March/April 1991
With shouts of “30 bid for 20” and “10 at 30,” several members of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) were caught up in a frenzy at a mock futures trading session, sponsored by Commodity Exchange Inc. (COMEX) (New York City) Dec. 11.
Although the trading pace was considerably slower and less precise than an actual trading session, scrap processors were eager to try out their newfound skills at trading copper futures. Most soon discovered, however, that floor trading with seasoned COMEX members is not for the indecisive, fainthearted, or timid of voice. One participant said that trading required “jet-pilot reflexes just to keep up, much less figure out where the market was heading next.”
Despite the confusion and collective inexperience of the attendees, they learned a valuable lesson about the trading of futures contracts: Whether for hedging or speculative purposes, the futures market works best in an open, no-holds-barred trading environment.•
With shouts of “30 bid for 20” and “10 at 30,” several members of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ReMA) were caught up in a frenzy at a mock futures trading session, sponsored by Commodity Exchange Inc. (COMEX) (New York City) Dec. 11.