The Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) has recorded an average open interest (AOI) of 323,477 contracts in July, bringing the AOI for 2018 to an all time high of 304,398 contracts, up 29 per cent from 2017.

The overall volumes for the month touched 1,894,155 contracts with a value of $38.49 billion, a year-on-year (Y-O-Y) increase of 36 per cent.

The best performing asset classes for July were the Shanghai Gold Futures and Chinese Yuan Futures, registering month-on-month (M-O-M) volume growth of 71 per cent and 64 per cent respectively. The rising demand for China-centric products comes at a time when ties between the UAE and China have strengthened after the recent state visit of the president of China, Xi Jinping. Dubai India Gold was another notable performer for the month, recording a 99 per cent increase in Y-O-Y growth.

Les Male, CEO of DGCX, commented: “Following an outstanding H1 performance, we had a number of significant achievements in July, ranging from our exceptional Open Interest performance to expanding our collateral basket in partnership with Standard Chartered Bank.

“Open Interest is a true measure of an Exchange’s success, and our records this month are a reflection of the robustness of our trading platform. We are delighted to have entered the second half of the year so positively, and our focus over the next few months will be to introduce more innovative products and expand our member base both locally and internationally.”

The DGCX and its Central Counter Party (CCP) subsidiary, Dubai Commodities Clearing Corporation (DCCC), announced earlier in July that it is in the process of allowing clearing members to deliver eligible global securities as collateral. Underpinning the expansion of the collateral basket, Standard Chartered Bank is providing Custody Management Services on this additional form of collateral and is responsible for safeguarding the assets.

The Indian Rupee (INR) products and the G6 Currency Futures also continued their strong growth trajectory in July. INR volumes increased by 34 per cent Y-O-Y, while volumes in G6 Futures grew 80 per cent Y-T-D. – TradeArabia News Service