Kamal Ghorui
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has announced that launching Dated Brent Crude Oil (Platts) futures contracts in its commodity derivatives segment after receiving approval from Sebi. Trading in these contracts will begin on April 13, 2026.According to an NSE circular, the contracts will be introduced with monthly expiries extending up to 2027. They will be based on the S&P Global Energy (Platts) Dated Brent assessment and will trade under the symbol “BRCRUDEOIL”.The exchange said that the launch is aimed at expanding its commodity derivatives offerings and giving market participants a tool linked to a global crude oil benchmark. The Platts Dated Brent assessment tracks international crude oil prices, and the contracts are expected to help improve price discovery and support hedging in line with global markets.Each contract will have a trading unit of 100 barrels, with a maximum limit of 10,000 barrels. A 6% daily price limit will apply at first. If this limit is crossed, trading will pause for 15 minutes, after which the limit can be widened to 9%.“In case price movement in international markets is more than the maximum daily price limit (currently 9%), or if the international price is beyond the maximum daily price limit range (after appropriate currency conversion) when compared with the previous day’s closing price on the domestic exchange, the same may be further relaxed in steps of 3% beyond the maximum permitted limit, by giving appropriate notice to the market,” the circular noted.The contracts will be cash-settled. The final settlement price will be based on the monthly simple average of the Platts Dated Brent assessments in rupee terms.The NSE circular states, “Final Settlement Price shall be the monthly simple average price, in Indian rupees, of the S&P Global Energy’s (Platts) Dated Brent assessments (midpoint of the high and low) for the respective contract month. The monthly simple average RBI USD/INR reference rate of the respective contract month will be used for conversion. The price so arrived at will be rounded off to the nearest tick.”The NSE said the move will help Indian market participants access global crude benchmarks, improve hedging for refiners, importers and institutional traders, and strengthen price discovery by linking domestic markets with international prices. It is also expected to increase liquidity and participation in the segment.Further details on risk management, clearing and settlement will be issued separately by NSE Clearing Ltd.
