RTS Starts Trading In Contracts for Oil and Oil Products

Moscow, June 22, 2006. "Russian Trading System" Stock Exchange starts trading in contracts for oil and oil products. Effective June 8th, 2006, the following contracts will be traded on FORTS (Futures&Options on RTS) – cash-settled futures and options on Urals oil, diesel oil, aviation oil and black oil. Contracts with settlement in July, August, September 2006, etc up until June 2007 will start trading simultaneously.

Settlement of futures and options contracts for oil and oil products will be performed in rubles based on pricing information supplied by Platts. The contracts will be traded for 1 month. Minimal initial margin will amount for 10%. RTS will charge the fee equal to 1 ruble per contract.

Futures and options contracts on oil and oil products are financial instruments that allow manufacturers to hedge risks associated with price decrease, thus making their production activity more effective and predictable. These contracts can be used as means of hedging price changes in different sectors of the economy depending on oil and oil product prices. New instruments will be interesting for active investors who would be able to reap profits from those price changes.

Russian trading system is the oldest stock exchange of the modern Russia founded by market participants in 1995. RTS is the leading stock exchange in Russia in the number of stocks traded. Currently more than 1100 securities trade on RTS. More than 250 investment companies and banks serving both domestic and foreign clients work on RTS. In 2005 total trading volume of the RTS Group equaled 62,7 billion dollars and increased by 65,6% on the year. 62% of the total trading volume were accounted for by stocks, the rest – for derivatives.

FORTS (Futures &Options on RTS) – the derivatives market of the "Russian Trading System" stock exchange. FORTS is the leading Russian derivatives bourse and one of the top 20 world leading derivatives exchanges. Over 90% of all derivatives contracts in Russia are executed on FORTS. Open interest in futures and options exceeds 2,4 million contracts, daily trading volume exceeds 400 thousand contracts. FORTS offers trading in futures and options for the most liquid stocks, RTS Index, bonds, currency and commodities.

Contact Information:

Head of Pubic Relations Department
Vysotskaya Zoya, office number (7 495) 705-90-31, mobile number (7 495) 765-32-40

Deputy Head of Public relations Department
Polischuk Igor, office number (7 495) 705-90-31, mobile number (7 495) 764-21-73