CME to offer 1-ounce gold futures to meet surging demand from retail traders
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There has been a trend among retail investors to seek smaller-sized gold products as a way to diversify their portfolios as spot gold hit record highs in 2024.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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New York – CME Group will start offering a one-ounce gold futures contract in January to meet surging demand from retail investors amid the bullion’s record-breaking rally.
There has been a larger trend among retail investors to seek smaller-sized gold products as a way to diversify their portfolios as spot gold hit repeated record highs in 2024
The one-ounce contract is a “great way to lower the barrier to entry in our market”, CME’s global head of metals Jin Hennig said in an interview. “Our clientele is also getting younger. That’s a lot more doable.”
CME also expects the new contract to capture robust demand from retail investors in Asia, where gold as a store of value and a hedge against turmoils is very much embedded in the region’s culture. The contract offers “a meaningful way” for individual traders in Asia to “manage their own wealth creations”.
The futures contract will be available starting Jan 13, pending regulatory review, the Chicago-based exchange said on Dec 5 in a statement.
The new offering adds to CME’s retail-friendly micro gold and micro silver futures – which are a fraction of the benchmark futures contracts. CME said those are among the fastest-growing metals products, reaching record trading volumes in 2024.
Micro gold futures are one-tenth the size of the 100-ounce futures contract, while micro silver futures are one-fifth the size of the 5,000-ounce silver futures contract. BLOOMBERG
