198 1 April, London International Petroleum Exchange (International Petroleum Exchange; IPE) launched heavy diesel oil futures trading, with the contract specification of 100 ton per lot and the minimum change price of 25 cents/ton. The quality standard of heavy diesel oil is very similar to that of American heating oil. This contract is the first energy futures contract in Europe. It has been successful since its listing, and its trading volume has been growing steadily.

At present, there are two kinds of benchmark crude oil in the world, one is WTI；; ; Trading in the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), the other is Brent; Trading on the International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) in London, England. People usually talk about the international crude oil price, which refers to the futures price of WTI in the New York Mercantile Exchange or Brent crude oil in British International Petroleum Exchange.