Eurex Suspends Trading in the COMI Future

Eurex will stop trading the COMI Future after the contract settlement date on June 11, 1999. Contract months in which there is no more open interest will be dropped with immediate effect. The reason for this decision is the steady decline in trading volume and open interest in the COMI Future; there has been little or no trading activity in this product since the end of last year. Eurex consultations with Swiss market participants indicated that there is no prospect of business in the futures contract picking up for the time being. Therefore, the Swiss market is in favour of discontinuing trading in this product. According to Eurex, the decline in trading volumes in recent months is mainly due to the lack of liquidity in the cash market in this maturity segment. The yield curve of Swiss federal government issues is extremely flat and investors prefer the long end of the market. Moreover, the volume of issues in the five-year range is relatively low. The Swiss stamp duty in low-interest phases has an added dampening effect on trading in the cash market. The product may be reintroduced at some later time if conditions in the cash market improve.