According to the Wall Street Journal, the government shutdown may lead to timid commodities and foreign exchange markets.
With the shutdown causing the furlough of all but 28 of the more than 600 employees within the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Commission has been unable to produce its normal weekly commitment of traders report.
Without the CFTC’s report, the market is left without information on investors’ positions, which may lead to a lack of confidence in trading. The reports would often confirm traders’ speculations and actually help level the market place, as without these insights, large clearing houses who handle trade orders will be the only ones able to confirm theories about market positions.
While some traders plan to fall back on other options for their insights, such as the New York Mercantile Exchange, these reports don’t offer as much data as the CFTC’s.
Many traders are hoping to see an end to the government shutdown before October 11th, as this will mark the last day the Energy Information Alliance will be able to produce their reports of oil and natural gas stockpiles, leaving the market even more in the dark than it is now.
Many speculate that the market will only continue to slow as the government shutdown continues.
