Electronic Traded Contracts See A Shift

Electronic Trading is gaining an ever-increasing share of overall futures trading volume. Electronic trading is less expensive, more accurate and provides much faster fills when compared to traditional open-outcry markets. Most electronic exchanges provide nearly instantaneous fill reporting. Electronic exchanges also allow traders to access more relevant and accurate information on current market conditions including current bid/offer price and size. These advantages have facilitated the replacement of most all foreign pit-traded contracts with electronically traded versions.

While the New York markets continue to lag behind on this trend, as you can see, Chicago is seeing a major shift in volume on those contracts that are traded electronically. Here are the latest numbers related to the Chicago Board of Trade and Chicago Mercantile Exchange electronically traded contracts.