Dubai crude futures traded volume on TOCOM slips 3% in August on month

The volume of Dubai crude oil futures contracts traded on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange fell 2.82% on the month to 121,241 lots in August, the latest TOCOM data showed.

The figure was also 17.07% lower compared to the traded volume reported in August 2023, the data reflected.

The decrease in trading volumes comes as the complex faces pressure on the back of persistently sluggish refinery margins and weak domestic demand, which end-users across the region continue to grapple with.

This comes despite a largely closed arbitrage window for light, sweet US crudes to Asia, with the Brent-Dubai Exchange of Futures for Swaps, or EFS, spread -- a key indicator of Brent’s premium over the Middle East sour crude market -- widened to a near one-year high, thereby impeding flows of Brent-linked crudes from West Africa, Europe and the Mediterranean into the region.

On the physical front, 31 Dubai partials traded during the Platts Market on Close assessment process over the first three trading sessions in September, down from the 53 partials traded over the same period in the previous month.

The M1 Dubai swap settled at $80.14/b at the start of August and ended the month 2.37% lower at $78.24/b, S&P Global Commodity Insights data showed.

Platts assessed the October Brent-Dubai EFS at $3.19/b on Aug. 30 -- the highest since touching $3.59/b on Sept. 29, 2023 -- up $1.34/b, or 72.43%, from Aug. 1, according to the data.

Dubai crude oil futures traded on TOCOM: