Nymex Moves Gas Opening Bell Up to 9:30 a.m.

The board of directors of the New York Mercantile Exchange has amended plans 
to move 
up the start-up time for natural gas futures trading because of the overlap 
with crude oil markets, 
which share an options ring with natural gas. Daily gas futures trading now 
will commence at 
9:30 a.m. rather than 9:45. The board has scheduled expanded energy trading 
hours to begin 
with the Sept. 8 trading session. 

On July 13, the board voted to expand futures trading hours electronically 
for its light sweet crude 
oil, heating oil, gasoline, and natural gas futures and options markets. It 
also voted to have an 
earlier opening for the open outcry session for natural gas futures and 
options.

Beginning at 4 p.m. on Sept. 7 the Nymex Access electronic trading sessions 
for those commodities 
will be extended to run from 4 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays, to 9 a.m. the 
following day. On 
Sundays, the session will begin at 7 p.m. and will run until 9 a.m. on 
Monday. Currently, the sessions 
for light sweet crude oil, heating oil and gasoline begin at the same times 
but close at 8 a.m. Natural 
gas futures and options currently are traded from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays 
through Thursdays with 
no Sunday night session.