https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2025-12- ... uman-errorTL;DR – CME Data Center Outage
The halt interrupted global futures trading across metals, energy, rates, and FX, exposing CME’s operational dependence on a single leased data-center node
The disruptions ultimately halted trading activity from Tokyo through London and the United States, affecting contracts spanning precious metals, energy, interest rates, and currencies.
did not follow standard operating protocols, leading to cascading mechanical failure rather than stabilization.
Contributing errors included improper draining procedures undertaken by onsite staff and contractors.
“Onsite staff and contractors failed to follow standard procedures for draining the cooling towers.”
CME in its own December 6 statement, which added that the operator’s “initial remediation attempts further exacerbated the problem.”
CME’s Chicago facility processes derivatives trades measured in trillions of dollars daily, covering:
Precious metals (including gold)
Energy contracts
Interest rate derivatives
Currency futures
Equity-linked derivatives
The outage suspended trading during overlapping Asian and European hours, preventing price discovery and liquidity provision across multiple markets.
JPM Reportedly Made 13.4 Million Ounces Unavailable During CME Shutdown
Dec 2
daily Metal Depository Statistics report (covering activity dated November 26, 2025, and published on November 28) showed no physical withdrawals of silver from COMEX warehouses.
Instead, the significant decline in registered silver inventory—approximately 12 million ounces—was entirely attributed to internal reclassification adjustments rather than actual physical removals
The operational disruption extended beyond CME itself. CyrusOne was forced to suspend a $1.3 billion mortgage-bond sale being arranged by Goldman Sachs due to the facility’s technological instability.
When service resumed, trading was restored gradually. CME’s Globex Futures & Options platform, representing approximately 90 percent of CME’s transaction volume, reopened at 7:30 a.m. Chicago time on November 28.
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