CME Group preps for possible market disruption from Brexit vote

CHICAGO, June 13 (Reuters) - CME Group Inc (NasdaqGS: CME - news) is "continuously and actively monitoring" its markets for impacts related to Britain's vote on whether to leave the EU, the futures exchange operator said on Monday, amid expectations the outcome will spark sharp moves in currencies.

The company's market operations and customer service desk for electronic trading will "take any action it deems necessary, in its sole discretion, to preserve market integrity," according to a notice CME sent to customers.

The desk, known as the Global Command Center, could modify the parameters for special price fluctuation limits ahead of the pending vote and take other actions, the notice said.

A British exit would rock the European Union, already shaken by differences over migration and the future of the euro zone, by ripping away its second-largest economy, one of its top two military powers and its richest financial center by far.

Many analysts reckon an exit vote on June 23 also would jolt Britain's economy and send sterling tumbling by 15 percent to 20 percent, while a vote to stay would likely drive the currency sharply higher.

CME owns the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Chicago Board of Trade and other markets offering electronic and face-to-face trading in futures and options tied to currencies, interest rates and commodities, from oil to pork bellies to gold.

Betting markets show traders scaling back expectations Britain will remain in the EU, and recent polls showed a growing numbers of Britons would likely to vote to leave the EU. (Reporting by Tom Polansek and Ann Saphir, editing by G Crosse)