Chicago traders have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a resolution that could see the CME's flagship eurodollar futures contracts moved exclusively to screen-based systems.
The CME's Class B Shareholders - the ones who actually trade on the Exchange - voted 82% in favour of a move that gives the Exchange the right to shift contracts exclusively to the screen-based Globex system if minimum electronic volume thresholds are not maintained.
The vote was taken as the CME braces for new competition in eurodollar futures from Euronext.Liffe, which will launch its exclusively screen-based contracts later this week.
Globex trading in Eurodollars already exceeds the 20% - 25% triggers set down by the CME, with approximately 31% of the June contract and 26% of the September contract moving from the floor to the screen over the preceding five days.
Craig Donohue, CME's chief executive officer, comments. "We fully expect this trend to continue based on the competitive pricing and distribution strategies we have put in place in response to the needs of our customers."