New York Mercantile Exchange Resumes Regular Opening For Oil Contracts On Days Of API/DOE Announcements

The New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc., today announced that it will resume the regular opening times for its crude oil, heating oil, and gasoline futures and options contracts beginning on Wednesday, February 26 to coincide with the change in timing of the weekly supply announcements by the Department of Energy (DOE) and American Petroleum Institute (API).

The DOE announced last week that it will begin publishing this information at 10:30 AM on February 26 instead of 9 AM. In January, the Exchange began opening earlier on Wednesday to coincide with the release of this information by both organizations.

Open outcry trading in the Exchange light, sweet crude oil futures and options markets will open at 10 AM as they do on every other day. Heating oil and gasoline futures and options will open at 10:05 AM as they do every other day. Pending a change in timing by the DOE and API, the Exchange has been opening its crude oil markets at 8:45 AM and its heating oil and gasoline markets at 8:50 AM on the day of these announcements, which is normally Wednesdays, except for holiday weeks.

These markets will still open earlier on Thursday, February 20.

Exchange President J. Robert Collins, Jr., said, "We believe it is critical that market participants have the immediate ability to react to this critical information through the world's most liquid energy trading forum and are gratified that the DOE and API have been responsive to industry requests for this coordination."