CME’s debut of 24/7 gold futures trading met with strong demand

CME Group Inc. said the debut weekend of 24/7 trading for its one-ounce gold futures saw stronger-than-expected demand with deep liquidity despite subdued volatility. 

Nearly 15,000 one-ounce gold futures contracts, representing about $60 million in notional value, traded during the inaugural weekend of the new all-hours trading schedule, according to a statement Monday. The smaller-sized gold contract was launched in January 2025 to cater to retail investors.

“We’ve had a very strong opening weekend volume despite low volatility,” Jin Hennig, managing director and global head of metals at CME Group, said in an interview. Trading was very active, with buyers and sellers typically less than $1 apart on price throughout the weekend. At times, the gap narrowed to just 25 cents, according to Hennig. 

Such round-the-clock trading is spreading across financial markets as investors seek continuous access to react to economic data, geopolitical events and market-moving news. Crypto markets have long operated 24/7, while major US equities exchanges are pursuing longer trading hours and derivatives exchanges such as CME have expanded nearly continuous trading, reflecting investors’ growing expectation that markets should be open whenever news breaks.

CME’s participant mix looked similar to its existing one-ounce gold customer base, with demand continuing to come primarily from retail investors, said Hennig. Trading activity was geographically well distributed, with roughly half of CME’s metals trading typically coming from outside US time zones.

Hennig said the exchange has no current plans to expand around-the-clock trading to other precious metals contracts or larger gold futures, although it would consider doing so if customer demand emerges.

(By Yvonne Yue Li)