About Chicago time
Chicago sets the pace for Central Time and is home to the derivatives markets that price much of the world’s commodities.
The CME and CBOT in Chicago trade agricultural and financial futures on Central Time, so grain and interest-rate schedules the world over reference this zone. Chicago is also where U.S. time zones were effectively born: the railroads adopted standard time here in 1883, ending the chaos of thousands of local “sun times.”
CME/CBOT futures hoursBirthplace of U.S. standard railway time (1883)Central Time anchor