UAE - Mubasher: Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME), the premier international energy futures exchange in the Middle East, on Monday reported a 45% quarter-on-quarter surge in trading activity on the exchange’s forward curve in the second quarter of 2019.

The exchange’s forward curve volume stood at 208,997 contracts in Q2-19, compared to 143,703 contracts traded in Q1-19, according to a press release.

The DME also posted a 33% increase in the exchange average daily volume (ADV) for the first half of 2019, reaching 6,695 at the end of June 2019 from 5,024 in January 2019.

“The forward curve represents the value of Oman Blend Crude Oil in future months. A liquid forward curve allows customers to protect themselves against future price movement in Oman crude oil,” the DME said.

Total ADV in the pricing curve, month 1 to month 7, amounted to 6.1 million barrels in June 2019, compared to 3.5 million barrels in June 2018.

Moreover, approximately 150 million barrels of Oman crude oil were delivered through the DME during the six-month period ended 30 June 2019, maintaining the exchange's position as host to largest physical delivery on any global futures contract.

Raid Al-Salami, managing director of the DME, said: “DME Oman has always been a highly efficient and transparent price discovery mechanism for regional crude oil. We will continue to develop the market with our valued customers and our current and future NOC partners, where we endeavor to provide an unrivaled platform for traders that will ensure the sustainable growth of the sector.”

“The DME Oman crude oil futures contract has become a benchmark for sales of Middle East crude oil into Asia. The DME Oman contract was included in the calculation of the official selling price of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain from October 2018. The increase in liquidity along the forward curve allows for customers to better manage price movements during these times of high volatility,” he added.

In 2019, customer participation has grown remarkably, with a record number of 120 companies utilising the collateral efficiencies offered against other major crude oil benchmarks such as WTI, Brent, Dubai, and Oman within the CME clearing house where DME Contracts are settled.