Volumes on the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX), a fully-automated, online commodities exchange, reached an all time high in 1, 86,842 contracts valued in excess of $12 billion in July 2008, an increase of 227% over July 2007. The total year-to-date (January-July) volumes were up 56% over the previous year, with 821,388 contracts traded with a value of $ 43.3 billion.The average daily volume stood at 8,492 contracts in July, up by 227% as compared to the same period last year.
?The interest in derivatives is certainly gaining ground in the region, as evidenced by the growing trade on the DGCX,? Malcolm Wall Morris, chief executive officer, DGCX, said. ?The growth was also supported by the recent introduction of crude oil futures which attracted substantial interest in the region and overseas. The addition of crude oil to our already strong markets in precious metals and currencies, has highlighted our commitment to providing customers with a broad portfolio of products to manage price risk,? he added. In the metals segment, gold volumes increased by 167% to 109,289 contracts in July as compared to the corresponding period last year. In the currencies segment, the euro, the pound and the yen showed strong growth recording increases of 740%, 43% and 26% respectively when compared to the same period last year. Located at Dubai, the exchange is the first international commodities derivatives marketplace between Europe and the Far East.
