Following the public release of two batches of draft business rules, the final batch of draft business rules for crude oil futures was recently released, and the standard contract for crude oil futures has simultaneously been made publicly available for public comment. With this, the “top-level design” of crude oil futures—guided by the three principles of “international platform, net-price trading, and bonded delivery”—has been fully finalized, and crude oil futures trading is now entering the countdown to launch.

　　According to the draft solicitation of comments on crude oil futures contracts, the crude oil futures soon to be listed on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange will differ from the existing benchmark markets for New York WTI and London Brent crude oil. The underlying asset will be medium-sulfur crude oil, priced in RMB, with the trading code SC.

　　In addition, the minimum trading unit for the “China-version” crude oil futures is 100 barrels per contract, which is one-tenth of the current standard contract size of 1,000 barrels per contract on the benchmark markets in London and New York. Contracts with maturities of up to three years will be listed for trading; among these, contracts with maturities ranging from 1 to 12 months will be continuous monthly contracts, while contracts maturing after 12 months will be quarterly contracts. The minimum initial margin requirement is 5% of the contract value, and a daily price limit of 4% has been set.

　　Based on this calculation, in the current environment of low international crude oil prices, the value of crude oil futures contracts is less than 30,000 RMB. The minimum threshold for investors to trade one contract of crude oil futures is approximately 1,500 RMB—significantly lower than that of major global benchmark markets such as New York’s WTI and London’s Brent, and slightly lower than that of some existing commodity futures listed domestically, such as iron ore.

　　Industry experts pointed out that, as the country’s first internationally-oriented commodity futures product, the design of crude oil futures rules must not only take into account domestic realities but also align with international standards. “Judging from the draft rules that have been released so far, many of the well-established systems that have proven effective in China’s futures market over the years have been retained,” said a representative from a Shanghai-based futures company. These include such systems as daily price limits, trading codes, and risk reserve funds.

　　To encourage the participation of overseas investors, crude oil futures have also introduced relevant mechanisms for alignment and integration, including participation models for overseas investors, foreign-currency fund settlement, and bonded delivery. Overseas institutions and individuals can flexibly choose their preferred methods of participating in the crude oil futures market based on their specific circumstances, thereby ensuring fair and equitable trading for both domestic and overseas investors on the same platform.

　　The Shanghai International Energy Exchange stated that the exchange will fully solicit and incorporate feedback and suggestions from the entire market on the energy center’s business rules system, explore and optimize the design of its institutional framework, and strive to build a crude oil futures rules system that is uniquely Chinese in character and aligned with international market practices.