OTCGH Expands Oil Data With Middle Distillates Contracts

The new data will cover all instruments traded across the desk─dubbed the Middle Distillate Broking Group, which is part of OTC Europe's Aalpha Energy broking unit─including all 10 parts per million (ppm) ultra-low sulfur diesel swaps, such as diesel 10ppm Free On Board (FOB) brgs and cargoes in the North Western-Europe (NWE) and Mediterranean regions; all 0.1 percent Gasoil swaps, including 0.1 percent FOB brgs and cargoes in the NWE and Mediterranean regions, in addition to 50ppm FOB brgs; all jet swaps including Jet brgs and cargoes in the NWE and Mediterranean regions; and all Gas oil and Low Sulphur Gas oil crack swaps and futures.

Like other OTCGH data products, prices will be published once daily─though intraday updates are also available on request─to clients such as major oil companies, refiners, independent trading houses, international and investment banks, and hedge funds. Users can consume the data in several different formats, including XSL files, which are typically used by traders to view prices, and CSV files, which can be plugged directly into trading systems.

"The data will appeal to a wide range of companies, from large merchant banks providing liquidity in [the middle distillate] space, merchant trading groups, and large refiners down to firms who are buying the end product and need to hedge it," says Campbell Faulkner, chief data analyst at OTCGH.

In addition, EOX Holdings will distribute the data through a number of third-party data distributors, including Bloomberg, Chicago-based energy data management provider GlobalView and Interactive Data via its FutureSource market data and analytics platform.

The launch of the new trading desk and corresponding market data will make it easier for existing OTCGH customers who already trade crude oil products to expand their trading into middle distillate swaps and futures, as the desk provides coverage of the middle distillate markets as well as up-to-date crude information and service in other markets, says Wesley Moore, team leader of the Middle Distillate Group, in a statement.

"A lot of the Middle Distillate Broking Group's customers are doing outright trades for crude, but then they also trade in refined products. This makes it easier for those customers to broker their products more effectively, without shipping them off to another firm," Faulkner says. "They now have a one-stop-shop to access multiple markets, without having to go to another broker."