Two Traders Started A Fight Over Their Turf at The New York Mercantile Exchange

REUTERS/Brendan McDermidThe NYMEX on a normal day.Things got heated at the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday, when two traders started a fight over space on the trading floor.

According to The Street's Joe Deux, the two offenders were arguing over whose spot was whose, which quickly escalated into shoving, punching, and according to one witness, clothes-ripping. They were taken away by security.

It's been awhile since market trading floors have been as crowded as they once were, thanks to technological advancements and streamlined trading with computers. People interviewed by The Street said this was the first physical fight to break out in years.

Physical violence is rare on the trading floor. In 2011, two UBS traders tussled over a stock transaction and were suspended. Insider trading informant David Slaine got in a fight in 1993, over sharing french fries.

The Street's sources said while this was a dispute over space, these disagreements tend to break out when trading and volatility conditions are slow.

Sounds like the timing is just about right then.