NZX today announced its intention to extend trading hours in Dairy Derivatives from early Q3 this year, in response to market demand.
The trading session for all dairy futures will move from the existing market open of 8.00am New Zealand time to market open of 2.00am New Zealand time, with the 4.00pm close remaining unchanged
The new opening time will allow European traders to place orders before the end of their trading day, and for US traders, the NZX Dairy Futures will now be open during the main trading session for dairy on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
NZX Head of Derivatives, Kathryn Jaggard, commented: "We have had strong demand from traders in Europe and the US to extend our opening hours to overlap into their trading day. Being open when the majority of global financial and commodities markets are also open is vital to meeting the demands of global customers and further growing liquidity.
"NZX Dairy Futures are a valued global price risk management tool and as such need to be available for trading to the global market. We expect to see an increase in participation and volume traded as a result of this initiative."
NZX has listed Whole Milk Powder (WMP) Futures since October 2010, and Skim Milk Powder (SMP) and Anhydrous Milk Fat (AMF) Futures since February 2011. NZX Dairy Futures have traded more than 40,000 lots since launch, and the market is accessed by dairy participants globally.
NZX will be working with all NZX Derivatives Participants, Clearers, ISVs and Data Vendors to ensure a smooth changeover to the new trading hours. A further announcement detailing the exact date of the change will be released in due course.
Please see the attachment for more details on the European/US Summer and Winter current and extended trading hours.