2018年CRI China to launch crude oil futures in March

 

Observers in China are suggesting the impending¹ launch of crude oil futures² next month in Shanghai should help give China more clout³ when it comes to the overall pricing of the commodity.

The long-awaited crude oil futures contracts will begin trading on March 26th at the Shanghai International Energy Exchange, and the preparation for the launch has been ongoing⁴ for over 5 years.

The Futures will be traded in lot sizes of 1000 barrels, with the daily price fluctuations⁵ limited to plus or minus 4% from the previous settlement.

Hu Yuyue, director of Securities and Futures Research Institute at Beijing Technology and Business University, says the launch of contract futures for oil should ultimately help the Chinese currency's globalization.

"As is known to all, the main global benchmarks for major staple⁶ commodities in the world are basically priced in U.S. dollars. As such, we're making the crude oil futures yuan-denominated so that the country will be able to gain pricing power over staple commodities, which may help promote Renminbi's globalization," says Hu.

Most observers do expect that traders who purchase yuan-denominated oil contracts are most likely going to maintain a presence on the European and American markets as well.

Currently there are two benchmarks for the International oil market, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) in the U.S. and Brent in the U.K.

However, both of them are benchmarks for light crude oil trading, while most of the crude oil imported to China is medium.

As such, the new crude oil futures contracts will be based on medium crude, which should help make Shanghai a hub for international oil futures.

"If we set up a market, like Shanghai crude, and keep looking for ways to improve it, we could at least influence the global oil pricing to some extent. We may not completely gain the right to fix the prices, but our companies will be able to purchase crude oil in accordance with their demand, which is also progress," says Han Xiaoping, an energy expert at China5e.com.

The Asia-Pacific currently consumes more crude oil than the US and Europe, but the absence of a crude benchmark has forced Asian countries ultimately to pay more than Europe and America for imported oil.

Authorities contend China's crude contract will offer a hedging tool, which can better reflect market conditions in Asia than the Brent and WTI standards.

China is the world's second largest oil consumer as well as the biggest oil importer.

1 impending   

a.imminent, about to come or happen

参考例句：

• Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时，严重的战乱爆发了。
• The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。

2 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

3 clout   

n.用手猛击；权力，影响力

参考例句：

• The queen may have privilege but she has no real political clout.女王有特权，但无真正的政治影响力。
• He gave the little boy a clout on the head.他在那小男孩的头部打了一下。

4 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

5 fluctuations   

波动，涨落，起伏( fluctuation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table. 他用统计表显示价格的波动。
• There were so many unpredictable fluctuations on the Stock Exchange. 股票市场瞬息万变。

6 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。