First-ever yuan crude futures trade at 427 yuan a barrel Trafigura and Glencore among foreign participants in debut China launched its first ever crude-futures contract as the world’s biggest oil buyer seeks to wield greater power over pricing and challenge benchmarks in the U.S. and Europe. The long-awaited yuan-denominated futures on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange traded at 427.90 yuan a barrel ($67.78) for September settlement at 2:13 p.m. local time, with about 18,540 lots changing hands. The contracts, which are open to foreign investors, end years of delays and setbacks since China’s first attempt to list the securities in 1993. September contracts of the two major dollar-based oil benchmarks, Brent in London and West Texas Intermediate in New York, traded near $68.29 a barrel and $64, respectively. China’s desire to open a domestic market to trade futures has grown as the country’s crude imports have boomed. It last […]