Finance Minister of Dubai Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum affirmed that his government provided all support needed for the growth of the financial markets operating in the Emirate through developing legislative framework and infrastructure to allow exchanges to consolidate their presence regionally and globally.
Sheikh Maktoum added that Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) was able to gain the confidence of major oil producers and consolidate its position as the most reliable source of oil pricing in the region.
He praised the achievements of DME during the last stage, marking that the successful exchange strategy contributed to the growth of trading volume and enhanced its ability to benefit from the steady growth of crude oil trading in the Middle East and Asia regions, according to local media reports.
Sheikh Maktoum reviewed the qualitative achievements of DME during the last period, as the number of companies using the exchange platform for physical delivery reached 60 companies, and a total of 2.5 million barrels of oil was delivered through DME mechanism.
An equivalent of 17 billion barrels was traded, while 5.2 million barrels of oil are priced according to the Oman Crude Oil Futures Contract on a daily basis.
DME lists the Oman Crude Oil Futures Contract (DME Oman) as its flagship contract.
DME Oman is the explicit and sole benchmark for about 170 million barrels of crude oil per month since 2018, after it was limited to pricing about 30 million barrels per month.
DME Oman is pricing more than 170 million barrels of crude oil per month since 2018 compared to around 30 million barrels per month prior to Saudi, Kuwait and Bahrain switch.
The contract is regarded as the most reliable crude oil futures price benchmark, due to the quality of Oman Blend, which represents the majority of the GCC crude oil grades.
DME is the first operator of international energy futures and commodities exchange in the Middle East.
The company focuses on bringing fair and transparent price discovery and efficient risk management regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and is a recognized body by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) thus, addressing the growing market need for price discovery of sour crude oil.
DME is located within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a financial free zone designed to promote financial services within the UAE.
DME is a joint venture between Dubai Holding, Oman Investment Authority and CME Group, regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority and all trades executed on DME are cleared through and guaranteed by CME Clearing.