February 3, 2018
China's RMB oil futures exchange—the 'story of the year'!
The Shanghai International Energy Exchange:blowing up more than oil : There's a lot to follow in China. And, I had missed reports about the opening of the Shanghai International Energy Exchange or INE, likely this quarter. But, during my interview with Bob Savage, the well-respected analyst of global markets and CEO of TRACK, he told me the INE could be the 'story of the year.' That's a big - and interesting - claim about something that seems like one more ho-hum Chinese entity. Bob explained that the INE will create the an RMB-denominated oil futures contract. The first such contract in a petrodollar world, where China is largest crude oil importer. If RMB oil contracts - even just for trade with China - catch on, then the whole global oil trading regime will change. And, given the massive size of the global oil trade, a shift from dollars to RMBs will both erode the dollar as a reserve currency, and push the RMB closer its goal of becoming a full reserve currency.
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