Results of 1Q 2024: growth in key markets, measures to stabilize the fuel market, development of new segments

In 1Q 2024 SPIMEX has achieved significant growth in key performance indicators:

• The overall turnover of the trading sections grew 58.4% year-on-year up to RUB 488 bn.
• The number of trading participants and their customers increased to 6,592 (as compared to 5,603 a year before). In the exchange market for refined products, the growth in trading volumes amounted to 23.6% compared to the same period in 2023, natural gas – 52.8% in physical terms;
• The Exchange is increasing its turnover in the markets of timber, coal, agricultural products, and commodities with a low carbon footprint.

The SPIMEX Refined Products Section

In 1Q, SPIMEX continued to implement measures in the refined products market aimed at ensuring equal access to all trading participants, improving control over the performance of obligations under contracts, monitoring of unfair trade practices and informing trading participants about ongoing activities.

The trading volume in the Section amounted to 8.299 MMT, which is 23.6% more than in 1Q 2023. The turnover in the Section was RUB 445.339 bn (+58.8% YoY).

The number of registered trading participants in the Section and their customers also continued to grow, reaching 2,427, a year before – 2,156.

As part of the development of trading in products with a low carbon footprint, including those made from secondary raw materials, trading in used vegetable oil was launched in the Section, and 276 tonnes were sold for the amount of RUB 18 mn. The number of trading participants and bases is expanding.

In addition, the Section Specifications, at the initiative of trading participants, include secondary plastic raw materials, the launch of trading in which is planned for 2Q 2024.

The SPIMEX Natural Gas Section

The volume traded in the SPIMEX Natural Gas Section amounted to 3.1 bcm (a 52.8% increase YoY). The trading turnover in the Section amounted to RUB 6.283 bn. The number of participants and their customers in the Section is 138.

The SPIMEX Timber and Construction Materials Section

1.481 mcm of timber worth RUB 2.502 bn were sold on the Exchange, a 28.4% increase YoY. The number of trading participants and their customers in the Section increased to 3,524.

The growth in timber sales is ensured by the implementation by state subordinate institutions of legislative norms for concluding transactions with timber at exchange auctions. In addition, the FSIN (Federal Service for the Execution of Sanctions) institutions sell harvested timber on the Exchange – on the basis of amendments to Part 4 of Article 20 of the Forestry Code of the Russian Federation (600-FZ).

The SPIMEX Crude Oil Section

The volume traded in the SPIMEX Crude Oil Section amounted to 514 thousand tonnes (-10%) worth RUB 26.252 bn (+76.8% YoY).

The SPIMEX Derivatives Section

The 1Q 2024 turnover in the SPIMEX Derivatives Section amounted to RUB 4.021 bn (38,119 contracts), a 23.6% increase year-on-year. Of these, RUB 3.122 bn accounted for physically-settled contracts for refined products traded in the domestic market (+71.8%), in quantitative terms the turnover reached the number of 2,384 contracts (a 2.7-fold rise). The volume of refined products physically delivered under such futures contracts to the Russian domestic market stood at 14,448 tonnes. The number of cash-settled futures contracts for refined products traded was equal to 35,735 contracts (+11.4%) worth RUB 899 mn.

The SPIMEX Mineral Raw Materials and Chemical Products Section

The volume traded in the SPIMEX Mineral Raw Materials and Chemical Products Section stood at 49,046 tonnes, which is 5.1-fold more that a year before. Turnover is RUB 1.32 bn (a 5.6-fold rise YoY).

The SPIMEX Agricultural Products and Bioresources Section

18,500 tonnes of commodities (white crystalline sugar, skimmed milk powder) (a 37-fold rise YoY) worth RUB 1.07 bn were sold in the SPIMEX Agricultural Products and Bioresources Section.

The SPIMEX Coal Section

Sales at the Coal Exchange are growing dynamically. 271,460 tonnes of various grades of this commodity were sold in the SPIMEX Coal Section, a 161.6-fold rise YoY worth RUB 783.332 mn. Coal trading was launched on SPIMEX in February 2022 using a new system for calculating prices based on the actual quality of the commodities.

The volume of coal sales since the beginning of trading has exceeded 500 thousand tonnes.

The SPIMEX Metals and Alloys Section

7,180 tonnes of commodities (A500C grade reinforcement steel) worth RUB 463.922 mn were sold in the Metals and Alloys Section.

SPIMEX OTC Platforms

In 1Q 2024, the sale of gasoline in SPIMEX OTC Platforms was continued (to neighboring countries) in the section of Tatneft PJSC. Trading was made for automobile gasoline produced by TANECO (11 thousand tonnes) and unleaded gasoline AI-80-K2 (10 thousand tonnes).

