Gulf Mercantile Exchange (GME) announced today that it reached its highest single-day trading volume since its inception. More than 21,783 contracts were traded on 20 May 2026, equivalent to 21.78 million barrels of Oman crude oil.
This milestone shows that more market participants are trusting GME Oman futures as a key benchmark and price reference for Middle Eastern crude exported to Asia, especially during times of market uncertainty and geopolitical unrest.
“Today’s record trading activity highlights once again the market’s confidence in GME Oman and as a transparent and physically delivered benchmark for Middle East crude oil,” said Raid Al-Salami, Managing Director, GME.
“As energy markets continue to witness geopolitical uncertainty, participants are looking for trusted benchmarks that provide efficient and fair price discovery mechanisms, risk management, and, of course, are directly linked to physical delivery.” He added.
GME Oman, is the crude oil futures contract with the world’s largest physical delivery and the most reliable pricing point for major regional NOCs in Oman, KSA, Kuwait, Bahrain and Dubai.
Since 2007, the exchange has traded over 23 billion barrels of crude oil, with more than 3 billion barrels physically delivered through the exchange delivery mechanism.
The exchange continues to see increased participation from producers, refiners, trading houses, financial institutions, and others seeking to engage in the price discovery of major Middle Eastern crude oil grades.
