China's Push to Trade Oil in Yuan Faces a Key Hurdle
- Proposal for a yuan crude oil futures contract gains attention
- Success seen hinging on how much freedom officials will allow
Photographer: Jerome Favre/Bloomberg
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China’s moves to set up trading oil in yuan have sparked enthusiasm about what could be a shift in the global financial system: a reduced role for the U.S. dollar. Players like Adam Levinson, founder of hedge fund Graticule Asset Management Asia, call it a "huge story" to come.
But with policy makers prioritizing market stability over internationalization, plans laid back in 2012 to start oil-futures trading priced in yuan or dollars in Shanghai that year are still pending. The latest from the city’s International Energy Exchange: it’s coming soon, with test trades scheduled this weekend.