Monday, May 07, 2012
(This item was originally published Sunday.)
DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)--The newly-launched copper futures contract on the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange, or DGCX, got off to a robust start, notching up 15,582 contracts in the first seven days of trading, the exchange said Sunday.
The exchange had launched the 5 metric ton, cash-settled contract last month as a tool to hedge and mitigate price risk in physical copper.
Overall April volumes more than doubled from the same month in 2011 to reach 559,781 contracts, the highest ever monthly volumes registered, the exchange said in an emailed statement. The April volumes represent a value of $22.42 billion, it said.
The currency trades accounted for 91% of total contracts in the month, trading a total of 509,988 contracts in April.
Indian Rupee futures traded 499,478 contracts in April, the highest monthly volumes the contract has achieved since inception, DGCX said. Volume growth was boosted by increased trading in back-month contracts--that have more than one month to expire and offer tighter spreads.
Gary Anderson, chief executive officer at DGCX, said the rise in back-month trading speaks for the increasing dynamism of trading on DGCX. "We are encouraged by the increased trading in back-month Indian Rupee contracts, one of the additional tools we provide for hedging medium-term exposure to the Indian Rupee," he noted.
The U.A.E.-based commodities derivatives market was launched in November 2005 to meet the Middle East's growing needs for diversified investment and hedging options.
-By Brinda Darasha, Dow Jones Newswires; +9714 446-1688; brinda.darasha@dowjones.com
Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Co.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
07-05-12 0346GMT
