DUBAI- The Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange plans to launch a mini-gold futures product in partnership with RAKBANK in the third quarter of this year, it said on Wednesday.

The contract, which DGCX says is the region's first exchange-listed mini-gold product, was created to help smaller investors increase their exposure to the precious metals market, it said in a statement.

The futures will be available on DGCX's platform and cleared by its wholly-owned and regulated clearing house, the Dubai Commodities Clearing Corporation (DCCC), which is recognised by the European Securities and Markets authority as a third-country central counter party.

(Reporting by Nafisa Eltahir; Editing by Kirsten Donovan) ((Nafisa.Eltahir@thomsonreuters.com; +971 56 22 61754;))