NE BUSINESS BUREAU
MUMBAI, JAN 28
Leading bourse BSE registered a trading volume of 77,100 barrels and open interest of 10,400 barrels, on the first day of Brent Crude Oil futures trading, a release said.
The exchange began trading in futures contracts of Brent Crude Oil from Monday, January 27, 2020. S K Mohanty, Whole Time Member, SEBI, officially launched the oil contracts on BSE. The exchange will use ICE Brent Index as the final settlement price for its rupee-denominated Brent futures contract.
Commenting on the Brent futures contract, Sameer Patil, Chief Business Officer, BSE, said, “BSE is dedicated to deepening the Indian commodity markets by providing traders, investors, and all market participants convenient and cost-effective onshore hedging products. We believe that this contract will be widely accepted by all stakeholders and emerge as a preferred risk-mitigating tool of all stakeholders. Our partnership with ICE marks a new milestone and will go a long way in serving the needs and interests of the Indian energy commodities space.”
Brent crude is highly co-related with the Indian crude oil basket, with a co-relation of 98 percent, as compared to 88 percent for WTI in 2019. The significant contribution (25.23 percent) and high co-relation (98 percent) of Brent crude to the Indian crude oil basket makes Brent a preferred benchmark for users in India.
The BSE Brent crude contracts are designed to not only protect stakeholders from oil market uncertainties but also to bring additional transparency, efficiencies, and cost-effective hedging tools to market participants in India. Oil producers, refiners, users, investors and traders in India can benefit from access to globally aligned prices and trading practices in Brent crude.
