Small Asian companies exposed to commodity derivatives margin calls

Meeting the calls

As the people of Egypt, Tunisia and Libya moved against their rulers, turnover in the global oil futures market surged amid fears of supply interruptions due to civil unrest in the Middle East. The price of Sweet Light Crude Oil West Texas Intermediate (WTI) has yet to match its pre-global financial crisis high of $145 per barrel, but oil derivatives turnover has hit new records and implied volatility has spiked.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), which operates the CME Clearport exchange pl