Trading in Indian rupee and Sensex futures contract showed strong growth in May over the previous month on the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange.
While contracts for the rupee showed 25 per cent growth, those for the BSE S&P index Sensex were up 206 per cent.
The overall trading volumes on DGCX recorded a robust growth of 24 per cent in May over the previous month, aggregating 1,017,991 contracts, valued at $31.5 billion.
According to the exchange, the currency segment was the key driver of volume growth, trading 923,491 contracts to record a month-on-month increase of 22 per cent. Average daily volumes on the exchange grew 19 per cent from the previous month to trade 46,272 contracts per day.
DGCX CEO Gary Anderson said, “Among the currency pairs, Indian rupee futures grew 25 per cent from last month, trading 809,285 contracts. Mini Indian rupee futures traded 105,421 contracts, registering an uptick of 4 per cent.
He said the volumes on Sensex futures rose significantly by 206 per cent, trading 35,317 contracts. The contract also recorded its highest-ever daily volume of 7,744 contracts on May 9, 2014. Gold futures registered 49,194 contracts, growing 24 per cent month-on-month and 9 per cent year-on-year.
Anderson said: “The heightened trading activity on DGCX, especially with the performance of some of the Exchange’s key contracts such as gold, Indian rupee and Sensex, signifies the growing interest from market participants in using our diversified portfolio of derivative products to hedge against unpredictable price movements.
“As part of our strategic product plan, we are continuing to explore the introduction of new futures contracts in Emerging Market currencies and select commodities.”
Established in 2005, DGCX is the Gulf region’s first derivatives exchange and the only one allowing participants to clear and settle transactions within the Gulf region.