S&P 500
7,226.20
+0.01%
Dow Jones
49,494.60
-0.62%
Nasdaq 100
27,685.40
+0.66%
Russell 2000
2,804.78
-0.02%
FTSE 100
10,364.50
0.00%
Nikkei 225
59,260.50
-0.78%

Investing

CME Lowers Energy & Metals Margin Trading Requirements (CME, GLD, USO, SLV, JJC)

Photo of Jon C. Ogg
By Jon C. Ogg Updated Published
Follow 24/7 Wall St. on Google
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

CME Group Inc. (NYSE: CME) is going to make it cheaper for traders to trade energy and metals futures, something which could make it easier and cheaper for traders, speculators, and investors to push prices higher.  So goes the theory at any rate.  The exchange will set the lower rates as of Monday, February 13, 2012.

Effectively, the CME is lowering the cost to trade crude oil, gold, silver, copper, and a few other commodities. So far this has had no impact on prices of the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD), United States Oil Fund (NYSE: USO), iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV), nor in the iPath DJ-UBS Copper TR Sub-Index ETN (NYSE: JJC).

In the past, margin costs were raised on traders as an effort to curb runaway trading to the upside by making it more expensive for traders and speculators to trade energy and metals.  In short, driving up the cost of poker creates fewer gamblers. So what happens when they make it cheaper to trade?

The full details are here.

JON C. OGG

Photo of Jon C. Ogg
About the Author Jon C. Ogg →

Jon Ogg has been a financial news analyst since 1997. Mr. Ogg set up one of the first audio squawk box services for traders called TTN, which he sold in 2003. He has previously worked as a licensed broker to some of the top U.S. and E.U. financial institutions, managed capital, and has raised private capital at the seed and venture stage. He has lived in Copenhagen, Denmark, as well as New York and Chicago, and he now lives in Houston, Texas. Jon received a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance at University of Houston in 1992. a673b.bigscoots-temp.com.

Featured Reads

Our top personal finance-related articles today. Your wallet will thank you later.

A 70-Year-Old With $1.4 Million Faces a $62,000 RMD That Pushes Him Into a Higher Tax Bracket
Drew Wood |

A 70-Year-Old With $1.4 Million Faces a $62,000 RMD That Pushes Him Into a Higher Tax Bracket
A Couple's $1.2 Million Portfolio Faces a 3.9% Withdrawal Rate That Feels Safe but Is Not
Drew Wood |

A Couple's $1.2 Million Portfolio Faces a 3.9% Withdrawal Rate That Feels Safe but Is Not

Continue Reading

Jon C. Ogg |

Comex Raises Copper Margin Requirements — Gold & Silver Next? (CME, FCX, SCCO, NEM, ABX, SLW, JJC, GLD, GDX, GDXJ, SIL)

In what appears to be a counterintuitive move, CME Group (NASDAQ: CME) today raised its margin requirements for copper futures…
Jon C. Ogg |

Will the Silver Rush Kill a Faltering Economy? (STP, EK, SLV, GLD)

One factor driving the price of silver through the roof is its use in industrial products. About half the world’s…
Paul Ausick |

Why Value Investors Must at Least Start to Look at Mining and Metals Stocks

ThinkstockThere are a variety of ways to invest in precious metals. Buying gold or silver bars and coins is one.…
Jon C. Ogg |

Commodities Watch: The Case for Gold; Ag Prices Turn Down (GLD, GDX, GDXJ, SLV, SIL)

Today’s look at the commodities markets examines a new report from the World Gold Council and reports on another downturn…
Douglas A. McIntyre |

Commodities Watch: China Fights Commodity Inflation; Silver, Iron Ore, Rise, as Gold, Oil, Copper Fall; Corn, Cocoa Move Higher (CORN, MOO, MON, GLD, SLV, JJC)

As we begin the week, prices for many commodities are rising, while only gold and oil are falling. Corn prices…
Key Advisors Group prefers gold over silver as volatility spikes
William Temple |

Key Advisors Group prefers gold over silver as volatility spikes

When markets sell off hard and fear spikes, investors reach for metals. But Eddie Ghabour of Key Advisors Group has…
Jon C. Ogg |

Bracing For Position Limit Talk in Metals (GLD, SGOL, SLV, CME)

When oil was targeted by the CFTC for position limits, many did not want to believe that this would come…
Douglas A. McIntyre |

Can the Boom in Silver Last? (SLV, SIL, SLW, PAAS, HL)

Silver prices have risen more than 80% in 2010, far more than either gold, at about 26%, and copper, at…
Jon C. Ogg |

The Devil’s Metal… Calls for $50.00 Silver Get More Vocal (SLV, SIVR, AGQ, GLD, SLW, PAAS)

The move of a generation in silver continues to rise in The Devil’s Metal.  The same logic two years ago…

Top Gaining Stocks

Cboe Global Markets
CBOE • Vol: 1,568,143
New Pluto Global
PSKY • Vol: 12,285,993
Seagate Technology
STX • Vol: 7,378,346
Oracle
ORCL • Vol: 26,317,675
Datadog
DDOG • Vol: 6,247,779

Top Losing Stocks

LKQ
LKQ • Vol: 4,367,433
Clorox
CLX • Vol: 13,260,523
Stryker
SYK • Vol: 4,519,455
Mohawk Industries
MHK • Vol: 1,859,865
Amgen
AMGN • Vol: 3,818,618