Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX) traded more than 4.5 million contracts– the highest quarterly volumes in the history of the Exchange- during the first quarter (Q1) of the year, marking a 37 per cent rise from Q1 2014.

DGCX also broke several records during Q1 2016. Average Daily Volumes (ADV) in the first quarter reached 72,306 contracts, recording a significant growth of 39 per cent. Indian Rupee Options gained particularly well with trading 80,935 contracts, up 217 per cent. Similarly, in energy segment - WTI contract witnessed an increase of 305 per cent, registering a total of 37,640 contracts.

Gaurang Desai, chief executive officer of DGCX, said: “We are pleased with growth in trading volumes in the first quarter, especially with performance of products like INR Options, WTI, Gold and recently launched Global Single Stock Futures.”

“Global markets have been witnessing exceptional volatility owing to factors such as consistently low oil prices, economic slowdown across the globe and changes in various exchange rates. This has, however, led investors to adopt a more cautious approach and increasingly make use of exchanges like DGCX that provides effective hedging and risk mitigation mechanisms to ease the financial pressures in times of economic uncertainty,” he added.
 
March activity

The Exchange recorded 1.95 million contracts in the month of March, growing 59 per cent from last year. DGCX also recorded a sharp increase in monthly average Open Interest (OI) of 109,857 contracts, up by 84 per cent compared to same period last year.

DGCX’s unique Quanto style products performed remarkably well, with volumes in Indian Rupee, Gold and Silver and Quanto registering a growth of 412 per cent, 64 per cent and 53 per cent respectively as compared to last month.  

The recently launched Spot Gold contract, a first in the Middle East - allowing investors to buy and sell physical 1 kilo bars on the exchange, recorded the highest monthly physical delivery of 4,160 ounces. Number of physical market participants are adopting this product to manage their price risks and sourcing requirements.

During the month, Clearinghouse of the Exchange, DCCC expanded its acceptable collateral portfolio and started accepting currencies like Euros, British Pound Sterling and Japanese Yen in addition to UAE Dirhams and US Dollars. This expanded collateral service will allow members to efficiently deploy their currency holdings against margin requirements for their DGCX business.

Bank of China joined as the 5th settlement bank for the Exchange, adding to the array of existing banks (ENBD, SCB, HSBC and Bank of Baroda).

“As the Exchange continues to grow its product offerings and member base, we remain upbeat about getting past this volume growth in the next quarter,” concluded Desai. – TradeArabia News Service