DME announced today that it has set a record in open interest for its flagship Oman crude oil futures contract.

Open Interest for DME Oman crude oil futures was 23,429 lots yesterday, March 26. This is equivalent to over 23.4 million barrels of crude oil.

Tuesday’s open interest was the first to break a new record since 30 September 2010, when it reached 21,797 lots (equivalent to just under 21.8 million barrels of crude oil).

The new record open interest reflects the trend of strong trading growth on the Exchange in recent months. In February DME reached the 4 billion barrel mark, with a total of 4 million contracts (equivalent to 4 billion barrels) traded on the Exchange. That milestone came just 10 months after the DME passed the 3 billion mark.

Christopher Fix, Chief Executive of the Dubai Mercantile Exchange, said:
"Growing open interest is the best indicator of the health of a futures contract and so we are delighted to set a new record. Trading volumes also continue to grow strongly on the Exchange, so DME has made an excellent start to 2013."

For more information, please contact:

Heather Astbury, Director Corporate Communications at DME on [email protected] or +971 50 6523754

Walid Majzoub at TRACCS (PR agency) on [email protected] or +971 4 3672530