Kowloon, Hong Kong -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/14/2014 -- Asian FTG a premium commodities broker and a professional information provider and publisher of benchmark price references, today announced that it is enhancing the methodology for its Dated Brent price assessment, as part of ongoing efforts to boost liquidity and ensure the long-term viability of one of the world’s most important oil benchmarks.

Under its updated methodology, Asian FTG will introduce Quality Premiums for Oseberg and Ekofisk crude oil delivered in its North Sea Dated Brent and related assessment processes for cargoes loading. Quality Premiums are to be paid by buyer to seller for the nomination and delivery of Oseberg or Ekofisk into a physical transaction concluded during the Asian FTG Market-on-Close assessment process.

“The introduction of Quality Premiums offers an incentive for more deliveries of Oseberg and Ekofisk, and thus has the potential to further gird the supply of oil underpinning the complex and the Dated Brent price assessment,” said Dave Clark, Asian FTG Global Energy Information Director.

“Increasingly, much market attention is being put to the issue of new streams being blended into established benchmark grades,” said Jason Green, Asian FTG Global Markets Director. “As the trend of blending expands, as we believe it will, it becomes even more important that price assessment processes integrate the use of Quality Premiums and De-escalators to best account for slight, but not insignificant, variances in crude oil quality and best assure that assessments reflect true market value.”

Today’s announcement followed constructive dialogue with oil market participants during the formal comment period, preceded by more than 18 months of informal market consultation.

Asian Futures Trading Group offers the latest in order entry technology coupled with 24-hour execution and clearing on exchanges worldwide. Clearing more than 100,000 client accounts, the firm provides a full range of services to the industry’s largest global network of introducing brokers (IBs) and to commercial, institutional, international and individual clients. These include more than 200 IBs and many of the world's largest financial, industrial and agricultural institutions.

Media contact: Jason Green
Asian FTG
www.asian-ftg.com
info@asian-ftg.com