Trading in Dubai's crude futures contract is up 58 per cent for the year, the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) reported, strengthening its prospects of becoming a leading benchmark in the global oil trade.
Backers of the DME's Oman Crude Oil Futures Contract say it offers the best means of setting prices for the Gulf's oil exports, but in its two-year lifespan the contract has struggled to achieve sufficient trading volumes to serve as a realistic benchmark, experts and oil traders say.
Trading in the Oman contract increased markedly this year and hit a record daily average of 2,624 trades last month, the DME said. At the start of the year, volumes often fell below 1,000 per day.
Ahmad Sharaf, the exchange chairman, said the Oman contract was "increasingly regarded as the fairest and most transparent pricing benchmark in the East of Suez region".
"This positive news is yet further demonstration of growing market confidence in the DME Oman contract," he said.
The increase in trading activity followed the Dubai Government's decision in June to directly link the price of its petroleum exports to the contract's settlement price. Volumes also benefited from the contract's February listing on the CME commodities exchange in the US.
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
ETFs explained
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