Monday 08 / July / 2024
Dubai: Oman crude oil benchmark trading on Dubai Mercantile Exchange has doubled in price since the record cuts agreed by the OPEC+ group and other major producers were implemented in time for May loading schedules.
Front-month July DME Oman Marker Price on Friday was $34.95/b, up by $18.13/b from the record low of $16.82/b on April 28 – an increase of 108 per cent.
The Marker Price is used by Middle East producers, which include Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Dubai in calculating the Official Selling Price (OSP).
Middle East prices have also risen faster than those in Europe, with DME Oman trading at nearly $3/b over the Brent North Sea benchmark on Friday.
DME is the premier international energy futures and commodities exchange in the Middle East. It aims to provide oil producers, traders and consumers engaged in the East of Suez markets with transparent pricing of crude oil.
Launched in 2007, DME has rapidly grown into a globally relevant exchange. Its flagship Oman Crude Oil Futures Contract (DME Oman) contract is now firmly established as the most credible crude oil benchmark relevant to the rapidly growing East of Suez market. Reflecting the economics of the Asian region like no other contract, and the largest physically delivered crude oil futures contract in the world, DME Oman is the world’s third crude oil benchmark and the sole benchmark for Oman and Dubai exported crude oil.
DME is a fully electronic exchange, with regulatory permissions allowing access from more than 20 jurisdictions, including the major financial centres of Asia, Europe and the United States. The Exchange is located within the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC), a financial free zone designed to promote financial services within the UAE. The DME is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority and all trades executed on the DME are cleared through and guaranteed by CME Clearing.
DME is a joint venture between Dubai Holding, Oman Investment Fund and CME Group. Global financial institutions and energy trading firms including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Shell, Vitol and Concord Energy also hold equity stakes in the DME.
