By Julian Goldsmith, 3 July 1998 11:19
NEWS The London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (Liffe) has announced the closure of three 'open outcry' dealer pits in the first move towards exclusive electronic trading. The three pits, which all trade in the bonds markets, will be transferred to Liffe's existing electronic trading system, APT, in August. All markets will eventually be traded on Liffe's open electronic trading system, known as Liffe Connect, by the end of November. Trading on the three pits has declined in recent months, but a Liffe spokesman maintained that the pits were closed due to pressure from dealers. "Members have asked for it," he said. "The majority of bonds are now automated." The spokesman denied that the closures would result in job losses, explaining that it was the responsibility of individual member organisations to hire and fire dealers, but that the bond market is trading at record volumes as a whole. Liffe plans for the market to be completely automated by the second quarter of 1999.
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