DGCX G6 Currency Futures Register Surge in Trading Activity in September

During September, the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) once again registered a high monthly Average Open Interest (AOI), amounting to 154,629 contracts.

Open interest is an indicator of the total number of futures contracts held by market participants at the end of the trading day – and the significant increase over the last few months reflects a growing appetite from market participants.

Following trends from the preceding month, the DGCX Group saw renewed interest in its Hydrocarbons asset class during September - with its West Texas Intermediary (WTI) Futures Contract registering a year-on-year (Y-O-Y) Average Daily Volume (ADV) growth of 37%, compared to the same period last year.

The DGCX’s currency portfolio also recorded a spike in trading activity during the month, reflecting increased investor interest in currencies as an alternative asset class. DGCX’s G6 Currencies Portfolio traded a combined total of 1,434 lots valued at USD 80 million. Additionally, the newly launched Pakistani Rupee (PKR) Futures Contract continued to grow in demand, registering a combined value of USD 108 million.

Elsewhere, the exchange’s precious metals’ portfolio also continued to attract interest from market participants with the Shari’ah Compliant Spot Gold Contract the standout performer, trading a total of 20 lots valued at USD 1.14 million.

September’s trading volumes also included block trades with a total trade value of USD 1.07 billion. Through block trades, DGCX’s members and market participants can pre-negotiate a trade with another party; enabling them with the ability to execute a large value transaction at a reasonable price.

Strategic Partnerships

September also saw the DGCX continue to expand its core expertise and offerings to the African region, a key market for the exchange. The DGCX Group signed an MoU with Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX) – a subsidiary of the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) – to provide VFEX with technical support, knowledge, and skills, with the aim of establishing an international commodities exchange in Zimbabwe.

The agreement marks the second MoU in the African market over recent months, with the DGCX also signing an agreement with the Financial Markets Regulatory Authority (FMA) in Sudan to strengthen bilateral cooperation towards the trading of gold between the United Arab Emirates and Sudan.

Les Male, CEO of DGCX, said: “The DGCX continues to focus on driving growth by enhancing the strength of our offerings to market participants, as well as growing, innovating, and scaling our services. We are therefore pleased to have signed an agreement with VFEX during the month of September, as part of our strategic expansion into the African region, a rapidly growing market with enormous potential. As a globally regulated exchange, we are proud to lend our expertise in other markets and continue to look at ways to expand our range of services, as well as offer market participants with effective ways to hedge risk.”