Dubai’s Gold And Currency Exchange Growth Up 55%

Trading volumes on the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) registered 55 per cent growth in July compared to the same period last year with contracts worth $44.68 billion.

The exchange’s currency segment traded 1,450,041 contracts in July, recording a year-on-year growth of 61 per cent.

The surge in currency volumes trade was driven mainly by Indian Rupee (INR) futures, which recorded its highest ever-monthly volume at 1,252,965 contracts in July. INR futures also recorded a 40 per cent growth from the same period last year.

“The consistently robust performance of INR futures in particular is testament to DGCX’s ability to provide international investors with a safe, liquid and regulated environment to hedge their rupee fluctuation risks offshore,” said Gary Anderson, CEO of DGCX.

Trading in other currencies such as the Euro and Yen also increased substantially.

Total year to date volumes in DGCX rose by 91 per cent, having traded a total of 9,209,767 contracts in 2013. The volumes in Euro futures surged by 266 per cent while both INR and Yen futures grew by 84 per cent and 78 per cent respectively.

DGCX’s precious metals segment also performed well in July, with volumes in gold futures rising 16 per cent from June to reach 34,414 contracts. Silver futures grew 150 per cent from the previous month.

The exchange’s WTI crude oil futures also recorded an 86 per cent month-on-month rise and a 51 per cent year-on-year rise in July.

DGCX had registered a strong 101 per cent year-on-year growth during the first half of this year with 7,716,340 contracts valued at $268.85 billion. The rise in trading volumes during the first half were fuelled by a 112 per cent increase in currency volumes as compared to the same period last year.

Anderson said that emerging markets trading remains a focus for the exchange with significant interest from retail and international institutional participants.