Currency futures drive 9% rise in DGCX April volume

Dubai:  The Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange announced yesterday that 107,641 contracts worth $6.12 billion were traded in April, a 9 per cent increase over the same period last year.

Sustained growth in currency futures led trading activity in April with 67,542 contracts traded, a year-on-year increase of 168 per cent, reflecting the increased interest in forex trading in the region.

April volume in euro/dollar futures rose 71 per cent to 23,656 contracts, while sterling/dollar futures were 229 per cent higher at 23,285 contracts.

Indian rupee/dollar and yen/dollar futures recorded increases of 170 and 2031 per cent, with 10,285 and 10,316 contracts traded, respectively.

Volume for gold and WTI crude futures, at 31,037 and 6,570 contracts respectively, declined from the same period last year.

Eric Hasham, Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are seeing increased interest in currency futures. In response to the increased demand and feedback from members, the exchange has decided to widen its forex offering, which will enable participants to gain exposure to the world's most traded currencies."

January-April growth

In the January-April period, the exchange achieved volume growth of 94 per cent to a volume of 602,700 contracts.

Valued at $35.7 billion, the year-to-date volume was largely driven by currency and gold futures. While year-to-date (YTD) gold futures volume rose 51 per cent, currencies saw considerable across-the-board growth, with euro/dollar and sterling/dollar futures up 46 and 393 per cent respectively.

The increases in Indian rupee/dollar and yen/dollar futures were 276 and 1,789 per cent.