The Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME), a leading energy futures exchange in the Middle East, hit a new monthy record after trading three million contracts, equivalent to three billion barrels of crude oil, since its launch in June 2007.

Announcing the success of its flagship DME Oman contract, the futures exchange said the first quarter average daily volume soared to 4,832 contracts registering an increase of 1,753 contracts over the previous year.

The news came at the end of another record trading month, which saw the exchange trade 112,993 contracts, a five percent increase on the number of contracts traded in February, which was also a record month for DME.

Commenting on the record growth, DME chairman Ahmad Sharaf said, “To have traded three million contracts since our launch is a remarkable achievement. To have done so at such speed, only a little more than a year after we reached the two million barrels milestone, which in itself took four years to reach, shows the speed at which we are developing and the enduring confidence of the market in the DME.'

“I am also very pleased to be announcing another record trading month for the exchange. This continued growth in liquidity is an excellent endorsement of the value that the exchange is bringing to customers,' said a delighted Sharaf.

'With the deepening involvement of our major shareholders, we are extremely well placed to continue this growth trajectory and deliver further benefits to our customers as we move forward,' he added.

DME chief executive Thomas Leaver said this was a powerful illustration of how the exchange was continuing to deliver real value to the world’s fastest growing commodities markets.

'Given ongoing global economic uncertainty and price volatility, our customers are clearly finding real value in the strength of our contract’s physical link to the market together with the resulting price transparency and superior risk management capability that it offers,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service