Dubai
Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) said it continued its record-breaking start to the year while delivering its best month since inception. Last month, the exchange traded its highest monthly volume of 2,097,739 contracts, valued at $47.03 billion, recording 67 per cent year-on-year growth.
The exchange has thus far recorded 53 per cent year-to-date growth from 2017. The spikes witnessed in DGCX’s trading volumes are a clear sign of investors’ increased appetite for protection amid market volatility. The exchange’s best performing product segments for the month were currencies and precious metals.
Trading volumes in the Indian rupee and G6 currencies witnessed remarkable growth in February. The Indian rupee recorded year-on-year growth of 38 per cent, with over 56,328 lots valued at US$1.74 billion trading per day. The pound sterling futures contract recorded 72 per cent growth year-on-year, whilst the Australian dollar recorded month-on-month growth of 150 per cent. The star performer was the euro, with volume growing by 207 per cent year-to-date, registering a total traded volume of 80,544 contracts thus far this year.
From the precious metals suite, DGCX’s Gold Quanto Futures recorded its highest monthly average volume of 1,714 contracts, with year-on-year growth of 120 per cent from last February. Whilst Shanghai gold set various volume and traded value records throughout the month.
Les Male, CEO of the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange, commented: “Last month was an extremely volatile period for the global financial markets, because of which traders are continuously seeking protection and various hedging mechanisms to mitigate their risk. These volatility spikes correspond with the record trading volumes and increased participation at the DGCX, as the exchange offers a diverse range of products and risk management tools that support traders and investors during rapid market movements. In addition, the exchange deploys the best risk management and surveillance systems which allow our markets participants to trade with confidence and also monitor risk in real-time.”
Meanwhile, DGCX has received regulatory approval for its much-vaunted Dubai spot gold — Sharia compliant contract with further announcements to be made in due course.
“As global market volatility in early February rocked international markets, the exchange’s unique product offering, and time zone advantages continue to feed into regional investors’ need for secure and effective risk management tools,” added Male.
