ABU DHABI:  A total of 6,344 lots of were traded yesterday as Abu Dhabi flagship Murban crude started trading alongside Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) Brent and ICE WTI in the ICE network from yesterday.

ICE Crude Oil Futures opened for trading on March 29, alongside 18 Murban-related cash settled derivatives and inter-commodity spreads, offering the market the broadest range of ways to trade and hedge Murban crude.

"The depth of market activity on our first day of trading is extremely encouraging," said Jamal Oulhadj, President of ICE Futures Abu Dhabi. "On the first day of launch we saw active trading, consistently tight bid offer spreads, a high number of participants from both the physical and financial sides of the market, and liquidity out for the first six months of the curve. The mix of trading across the Murban futures contract and the cash settled derivatives reflects how our customers are already beginning to utilize the extensive range of tools we offer to trade and hedge Murban crude price exposure."

Market activity on ICE Futures Abu Dhabi on the first day of trading included 8,854 lots traded in total. This included 6,344 ICE Murban Crude Oil futures contracts and 2,510 Murban related cash settled derivative contracts. Of the cash settled derivatives, 2,500 lots of Murban Singapore Marker 1st Line futures and 10 lots of Murban 1st Line vs Brent 1st Line futures contracts traded. 27 firms traded on day of launch.

"The key contract of the new ICE Futures Abu Dhabi (IFAD) oil exchange closed at $64.07 per barrel as of 6 p.m. ET (2200 GMT) with 6,344 lots traded," ICE said on Twitter. Each lot is 1,000 barrels.

Abu Dhabi-based IFAD is backed by ICE, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC), and partners including international oil majors.

The Murban contract, which prices the flagship Abu Dhabi grade that accounts for more than half of ADNOC’s production, now provides an alternative benchmark to Dubai, operated by S&P Global Platts, and Oman crude futures traded on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME).

Stuart Williams, president of ICE Futures Europe, said in a Bloomberg Television interview, "Trading on the contract’s first day has "been a real success so far." "We have greater aspirations for this contract," Williams said of the ambition to establish Murban as a regional benchmark.

The introduction of the worlds first Murban Futures contract is the latest step in ADNOC’s ongoing transformation into a more market and customer centric organisation. By making Murban a freely traded crude, similar to Brent or WTI, customers have better price transparency, flexibility to hedge and manage risks and increased access to Murban crude. For ADNOC, its flagship crude grade becomes more available to a broader set of market participants around the world.

 

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