http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cme-to-close-most-of-its-trading-pits-2015-02-05One of the last vestiges of the swashbuckling era of commodities floor trading is fading away.
CME Group Inc. CME, +2.27% , the world’s largest futures-market operator, said Wednesday it is closing most of its futures trading pits in Chicago and New York as electronic trading has become the overwhelmingly dominant way futures contracts are bought and sold. The move, which will take effect by July 2, brings to a close nearly 150 years of barking and jostling over the price of grains, oil and interest rates.
“The time has finally come,” said Leo Melamed, chairman emeritus at CME and a former chairman who helped the exchange develop its electronic trading platform in the late 1980s. “It’s a historic moment, but one that I think was always out there and was going to happen.”
Some pits will remain at the CME, including for the S&P 500 futures market and for options on futures, which have been slower to migrate to screens due to the complexity of arranging trades that incorporate multiple options contracts. CBOE Holdings Inc., also based in Chicago, still operates a floor for its S&P 500 index option contracts.
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You knew this day was coming 20 years ago, but it's still sad that that day is now here. Floor trading was a sight to see back in the day.
