The Winnipeg Commodity Exchange Inc. announced today that it will be extending its trading hours to include overnight trading effective July 31 for trade date August 1.

The WCE futures and options markets will have staggered openings between 6:30 p.m. and 6:33 p.m. (Winnipeg time) with trading continuing to 6:00 a.m., at which time there will be a market “Halt”. Trading will resume at 9:30 a.m. and continue until 1:15 p.m. when the markets will close and settlement will take place. Details on pre-opening sessions are available from the exchange.

“Last fall WCE conducted an extensive examination with the view to determining the best timing for implementation of an overnight trading session. With the substantial increase of interest in our contracts, as illustrated by our escalating volumes, combined with the movement of global agricultural futures markets toward a 24 hour trading schedule, we feel this is the optimum time to provide extended hours of trade,” said WCE senior vice president Will Hill.