Sweet and sour

The Dubai Mercantile Exchange has launched a Middle East-based sour crude oil benchmark, but it has been a long wait, given the importance of oil in the region. Pamela Tang reports

pg62-king-gif

The lack of a sour crude benchmark in the Middle East has left a gaping hole in the futures landscape, one unfilled by established oil prices such as West Texas Intermediate in the US and Brent in Europe. These reflect the value of refined, sweet crude, but provide an imperfect hedge for the Middle East's unrefined, sour crudes.

But the consensus in the Middle East is that the time is right for such a benchmark, and the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) - set up this year - will launch an Oman

Only users who have a paid subscription or are part of a corporate subscription are able to print or copy content.

To access these options, along with all other subscription benefits, please contact info@risk.net or view our subscription options here: http://subscriptions.risk.net/subscribe

You are currently unable to copy this content. Please contact info@risk.net to find out more.

Sorry, our subscription options are not loading right now

Please try again later. Get in touch with our customer services team if this issue persists.

New to Risk.net? View our subscription options

Most read articles loading...

You need to sign in to use this feature. If you don’t have a Risk.net account, please register for a trial.

Sign in
You are currently on corporate access.

To use this feature you will need an individual account. If you have one already please sign in.

Sign in.

Alternatively you can request an individual account here