Nymex Europe, the recently launched oil exchange, is expected to announce this month that it is leaving Dublin for London. The move is seen by many as an attempt to revive its flagging fortunes.

The decision comes barely four months after the New York Mercantile Exchange launched the oil exchange in Dublin. Bankers said it suggested the exchange realised the need for a shake-up if it was to take market share from the International Petroleum Exchange, its dominant rival in Europe. Spokeswomen for both exchanges declined to comment. Nymex rarely trades more than 5% of the volume seen on the IPE and recent data from both exchanges suggest Nymex's market share is slipping again after a brief flurry of activity late last month. Last Tuesday the exchange traded a mere 414 Brent crude oil futures contracts, compared with 121,000 on the IPE.