On March 25, the night before the crude oil futures "One-Year-Old", SHFE announced that the crude oil futures price index would be officially released from this night. This means that the internationalization of crude oil futures will go further.
In fact, the high expectations of crude oil futures have not disappointed us since the listing of oil futures for one year.
Data from INE show that as of 25 th, the total number of accounts opened for crude oil futures has exceeded 40,000, with more than half of the customers participating in the transaction; 52 overseas intermediaries from Singapore, Britain, Korea and Japan have completed the filing.
Since October 2018, INE crude oil futures have surpassed the varieties of threaded steel and coke to become the largest commodity futures in China, showing a very high popularity.
On the one hand, it benefits from its own flow of "King of Commodities". On the other hand, it is also related to a large number of industrial chains and extensive participation of entities. For example, Zhenhua Petroleum, which is expected to become China's "fourth barrel of oil", has participated in the completion of the first delivery.
Even compared with overseas mature varieties, INE crude oil futures also show strong growth. For example, since March, the daily turnover of INE crude oil futures has remained at around 300,000 hands, nearly half the level of Brent crude oil futures in the same period.
Amount exceeded 17 trillion
There are many indicators to measure the success of a futures variety, but the most direct one is the trading situation, which directly indicates the market participation and the recognition of the price.
On December 7, 2018, the trading volume of INE crude oil futures reached a peak of 720,000 hands, while that of Brent crude oil futures reached 979,000 hands in the same period. Since the trading units were 1000 barrels per hand, the trading level of the two was very close at that time.
According to statistics, as of March 25, the cumulative volume and amount of this variety reached 36.7003 million hands and 17.12 trillion yuan respectively, while the daily average volume and amount were 15.10 million hands and 70.455 billion yuan.
"INE crude oil has already been the third largest crude oil futures in the world. It is also the largest commodity futures in the domestic market. A Futures Company's Oil Research Director Wang Xiao said on the 25th.
It is one thing to have investors involved, but whether the price formed can be recognized by the real enterprise is another matter, among which the key is that the industrial investors are involved in setting the price.
Zhenhua Petroleum is considered to be one of the strong competitors of China's "fourth barrel of oil". Since the inception of INE crude oil listing, the company has participated in the first batch of collective bidding in the name of its subsidiary North International (000065) oil.
At the end of July 2018, the Zhenhua Petroleum Trade Team noticed that influenced by domestic macro-factors and international geopolitics, the price of Shanghai crude oil futures has followed the international mainstream futures and gradually stepped out of a relatively independent market. The price of Shanghai crude oil futures has a certain premium over that of Brent crude oil futures.
"If the crude oil is purchased from the international crude oil market and delivered domestically at this time, the risk-free profit will be realized." Zhenhua Oil Personnel said that after a week of marking, the best time to buy, and the first delivery was completed after locking in foreign exchange risk exposures.
Jingbo Petrochemical Company is the representative enterprise of domestic refining industry. Prior to this, the company has also signed long-term contracts and spot contracts with Unified Petrochemical. The price reference basis is INE crude oil futures.
"Chemical enterprises, large traders, investment companies and individual customers all participate in the trading of crude oil futures." Last energy sources said on the 25th.
This is closely related to the good price performance of INE crude oil futures.
According to Wang Xiao's calculation, since listing, the correlation coefficient between INE crude oil futures and WTI crude oil futures is 0.74 and Brent crude oil futures is 0.82. If the exchange rate factor is taken into account, the correlation coefficient with Brent crude oil futures is as high as 0.93.
Logistics Support Measures to be Perfected
For a long time, the domestic futures market has been facing the problem that prices can not go abroad, until INE crude oil futures introduced foreign investors to start the ice-breaking journey.
The participation degree of foreign investors is not only related to the volume and price performance of INE crude oil futures, but also to the smoothness of participating channels. To this end, INE has completed registration in Hong Kong and Singapore, and has acquired ATS and RMO qualifications, which is equivalent to providing a "through train" for foreign investors and intermediaries.
As far as intermediaries are concerned, INE has completed the filing of 52 overseas intermediaries such as the United Kingdom, South Korea and Japan. Overseas customers include six countries such as Australia, Switzerland and Cyprus, as well as Hong Kong and Taiwan.
INE crude oil futures rapid growth at the same time, the gap with the overseas market, still can not be ignored.
One Futures Company executive feedback said, compared with the mature international market, the domestic futures market opening process is more cumbersome, hoping to further simplify the process and international standards.
It is equally important to set up a "whole industry chain" with crude oil futures as the core, including natural gas, refined oil and other products, as well as a derivative tool system with options and forward as auxiliary tools.
"The establishment of a multi-variety system can allow more commodities to circulate, and the price system formed will be more perfect." Wang Xiao said.
These are only the construction of infrastructure, and the construction of "logistical support measures" can not be ignored.
Jiang Yang, the former vice chairman of the former Securities Regulatory Commission, who has long been in charge of the futures market, pointed to two major "pain points" during the two sessions this year. One is to speed up the formulation of the futures law, promote the process of legalization of the futures market, and eliminate the concerns of foreign investors in participating in the trading of the futures market in China.
The introduction of Futures Law as soon as possible is also one of the most concerned directions in the current industry, and with the clarity of future rules, the attraction of foreign investors may increase dramatically.
Jiang Yang also pointed out that the second pain point is that when the National Development and Reform Commission priced commodities such as refined oil and aviation kerosene, it introduced and gradually expanded the share of Shanghai crude oil futures price, so that the refined oil price can better reflect the domestic supply and demand situation and facilitate domestic enterprises to carry out hedging.
