Intercontinental Exchange is to launch a sour crude futures next month in London, stealing a ten day lead over rival New York Mercantile Exchange which begins trading a rival product on the delayed Dubai Mercantile Exchange in June.
ICE said that its Middle East sour crude futures contract would begin trading electronically on May 21, after gaining approval from UK regulators. The contracts will be cash-settled against physical Dubai crude assessed by oil industry pricing agency Platts.