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- Highest average monthly Open Interest recordedwith91,797 contracts, growing 17% from previous high
- August volumes up 35% month-on-month and 67% year-on-year
- Year-to-date volumes grew by 18%
Increased volatility in global markets over the past month has led trading volumes on UAE's leading derivatives bourse, Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX), to rise considerably, raking in multiple records.The monthly trading volumes on the Exchange grew by 35%, trading 1,538,636 contracts, recording an all-time high in two years. DGCX also registered a year-on-year growth of 67% and year-to-date growth of 18%.The overall Average Daily Volumes (ADV) witnessed a two-year high, trading 73,268 contracts in the month of August 2015.
The Exchange also recorded the highest average monthly Open Interest (OI) in August with 91,797 contracts, surpassing the previous high of 78,391 contracts registered last month. An all-time high OI of 125,066 contracts was achieved on August 27, 2015.
The recent volatility in FX markets also drove substantial volumes on DGCX's Emerging Markets currency products. The Indian Rupee options contracts garnered significant traction with 21,221 contracts traded in August, in comparison to 9,511 contracts traded in July 2015. The options contract recorded a lifetime high in ADV, trading 1,011 contracts in August. Volumes in Mini Indian Rupee futures touched 142,921 contracts, growing 61% from previous month.The recently launched Indian Rupee quanto traded 230,493 contracts, up 69% from July, crossing the 1.5 billion USD mark in terms of monthly value.
Gaurang Desai, newly appointed CEO of DGCX, said: "Our FX Futures contracts are attracting more traders than before as they seek safety in trading and hedging in a well regulated and transparent electronic platform like DGCX. This is validated by the fact that the Exchange has witnessed a 20% increase in member participation since January 2015."
Volumes on DGCX S& P BSE Sensex futures jumped 38% in August 2015, trading 19,023 contracts, in comparison to 13,820 contracts in July 2015. The contract also recorded second highest ADV since August 2014 with 906 contracts, up 51% from last month. This reflects the recent movements in global stock markets following the devaluation of the Chinese Yuan.
Trading volumes on DGCX' s hydrocarbon segment was led by WTI Futures, which saw the ADV reaching a four-year high 209 contracts in August, signifyinga trade of 209,000 barrels every day of the month. Mini Polypropylene futures registered a growth of 29% from last month, trading 1,338 contracts in August.
Average Daily Volumes on DGCX's India Gold quanto contract also grew by 30%, trading 671 contracts in August 2015.
"As uncertainty in global markets looms, market participants are progressively looking at ways to hedge and manage their price exposure. This is where a secure trading platform like DGCX comes into effect as it offers traders and investors with various hedging and risk management instruments which can soften the impact of market volatility," concluded Gaurang.
