Dubai Mercantile Exchange, an energy futures and commodities exchange, said that average daily volumes (ADV) in the settlement window grew by 40 percent in 2012 reaching 1407 compared with 1003 in 2011.

November saw record levels of activity with a window AVD of 1,696 contracts and the Exchange's highest ever single day window volume on November, 15th at 2,545 contracts.

Volumes of this level mean that, entering 2013, more than one and half times the national daily production of Oman is now consistently being traded in a five minute period on DME.

Year on year December total trading volumes on DME grew by 25.7 per cent; rising from 82,671 to 103,904 contracts, and December 2012 ADV was 32 per cent up from the previous year with an increase from 3,937 to 5,195 contracts, strengthening DME Oman's position as the most credible benchmark for oil trading for the Asian markets.

DME Oman remains the largest physically delivered crude oil futures contract in the world, with the exchange trading the equivalent of more than 1bn barrels of oil for the first time in one year during 2012.

Christopher Fix, chief executive of the Dubai Mercantile Exchange, said: "While many other global exchanges saw volume declines in 2012 DME bucked the trend, delivering strong trading growth for the year as whole.”

“Looking back at 2012, I think we'll remember it as the year that DME really began to mature, delivering consistently high levels of quality liquidity and building bridges with new market players, particularly in Asia.”

"It's been an incredibly rewarding first 4 months at the helm of DME and I'm excited about what we can achieve over the next 12.  With the great consumer nations of China and India set to continue to shape the dynamics of the crude oil markets for decades to come, DME is perfectly positioned to go from strength to strength, connecting the world's largest crude reserves to some of the globe's fastest growing economies,” he added.

DME is a fully electronic exchange, accessible from 26 jurisdictions, including London, Singapore and the US. The Exchange is located within the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC), a financial free zone designed to promote financial services within the UAE.

DME is a joint venture between Dubai Holding, Oman Investment Fund and CME Group. – TradeArabia News Service