CME Group Outage Freezes Global Trading Amid Cooling Crisis

A significant outage at CME Group halted trading across several markets due to cooling issues at CyrusOne data centers. Key global benchmarks remained frozen, affecting broker operations and increasing market volatility. Some platforms remained operational, but trading activity was notably disrupted, impacting futures, commodities, and forex markets.

A major outage at CME Group, the largest exchange operator globally, has stalled trading on its currency platform and futures markets, sending shockwaves across the financial landscape. The disruption stemmed from a cooling malfunction at CyrusOne data centers.

The incident unfolded during Asian trading hours and prolonged until mid-morning GMT, marking one of the lengthiest stoppages in years. While Brokertec platforms remained functional, CME's major markets froze, affected by the cooling setback.

Market experts voiced concerns over trading without live prices, as numerous brokers retracted products to mitigate risk. The outage underscored the challenges of maintaining infrastructure in finance, contributing to increased volatility and positioning risks in a market already subdued post-Thanksgiving.

(With inputs from agencies.)