The Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) today announced that its 2011 year-to-date (YTD) volume surpassed one million contracts on May 11, 2011, the earliest it has surpassed this milestone in any year since launch. The earliest DGCX had previously crossed one million contracts was on July 18, 2010.
Year-to-date volume on the Exchange stood at 1,005,841 contracts at the close of trading on May 11, 2011. The volume reflects a total value of US $49.1 billion and a 52% increase on the YTD volume of 660,968 contracts achieved by the same date last year. Year-to-date average daily volumes also rose 51% to 11,053 contracts.
Currency contracts, in particular the Indian Rupee/Dollar contracts, have been the Exchange’s main growth success story, with INR year-to-date volume at 641,116, a 1605% increase on 2010. Gold and silver also witnessed increased interest and participation, with YTD volume at 194,649 and 21,296, up 22% and 65% respectively.
Speaking on the achievement, Eric Hasham, CEO of DGCX said, “We are pleased to have reached this milestone as early as May. DGCX has rapidly expanded its volumes over the last 12 months across precious metals and currencies. This expansion has been driven by our ability to provide effective tools to manage price volatility and enhance liquidity to support investor participation. We look forward to continue working closely with our members to strengthen further our markets.”
In another significant milestone, DGCX crossed open interest (OI) of 10,000 lots for its contracts on May 5, 2011, valued at US$ 500 million. Open interest is the total number of outstanding futures contracts held by market participants and is regarded as a leading performance indicator across the industry. It represents rapidly growing confidence of commercial parties and investors in trading and holding positions in DGCX precious metals, energy and currency products.
