Volumes soar on DME as new players enter market

New record monthly trading volume: 123,162 contracts (a 9% increase over the previous month's record volume and 15% more than the record set in February 2012)
Daily trading volume record of 12,648 contracts (a 24.7% increase on the previous record single day which was set on February 15)
Average daily volume for the month: 6,158 contracts (a 14.5% increase on the previous record ADV of 5,378 contracts)

Dubai, May 8, 2012 - The Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME), the leading energy futures exchange in the Middle East, today announced that its flagship DME Oman Crude Oil Futures Contract continued the growth that it has delivered through the first part of 2012 with new volume records for April.

Total traded volume for its flagship DME Oman contract reached 123,162, an increase of nearly 10,000 contracts over the previous record, set a month earlier. Average daily volume for April stood at 6,158 contracts, another significant move forward from the previous record of 5,378 contracts. On 25 April, DME Oman also set a new daily trading record, with 12,648 contracts traded - up from the previous high of 10,142 contracts on 15 February.

This continued and sustained growth trajectory demonstrates the increasingly important role of the DME in enabling customers to enjoy the benefits of fair and transparent price discovery and superior risk management.

Ahmad Sharaf, Chairman of the DME, commented:

"This impressive run of consecutive trading records underscores the sustained momentum that the DME is gathering well into 2012 and the market's growing confidence in our Oman contract.

"As we continue to establish DME Oman as the pricing benchmark for Middle East crude oil bound for markets East of Suez, we are encouraged by the increasingly broad and diverse number of market participants trading on the exchange. All our efforts remain focused on maintaining this momentum through 2012 and beyond."

John Cross, a founding partner of oil brokerage firm Daman Quattro, commented on the significance of April's trading figures:

"What is particularly important to note about these latest volumes on the DME is that they include all the different types of trading possible on the exchange, from screen and block trading to butterfly and calendar spreads and, of course, physical trading.

"The record day's trading in particular also saw significant volume throughout the day, not just during the daily settlement window. This is clear proof that the DME is operating as a fully functional global exchange."

On 4 April 2012, the DME announced that average daily volume for the three months to 31 March 2012 was 57% per cent ahead of the same period in 2011, showing the progress made by the exchange over the previous year and the powerful start to 2012 trading. It also announced that the exchange had traded more than three billion barrels of crude oil, confirming DME Oman's status as the largest physically delivered crude oil futures contract in the world.

About the DME
The Dubai Mercantile Exchange Limited (DME) is the premier international energy futures and commodities exchange in the Middle East, providing a financially secure, well-regulated and transparent trading environment. The DME is majority owned by core shareholders CME Group, the Oman Investment Fund (OIF) and Dubai Holding. Global financial institutions and energy trading firms including Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Shell, Vitol and Concord Energy also have equity stakes in the DME.

The exchange has developed and trades the DME Oman Crude Oil Futures Contract along with related swops contracts, addressing the growing market need for price discovery of sour crude oil destined for East of Suez markets, while simultaneously bridging the time-zone gap between Europe and Asia. Launched in June 2007, DME Oman is the largest physically delivered crude oil futures contract in the world.

The DME is a fully electronic exchange, and its contracts are listed on the CME Globex® platform, the world's leading electronic trading platform, providing access to the broadest array of futures and options products available on any exchange. The DME is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and all trades executed on the exchange are cleared through and guaranteed by NYMEX (a member of CME Group), which is regulated by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and is a Recognized Body by the DFSA.

For the latest trading volumes on the DME, please visit: www.dubaimerc.com

Historical DME trading data can be found at: www.dubaimerc.com/historical.aspx

To register for daily updates, please visit: www.dubaimerc.com/daily_updates_reg.asp

For further information:
DME
Heather Astbury
+971 4365 5522 heather.astbury@dubaimerc.com

FTI Consulting
GCC:
John Hobday
+971 4437 2100
john.hobday@fticonsulting.com

London:
Seán Galvin
+44 (0)20 7269 7133
sean.galvin@fticonsulting.com

Jamie Robertson
+44 (0)20 7269 7235
jamie.robertson@fticonsulting.com