The Commodity Futures Trading Commission yesterday (August 16) said ELX Futures’ Exchange of Futures for Futures offering is not prohibited by US market law, the rationale that the CME Group has used to reject the transactions.
Critically, however, the US watchdog stopped short of demanding that the Chicago exchange accept orders from the New York-based ELX Futures.
In a letter to the CME Group, the CFTC said that having reviewed the Chicago-based exchange’s justification, it does not agree that the EFF trades, when used to “solely liquidate and establish look-alike futures positions on different designated contract markets are wash or fictitious trades,” prohibited by the Commodity Exchange Act. Wash trades are banned by US law, as they can be used...