IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. introduces a one minute tradable marker facility for ICE Brent Crude futures and the ICE Gasoil futures contracts during the Asian trading day. The new markers, called the Singapore Brent and Singapore Gasoil markers, will be available for trading on 22 May 2009.
The Singapore Brent and Singapore Gasoil markers will connect the Asian markets with the European markets, enabling efficient management of risk between the two regions for refiners, producers and hedgers. Timing of the markers will be the minute preceding 16:30 local Singapore time (08:30 GMT/09:30 BST) and will be tradable for the front-three contract months.
ICE will establish a marker price called the “Singapore Minute marker” for both Brent and Gasoil futures which will be a volume trade weighted average price of trades executed between 16:29:00 and 16:29:59 hours local Singapore time (08:30 GMT/09:30 BST). A marker price will be published for the front-three contract months. Singapore marker trades executed up to and including 16:29:59 local Singapore time will be named “one minute Singapore Brent Marker Trades” and “one minute Singapore Gasoil Marker Trades”, and will be reflected in both the ICE Electronic Trading System (ETS) and the Trade Registration System (TRS) in a format similar to settlement trades.
In addition to the markers, ICE is introducing a facility to allow premium and discount trades to be applied to the markers, mirroring what is currently in existence for Trade at Settlement trades. For the Singapore Brent marker, ICE will allow premiums and discount trades of up to USD0.05 cents (5 ticks) either side of zero. For the Singapore Gasoil marker, ICE will allow premiums and discount trades of up to USD0.50 (2 ticks) either side of zero.
ICE will also launch a tradable U.S. Gasoil marker at 19:30 UK time (14:30 EDT) with a premium and discount trade facility of +/- 0.50 cents either side of the published marker price. A premium and discount trade facility will also be enabled for the London 16:30 Brent Crude futures tradable marker in response to customer demand.
“We believe the Singapore markers will serve as valuable reference prices for the industry, while supporting increased price transparency amid the anticipated surge in energy demand from the region in the coming years,” says Mike Davis, director of Market Development, ICE Futures Europe(TM). “In response to growing demand for inter-regional tradable pricing references, and to support the global footprints of our key futures benchmarks, we are pleased to introduce these facilities.”
L.D.