text: SINGAPORE (Reuters) - CME Group Inc said it will list a new futures contract that prices the spread between West Texas Intermediate and Middle East benchmark Dubai as the flow of U.S. crude to Asia rises.
  The January WTI-Dubai crude oil futures contract could start trading on Dec. 18 pending all relevant Commodity Futures Trading Commission regulatory review periods, CME said in a notice on its website late on Monday.
  Each contract will represent 1,000 barrels.
  Asian refiners see U.S. crude as an alternative to their regular sour supply from the Middle East especially as OPEC producers such as Saudi Arabia reduced allocation to their customers in Asia, said Nicolas Dupuis, senior director of energy products at CME Group.
  “The WTI-Dubai spread we are launching provides an instrument to lock the differential between WTI and Dubai,” he said.