Dubai Mercantile Exchange hits largest trading and delivery volume peak since 2018

Middle Eastern energy-focused commodities exchange, Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME), has recorded a large increase in total volume and physical delivery in 2023 compared to the year before.

DME’s front-month trading volume in 2023 surged to 800m barrels, surpassing the 2022 figure of 752m barrels, and attaining the highest levels since 2018.

Similarly, the physical delivery volume for 2023 rose to 210m barrels from the 2022 count of 181m barrels, achieving another highest since 2018. Furthermore, DME’s total physical exposure in 2023 rose to 262m barrels from 214m in 2022.

During 2023, DME’s Oman arm represented 36% of the Middle Eastern crude heading to the Asian market – a staggering growth from just 8% in 2007.

“As we enter the New Year, we remain confident in sustaining our positive momentum despite ongoing changes across regional and global energy landscapes. We will continue to set new benchmarks of excellence and deliver value to our stakeholders,” said Raid Al-Salami, managing director at DME.

Furthermore, DME last year hit the exchange mechanism’s 3bn-barrel mark since its inception and over 20bn barrels traded in total.

Recently, the Saudi stock exchange, otherwise known as the Tadawul, acquired a 32.6% stake in DME Holdings Limited, the parent company of the Dubai Mercantile Exchange.