DME sets a new open interest record of 71.5m barrels of oil

Muscat: Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME), the premier international energy futures and commodities exchange in the Middle East, reported a new exchange-wide open interest record of 71,586 lots on July 31, 2018.This total is equivalent to almost 71.5 million barrels of crude oil.
The latest figure surpasses the previous open interest record of 69,183 lots, which was set on May 31, 2018.
This new record is a testament to the efficiency and benefit of procuring and hedging crude oil via the most active trading window in the regional commodity markets, with over 100 participants contributing to DME’s price formation on a daily basis.
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 centers 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.