Eurex, the Swiss-German derivatives exchange, has been forced to push back its launch in the US to February 8, missing its own deadline by one week.

The decision follows an announcement by the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that it will not discuss Eurex's application to open a new US exchange until February 4. Eurex US was expected to go live on February 1. Fears that Eurex would miss its own launch deadline have been building since the end of last year because of delays to the regulatory approval timetable.