CFTC Extends Comment Period on 24/7 Energy Futures and Perpetual Contracts

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission extended the public comment deadline on two related energy-derivatives questions: whether standard futures contracts should be able to trade on a 24/7 schedule, and how the agency should evaluate perpetual contracts that reference physically delivered or storable energy commodities.

The new deadline is August 26, 2026. The CFTC said the extension follows requests from commenters and the addition of several questions after industry discussions.

The first part of the request focuses on standard futures contracts, including energy futures, that would move to round-the-clock trading without changing their fixed expiration. The second part focuses on perpetual contracts linked to energy commodities where physical delivery, storage and settlement design can create different risks than purely financial products.

Why it matters

For traders, 24/7 access is not just a platform-hours change. Energy contracts have delivery, storage, margin and settlement mechanics that can be harder to manage when markets remain open through weekends and bank holidays.

The extended comment window gives exchanges, FCMs, clearinghouses, commercial hedgers and active traders more time to press the CFTC on liquidity, off-hours surveillance, margin calls and operational resilience before the agency decides how these products should move forward.

What to watch next

Watch the August 26 comment file for exchange proposals, clearinghouse concerns and buy-side feedback on whether energy futures can support continuous trading without weakening settlement certainty or market supervision.