Russian crude futures contract begins trading on Tuesday Clearing costs, low liquidity concerns deter foreign traders Vladimir Putin’s dream of trading Russian oil in Russia is being realized Tuesday on the St. Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange. He has the participation of domestic traders to thank, since foreign firms are holding back. Futures on Russia’s Urals crude represent the country’s most serious attempt to get what it sees as a fair price for its oil. Russian authorities have sought to create a financial market for its oil ever since Putin called for oil, gas and other commodities to be traded within Russia in a 2006 speech . Every attempt has faltered because foreign traders haven’t wanted to use it. As yet, no foreign oil company, bank or algorithmic trader has agreed to buy or sell the Urals futures, according to Mikhail Temnichenko, first vice president at the St. Petersburg exchange. […]