Russia’s SPIMEX launches trading in export futures for Urals oil

MOSCOW, Nov 29 (PRIME) -- Russia’s St. Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange (SPIMEX) has launched trading in export futures for Urals oil, according to information obtained by PRIME on Tuesday.

The instrument is aimed at an independent setting of the Urals oil price, Russia’s major export blend. Currently, the price is linked with the Brent oil price and is traded with a discount to it. The price is set with the help of data gathered, processed and published by foreign pricing agencies.

The futures will be traded in U.S. dollars and shipment of the Urals oil will be done from the port of Primorsk, Leningrad Region, under the freight-on-board condition. One contract amounts to 1,000 barrels, but the minimum shipment batch for now is 720 contracts, or 720,000 barrels.

End