DGCX Gold futures volume hits 12-month high in March

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES April 09 2014 2:31 PM

DUBAI (Scrap Register): Gold futures volume on the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX) grew 32% in March from the same month last year to record its highest monthly volume in 12 months. The contract's exceptional performance saw DGCX's precious metals segment registering year-on-year growth of 38%.

Total volumes in March increased 2% from the previous month to aggregate 1,023,410 contracts, valued at USD 30.15 billion. The growth in March enabled the Exchange's first quarter volumes to cross three million contracts.

“The surge in Gold futures volume reflects the steadily increasing interest the contract has seen from global traders over the last few years. The Exchange's flagship contract provides an effective hedging mechanism that is particularly valuable to gold markets in Asian hubs like Singapore, which have substantial gold trading links with Dubai,” said Gary Anderson, CEO of DGCX.

“We will also launch a Spot Gold contract in June this year which will complement our existing gold futures to create a larger gold ecosystem in Dubai. Once launched, we believe the DGCX Spot Gold contract will add significant value to local physical market participants since it fills the gap for a physically delivered contract," Anderson added.

Among other contracts, Copper futures registered 3,435 contracts while Silver futures traded 4,087 contracts. Growth highlights in the currency segment included Euro futures, which rose by 66%, and Indian Rupee Mini and Yen futures that grew by 2% and 3% respectively from the previous month. DGCX's newest contract, Plastics futures, traded 1,950 contracts in March.

In the Exchange's energy segment, DGCX WTI futures contract was the key driver, with a year-on-year increase of 114%. Both Euro and Indian Rupee Mini Futures recorded their second highest Average Daily Open Interest of 1,806 and 6,016 contracts respectively in March 2014.