Asia/Pacific News
Shanghai Exchange Plans Bunker Fuel Futures Listing
The Shanghai Future Exchange (SHFE) plans to begin listing bunker fuel futures, along with crude and natural gas futures, Chu Juehai, CEO of the exchange's energy unit, told Bloomberg.
The SHFE plans to start trading crude futures "as soon as possible," allowing for foreign parties to participate in the domestic market, Chairman Yang Maijun said.
"More and more foreign exchanges have begun the layout of the Asia-Pacific market and we should also be at full speed," Yang said.
The move into crude futures contracts could create an Asia benchmark, increasing China's role in determining prices.
"There's appetite for a new benchmark for Asian crude," said Christopher Fix, CEO of the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME).
Fix added that the spread between DME and Shanghai International Energy Exchange, which will handle crude futures trading, will reflect the cost of moving oil from the Middle East to Asia.
The SHFE also intends to amend its fuel oil futures contract, Yang said.
China is the world's second largest oil consuming nation and is expected to account for 11% of the 2014 global oil demand.
