Moscow Exchange is making changes to the liquidity support programme for its Derivatives Market from 1 September 2016 by adding options on Brent crude futures.

This year has seen record levels of trading activity in commodity derivatives. Average daily trading in options on Brent crude futures has soared 58-fold year-on-year to 13 thousand contracts, with the number of active clients increasing ten times over.

To further develop the commodity derivatives market, market-makers ALOR+ and Otkritie Broker have joined the liquidity support programme for the October series of options on Brent crude futures with volumes of 50-100 contracts, depending on the strike. Market-makers have also started competing for leadership in MOEX"s Market-Maker Ranking Programme, which provides an additional incentive to maintain high-quality buy and sell quotes throughout the main trading session.

Growth in trading of options contracts on Brent crude futures has been driven by increased trading of the underlying futures contract. In August 2016, Brent crude futures trading volumes jumped above RUB 50 billion to 1.7 million contracts, with the number of active accounts doubling vs 2015 to more than 18 thousand.

The 2015 Annual Survey published by the FIA (Futures Industry Association) also highlights growth in commodities options and futures trading. Brent crude futures rank third among energy futures traded on exchanges worldwide.

Participation in the market-making programme for options on Brent crude futures is open to all market makers. Parameters of the programme can be viewed on MOEX"s website.