Update 3: Market reopens - "perfectly normal market"
Update 2: "CME Globex Crude Complex Futures and Options markets will open at 14:15 Central Time with a 15 minute pre-open"
Update from CME: "The following actions will be taken on CME Globex Crude Complex Futures and Options markets prior to the market opening: All day and session orders, including GTDs with today's date will be cancelled. All GTCs that have been acknowledged will remain working."
Something odd is going on in crude quotes which halted at 2:04pm, following what may have been an algo gone berserk in advance of what may or may not have been a block order. The feed has since stopped transmitting. The initial read is "technical difficulties" out of the CME Globex crude exchange. Someone take quote stuffing a little too far today?
And this is what happened in USO just before the crash. Note the surge in volume:
And on the CME's website:
And upated CL March volume chart:
Update: $101
Translation: all your electronic barrels are belong to SkyNet.