ICE Futures Uses Circuit Breaker to Slow Coffee Declines
ICE Futures U.S. today for the first time used a “circuit breaker” to halt trading after a rapid price drop, the exchange said.
The market feature, which was implemented to prevent short- term aberrant price moves, was triggered when coffee futures dropped 400 points, or 4 cents, within 15 seconds to $1.758 a pound, Lee Underwood, an ICE spokesman said in an e-mailed statement. Trading was stopped for 30 seconds, ICE said.
“During the 30-second hold, trading continued at $1.758 and above in the July contract, and the market traded up following the expiration of the hold,” Underwood said. July futures fell 3.7 percent to settle at $1.7675 a pound today.
ICE said in a statement on March 20 that the use of the “circuit breakers” would start on April 9 in markets for sugar, coffee and other agricultural futures to curb price swings.
Source: bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/ice-futures-uses-circuit-breaker-to-slow-coffee-declines.html