The crux here is that the pricing mechanism of domestic refined oil market cannot effectively link up with futures prices. For example, investors in refined oil industry hedge with INE crude oil, but they are faced with the embarrassment that the price of refined oil lags behind the price of crude oil futures, even with a low correlation between them.
INE crude oil futures have made a good start, but its maturity is a systematic project. Obviously, there is still a long way to go.

原油期货“周岁”：发布价格指数 开户总数超4万
3月25日，原油期货“周岁”前夜，上期所公告称，当日夜盘时段起，将正式发布原油期货价格指数。这意味着，原油期货国际化再进一步。
事实上，问世一年以来，被寄予厚望的原油期货，没有让人失望。
来自上期能源的数据显示，截至25日，原油期货的总开户数超过40000个，半数以上客户参与交易；来自新加坡、英国、韩国、日本的52家境外中介机构，完成备案……
21世纪经济报道记者了解到，从2018年10月开始，INE原油期货便超越螺纹钢、焦炭等品种，成长为国内最大的商品期货品种，显示出极高的人气。
这一方面得益于其“商品之王”的自带流量，另一方面也与涉及产业链众多、实体企业广泛参与有关，比如有望成为中国“第四桶油”的振华石油此前便参与完成了首次交割。
即便是与海外成熟品种相比，INE原油期货同样显示出了极强的成长性。如3月份至今，INE原油期货日成交量多维持在30万手左右，几乎接近同期Brent原油期货半数的水平。
成交额突破17万亿
衡量一个期货品种成功与否的指标众多，但最直接的是成交情况，这直接表明了市场的参与度，以及对价格的认可度。
2018年12月7日，INE原油期货成交量达到72万手的峰值，同期Brent原油期货成交量为97.9万手。由于交易单位均为1000桶/手，彼时二者成交水平已经十分接近。
据统计，按单边计算，截至3月25日，该品种累计成交量、成交金额分别达到3670.03万手、17.12万亿元，日均成交量、成交额则为15.10万手和704.55亿元。
“INE原油早已坐稳了世界第三大原油期货的位置，放在国内市场，也是当前市场上成交规模最大的商品期货。”某期货公司期货原油研究总监王笑25日介绍称。
有投资者参与是一回事，但形成的价格是否能够获得实体企业认可又是另一回事，其中关键便需要产业投资者来参与制订价格。
振华石油，被认为是中国“第四桶油”有力竞争者之一。从INE原油上市之初，该公司便通过子公司北方国际(000065)石油名义参与过首批集合竞价。
2018年7月底，振华石油贸易团队注意到，受国内宏观因素及国际地缘政治的影响，上海原油期货的价格已经从跟随国际主流期货，逐步走出一波相对独立的行情，上海原油期货价格相比布伦特原油期货价格出现了一定的溢价。
“如果此时从国际原油市场采购原油，并在国内进行交割，将实现无风险盈利。”振华石油人士介绍称，紧接着通过连续一周盯盘，终于找到了建仓的最佳时机，同时在锁定外汇风险敞口后，完成了首次交割。
京博石化，国内地炼行业代表企业。此前，公司亦与联合石化签订了长期合同、现货合同，价格参照依据正是INE原油期货。
“化工企业、大型贸易商、各类投资公司及个人客户等均有参与原油期货的交易。”上期能源人士25日表示。
这与INE原油期货良好的价格表现，密切相关。
据王笑测算，上市以来，INE原油期货与WTI原油期货相关系数为0.74，与Brent原油期货相关系数为0.82，若将汇率因素考虑在内，与Brent原油期货相关系数则高达0.93。
“后勤保障措施”待完善
一直以来，国内期货市场面临着价格无法走出国门的问题，直至INE原油期货引入境外投资者开启了破冰之旅。
而境外投资者参与度如何，既与INE原油期货的量价表现外，也同参与通道是否顺畅有关。为此，上汽能源先后在香港、新加坡两地完成注册，并取得了ATS、RMO资质，这相当于为境外投资者、中介机构提供了“直通车”。
仅就中介机构而言，目前上期能源已经完成了英国、韩国、日本等52个境外中介机构的备案，境外客户更是囊括了澳大利亚、瑞士和塞浦路斯等6个国家，以及我国香港、台湾地区。
INE原油期货迅速成长的同时，其与海外市场的差距，仍然不容忽视。
一家期货公司首席执行官便反馈称，与国际成熟市场相比，国内期货市场开户的流程较为繁琐，希望能进一步和国际接轨，简化流程。
尽快搭建以原油期货为核心，包括天然气、成品油等品种在内的“全产业链”，以及期权、远期等作为辅助的衍生品工具体系，同等重要。
“多品种体系的建立，可以让更多商品流通起来，形成的价格体系也更加完善。”王笑表示。
这些还只是基础设施的建设，“后勤保障措施”的建设也不容忽视。
曾经长期分管期货市场的原证监会副主席姜洋，今年两会期间便直指两大“痛点”，其一是加快制定期货法，推进期货市场法治化进程，消除境外投资者参与中国期货市场交易的顾虑。
21世纪经济报道记者了解到，尽快推出期货法，亦是当前行业内最为关注的方向之一，而随着未来规则的明确，对境外投资者的吸引力或将大幅上升。
姜洋同时指出第二个痛点，便是国家发改委在对大宗商品比如成品油、航空煤油等进行定价时，引入并逐步扩大上海原油期货价格所占份额，使成品油价格更能反映国内的供需情况，方便国内企业开展套期保值。
此处“症结”在于，国内成品油市场定价机制，尚无法与期货价格形成有效联通，如成品油行业投资者以INE原油进行套保操作，但却面临着成品油价格变动滞后于原油期货价格，甚至是二者关联度较低的尴尬。
INE原油期货已经取得良好开局，但其发展成熟是一项系统性工程。显然，还有很长一段路要走。