Dubai Mercantile Exchange Announces One Billion Barrels Traded Since Launch
Historic achievement in 29th month of trading benchmark Oman contract
Dubai – 29 November 2009: The Dubai Mercantile Exchange Limited (DME) announced today that cumulative trading in its benchmark DME Oman Crude Oil Futures Contract (DME Oman) has exceeded one million contracts, representing one billion barrels of crude oil traded, since its launch on June 1st, 2007.
At the close of trading on 27 November 2009, DME Oman had traded a total of 1,000,174 contracts, which at 1,000 barrels per contract is equivalent to more than 1 billion barrels of crude oil.
Since its inception, DME Oman has provided the most fair and transparent price discovery mechanism for East of Suez crude markets. Reflecting the growing liquidity of its flagship contract, the DME reported a 60 per cent year on year increase in average daily volumes during 2009, averaging at 2,037 contracts.
DME Oman continues to demonstrate a strong link to the underlying Oman crude physical market and is the largest physically delivered crude oil contract in the world. Physical deliveries of DME Oman have recently averaged 10 million barrels per month, achieving a record volume of 11.6 million barrels for September 2009 delivery. This development marks a 60 per cent increase in physically delivered volumes from August 2007 to date.
Marking the announcement, Ahmad Sharaf, Chairman of the DME said:
This is a very positive day for the DME. The billion barrels milestone is further confirmation to the markets, our stakeholders and shareholders that the fundamentals are in place for the long-term success of the flagship DME Oman Crude Oil Futures Contract and the DME as a whole.
Craig Donohue, Chief Executive Officer of CME Group, commented:
CME Group congratulates DME on this significant milestone, which reflects the growing acceptance of the DME Oman Crude Oil Futures Contract among key energy traders and hedgers, particularly in the key AsiaPac region. We look forward to continued successful co-operation between our organisations, which together offer customers the three key crude oil benchmarks serving the Middle East, Europe and North America on a global platform, virtually around the clock.
Thomas Leaver, Chief Executive Officer of the DME, added:
The DME continues to go from strength to strength. This time last year we were announcing more than 500,000 contracts traded in the 18 months since launch. Just 12 months on, we have succeeded in doubling that volume to one million. This is a testament to the overwhelming support of our customers and a growing recognition that DME Oman provides the most efficient price discovery and risk management tool to participants in the rapidly growing East of Suez markets.
Notes to Editors
About the Dubai Mercantile Exchange
The Dubai Mercantile Exchange Limited (DME) is the premier international energy futures and commodities exchange in the Middle East, providing a financially secure, well-regulated and transparent trading environment. Majority owned by core shareholders Tatweer (a member of Dubai Holding), Oman Investment Fund (OIF) and CME Group, the DME also released an equity stake of up to 20% in August 2008 to a strategic investor group including leading global financial institutions and energy trading firms such as Casa Trading, Concord Energy, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Shell and Vitol.
The Exchange has developed and trades the DME Oman Crude Oil Futures Contract, addressing the growing market need for price discovery of sour crude oil destined for East of Suez markets, while simultaneously bridging the time-zone gap between Europe and Asia. Launched in June 2007, the contract has averaged 2,037 contracts per day during 2009, and hit a one day high of 8,076 contracts on June 23rd 2009, up on the previous high of 6,484 contracts recorded on January 13th 2009.
The DME is a fully electronic exchange, and its contracts are listed on the CME Globex® platform, the world’s leading electronic trading platform, providing access to the broadest array of futures and options products available on any exchange. The DME is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority and all trades executed on the Exchange are cleared through and guaranteed by NYMEX (A member of CME Group), an AA+ rated clearinghouse which is regulated by the CFTC and licensed as a Recognised Body by the DFSA.
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