OTC trading on TEK-Torg Federal Electronic Platform

As of the end of the 1Q 2024, the volume of procurement procedures placed on TEK-Torg, a 100% subsidiary of the Exchange, amounted to RUB 608 bn and 112 thousand procurement procedures.

As of the end of the 1Q 2024, the market share of TEK-Torg ETP in the 44-FZ segment was 6.5%. The share of TEK-Torg ETP in the 223-FZ SME market segment was 6.4%. The specified indicators represent shares for open competitive procedures placed in the Unified Information System.

In 1Q, an agreement was signed with Nornickel, the purpose of which is to develop and improve the electronic procurement and trading system. This is the first step towards the formation of a unified information space about market needs to simplify access for potential suppliers to procurement and expand competition.

Registration of OTC transactions in commodities

SPIMEX is expanding and improving the procedure of registration of OTC contracts for key commodities for the domestic economy. In 1Q, the total number of companies providing information was 940.

During this period, the volume of OTC contracts in refined products registered amounted to 90.182 MMT (-1.4% YoY).

OTC contracts for crude oil were registered for 119.089 MMT (a 5.7% increase 1Q YoY). This information provides complete coverage of the export market. Data on crude oil exports collected by SPIMEX reflect the actual export revenue of oil companies and constitute a reliable basis for formation of the TsSPB indicator introduced into the Tax Code by Federal Law No. 389-FZ dated 31 July 2023.

For coal, the volume of transactions registered amounted to 153.721 MMT (-7.4%), for timber — 19.119 mcm (+44.6%), for natural gas — 784.647 tcm (-66.3%), for fertilizers — 23.910 MMT (+26,3%).

Clearing

The amount of monetary obligations included in the SPIMEX clearing pool under physical contracts made in the Refined Products, Timber and Construction Materials, Crude Oil, Mineral Raw and Chemical Products, Agricultural Products and Bioresources, Coal, and Metals and Alloys Sections totaled RUB 477.73 bn. The number of clearing members as of the end of 1Q 2024 was 6,699.

The amount of monetary obligations included in the clearing pool of NFI CCP RDC (JSC) under natural gas physical contracts amounted to RUB 6.283 bn, the number of clearing members was 110. Monetary obligations included in the clearing pool of NFI CCP RDC (JSC) under trades made in the SPIMEX Derivatives Market amounted to RUB 8.042 bn.

Key events in 1Q 2024

• Volume of coal trading on SPIMEX since the start of 2024 has exceeded 240 thousand tonnes, since the beginning of trading – 500 thousand tonnes;
• Volume of timber trading on SPIMEX since the start of 2024 has exceeded 1 mcm;
• Trading in G and Zh grade coal (middling product) has begun on SPIMEX;
• Decision of the Government of the Russian Federation to increase the standard for the minimum volume of diesel sales through the exchange from 12.5% to 16% has come into force;
• Joint order of the Ministry of Energy and the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia established optional sales of refined products under futures contracts on the exchange;
• The State Duma of the Russian Federation in the first reading adopted draft amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses, which establish liability for violation of the requirements of the Forestry Code of the Russian Federation on the sale of timber at organized trading;
• SPIMEX introduced additional measures to combat unfair trading practices in the exchange market of refined products;
• Major fuel brokers created an association on SPIMEX;
• SPIMEX, Russian Railways and Digital Logistics discussed the distribution of the Deliveries Operator service to the exchange markets of coal, timber and chemical industries;
• The SPIMEX estimation service has prepared a market consensus for key indicators of the Russian economy until the end of 2024;
• SPIMEX has concluded a number of cooperation agreements: with the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange (BUCE); ETS Commodity Exchange (Kazakhstan); Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT); Ecopolis Sertifikatsia i Servis LLC and the Self-regulatory organization “Association of Waste Utilizers “Klever”;
• The SPIMEX VIII Annual Forum “Exchange Commodity Market” took place.

The Saint Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange (SPIMEX) is Russia’s largest commodity exchange offering a wide range of products traded both in its Commodities Section (refined oil products, crude oil, natural gas, LPG, timber and construction materials, fertilizers) and in its Derivatives Section. Over one fourth of the main refined products delivered to the Russian domestic market over the year was traded on Exchange. The Exchange’s key task is to operate a transparent, fair and efficient price formation mechanism for Russian commodities. SPIMEX was founded in 2008. The exchange license and the license for clearing activities are available on the website. The central office of the Exchange is located in Moscow.