DME Oman below$ 100 for first time in a year

DME, the Middle East’s premier international energy futures and commodities exchange, reported yesterday that its flagship Oman Crude Oil Futures Contract ( DME Oman) traded below $ 100 per barrel for the first time in over a year. The frontmonth November DME Oman futures traded at a low of $ 99.39 per barrel before settling at $ 99.48 per barrel at 12: 30pm Dubai time, with more than 3,200,000 barrels traded during the window.

Yesterday’s price was $ 1.50 down from the previous day’s trade and is the lowest Marker Price since July 2013.

The DME Marker Price is used by the governments of Oman and Dubai to calculate the Official Selling Price for crude exports.

Oman crude prices have trended lower since the second half of June, as the upheaval in Iraq largely left the key oil export regions in the south of the country untouched, while the downtrend continued after the International Energy Agency lowered its demand forecast for 2014, citing weaker- than- expected second- quarter economic growth in developed countries and a drop in oil stockpiling in China.

Christopher Fix, Chief Executive of DME, said: “We saw a one- year high of above $ 110 in June, and now in September the lowest price for over a year. We are witnessing a significant revival inmarket volatility.”

In world markets, oil climbed towards $ 102 a barrel as the market bounced off a 16- month low hit in the previous session.

Brent crude was up $ 1.60 at $ 101.94 by 1355GMT after settling at its lowest since May 1, 2013 on Tuesday.