RTS is proud to announce that it has won a prestigious derivatives market award in 2009 for its euro/dollar and euro/rouble contracts. The award, for ‘best innovation in product design – Eastern Europe - was given by the leading magazine in derivatives markets, Futures & Options World, part of Euromoney plc.
FORTS – the futures and options division of the Russian Trading System (RTS) stock exchange – launched the new products designed to broaden its FX product offering for hedgers and speculators in the Russian market and overseas during the height of the market uncertainty created by the financial crisis.
RTS had hoped the euro/dollar and euro/rouble future, complementing its seven year old dollar/rouble future, would thrive as Russia’s international trade grew and importers/exporters needed a rouble risk management capability.
Since November 2008, Russia had let the rouble devalue gradually by 20% against its target basket of dollars and euros. The stress on Russia’s economy and currency produced great volatility in the rouble, which meant there was keen interest in hedging and speculating on currencies.
The contracts were sized at €1,000 and referenced to the European Central Bank’s exchange rates, with an initial margin of 4%.
Roman Goryunov, RTS’s chief executive, said at the time of the launch that the exchange’s primary target was investors hedging against risk. "With the help of currency and money products offered on Forts, investors can optimize their defensive strategy," he said.
The contracts took off very quickly. Combined trading volume for the two on their first day in the market was 41,516 contracts, and by September, the euro/dollar future had reached a cumulative volume of 10.5m contracts, worth €10.5bn, over eight months.
Although in March and April it had actually out-traded the dollar/rouble future, by September it had settled into a pattern of trading about a third as much as the older contract.
That still made it the 11th most traded FX contract on the world’s derivatives exchanges, and the most active contract anywhere on a currency pair that does not include the exchange’s home currency.