CME to reopen Chicago eurodollar options trading pit on August 10

By John McCrank

(Reuters) – CME Group Inc said on Tuesday it will reopen its eurodollar options trading pit on Aug. 10, making it the latest U.S. exchange operator to resume open outcry trading, which had been put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.

CME said all its other trading pits, which were shuttered after the market closed on March 13, would remain closed until Chicago, where they are based, reached Phase 5 of its reopening plans.

“As the coronavirus crisis remains fluid, the company will continue to monitor the situation and communicate any changes as needed,” the company said in a statement.

CME said all traders and clerks will have to sign a waiver acknowledging and accepting the risk that COVID-19 presents in an open-outcry environment.

The move comes as U.S. states push forward with reopening as overall infection rates from the coronavirus trend lower, helping to spur a massive rally in the U.S. stock market.

More than 110,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus.

The New York Stock Exchange, which is owned by Intercontinental Exchange Inc , partially reopened its trading floors at 11 Wall Street on May 26.

Nasdaq Inc reopened its PHLX options trading floor in Philadelphia on June 3. Cboe Global Markets said it would open its Chicago-based options trading floor on June 15.

(Reporting by John McCrank in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis)