Activity in China’s oil futures market has risen to record levels as the country seeks to develop the role of its currency in a trade dominated by the US dollar.
Open interest in oil futures on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE), a measure of the total number of contracts outstanding, leapt to a daily average of 118,249 in 2020 — four times higher than in 2019. Trading volumes climbed more than 20 per cent year on year.
A rise in trading and positions in the contracts, which were launched in 2018, form part of a longer-term push by Beijing to establish renminbi-denominated markets that ultimately seek to challenge the dollar’s dominance.