520 kg spot gold contracts traded since March 29 (launch date)
DUBAI: Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) has recorded its best first half (H1) ever by witnessing 11.3 million contracts so far in the year, up 44 per cent year-on-year (Y-O-Y).
DGCX was established 13 years back to be the first such exchange in the region. Traded value for the first six months of 2018 crossed $250 billion for the first time too. The exchange’s record-breaking performance was sealed following a robust month of trading in June, which saw 2.047 million contracts traded, up 74 per cent from June 2017. The traded value during June 2018 alone reached $42.3 billion.
The best performing asset class this year has been the currencies with the Indian Rupee (INR) and the G6 currency futures being the most prominent. The H1 INR volumes increased by 22 per cent compared with last year driven mainly by increasing hedging appetite in volatile markets.
Volumes in G6 futures grew 97 per cent year on year to reach 387,586 contracts. The growth in G6 Currency futures was confirmed in June as DGCX physically delivered a record $404 million upon the expiry of contracts. Other notable performers in 2018 include Dubai India Gold, Shanghai Gold and Chinese Yuan
Speaking about DGCX’s record-breaking H1, Les Male, CEO of DGCX, stated that in the first half of 2018 DGCX achieved spectacular growth and major milestones. “Not only have we broken our record for the overall volume and value of contracts traded in the first six months of a year, but we’ve also set new highs in terms of Open Interest (OI) on several products.”
DGCX’s OI has climbed with an average of 301,119 contracts open throughout the first half showing an increase of 28 per cent over the same period in 2017. OI is often seen as a barometer to measure the success and underlying strength of an exchange
It is believed that the exceptional results of DGCX have been bolstered by geopolitical uncertainty throughout 2018, with traders seeking protection and various hedging mechanisms to mitigate their risk.
They may have also been driven by the exchange’s ability to enhance liquidity and widen investor participation in both established and new products. “The positive response to our recently launched Shari’ah (Islamic) Compliant Spot Gold contract bears testament to this, and demonstrates our initiative towards further asset class diversity on the DGCX,” said Male.
Since DGCX launched the world’s only Shari’ah Compliant Spot Gold contract on March 29th, it has traded over 520 kilograms of gold worth $22 million. The product was the first exchange-listed Shari’ah compliant commodity product in the GCC, and currently the only Shari’ah compliant listed derivative in the world.
