is more in line with what the public wants. they are our customer so you need to give them what they want.

Bower says there has been no word yet about whether or not USDA will change the release of their reports from the 11:00 a.m. Eastern time.
BOWER: I think that is still under pending review. I think for right now the way I understand it, they are going to keep the crop reports the same to see how that works. The problem with that is in a really high volatile market as we’ve seen in the past. Some crop reports, as you know, are ho hum, but what if you get a blockbuster in there, 2 hours and 15 minutes aren’t going to be too much time.

The change back will take place on April 8. Another big change is that CME will be consolidating both the Kansas City Board of Trade and the New York Mercantile Exchange in July.

I’m Greg Martin and that’s Market Line on Aginfo Net.