Open interest for ICE Feb Dubai crude derivatives rise 4.7% on month

Singapore — Combined open interest for February Dubai crude derivatives on the Intercontinental Exchange rose 4.7% on the month to 82.896 million barrels as of January 31, data from the exchange showed this week.

Open interest for first-line Dubai crude futures contract rose about 6.40% over the same period to 253.90 million barrels, the data showed.

Open interest for the Brent first-line versus Dubai first-line futures spread derivatives for February settlement rose by 7.4% on the month to 27.458 million barrels. Total open interest for this contract rose 1.8% from December to 176.44 million barrels at the end of January.

The Brent first-line versus Dubai first-line contract settles on the difference between the daily settlement price for ICE Brent first-line futures and Platts daily first-line Dubai assessment.

Open interest for the Dated Brent versus Dubai first-line contracts for February settlement jumped 51.3% to 12.784 million barrels, the data showed. Total open interest for the Dated Brent/Dubai 1st line contracts rose 10.5% from December to 30.27 million barrels at the end of January.

The Dated Brent versus Dubai first-line contract settles against the calendar month average of Platts Dated Brent versus the calendar month average of Platts Dubai crude assessments.

OI for Dubai derivatives jump

Total open interest for Dubai derivative contracts traded on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange jumped between December 2019 and January 2020, data from the exchange website showed this week.

Total open interest on the exchange stood at 39.576 million barrels as of January 31, a 24.8% rise from the December 31 level.

Of these, total open interest in Dubai contracts stood at 11.08 million barrels at the end of January, surging 272% from the December 31 level, the data showed. Open interest for February 2020 Dubai contracts jumped 242% to 650,000 barrels in January, but the largest monthly jump was seen in the April 2020 contract, which had zero interest standing at the end of December, but jumped to 3.15 million barrels by January 31.