Washington’s renewed sanctions on Tehran supports China’s newly established oil futures, analysts say.
The sanctions can make the yuan a more preferable currency than the dollar on the oil market.
Since their launch in May, the interest in the renminbi-backed oil contracts has steadily surged. Traded daily volumes hit a record 250,000 lots last Wednesday, and the share of yuan contracts in global trading jumped to 12 percent compared to eight percent in March.
“The contract is thundering into action,” said Stephen Innes, head of trading for Asia/Pacific at futures brokerage OANDA in Singapore, as quoted by Reuters. “It makes sense for Iran to begin selling oil under contracts denominated in yuan rather than dollars...”
Source: RT.com