CME to Close Trading Floor on Friday as Coronavirus Prevention Measure
Lucas Cacioli Mar 12, 2020 10:00
CME Group plans to close its trading floor in Chicago due to fears of further spreading the coronavirus, the influenza outbreak that has sent global stock markets falling.
CME Group plans to close its trading floor in Chicago due to fears of further spreading the coronavirus, the influenza outbreak that has sent global stock markets falling.
As reported by CNBC on March 10, CME Group will close its Chicago trading floor at the end of the day on Friday. The derivatives exchange, which was also the first traditional financial insitution to offer Bitcoin Futures trading, has cited coronavirus prevention measures for the disruption.
This would make CME the first major U.S. exchange to close a trading floor due to concerns over the coronavirus citing an internal memo which said, "No coronavirus cases have been reported on the trading floor or in the Chicago Board of Trade building. The reopening of the trading floor will be evaluated as more medical guidance on the coronavirus becomes available."
Coronavirus Disruption
Since the first patient was identified on Dec. 1, 2019, in Wuhan, China, the scourge of the coronavirus has led to the temporary closure of factories in China with the electronic industry supply chain being hit the hardest forcing an extension in the Lunar year holiday following the outbreak of the virus.
Despite quarantine and several measures being actively employed to halt the spread of the virus in China, the outlook continues to look bleak for Chinese manufacturers as the year 2020 continues to evolve.
Factories in China are showing their concern about how the situation of the virus could cause a drastic effect on their company. Andre Neumann-Loreck, founder of On-Tap Consulting, a Silicon Valley firm offering advice to hardware companies and startups building products in Asia said, “Clients are making lots of inquiries on ways to address the epidemic.” The effect of the virus is showing huge strain on companies who build hardware or physical products irrespective of the goods being built in China or reliance on China for components and sub-assemblies to finish the products.
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