The Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX) previous month noticed its flagship Gold Futures product continue its robust begin to the year, with year-to-date (Y-T-D) volume increase of 773.6% compared to the same duration previous year, aided by a multi-year record in January. The spike in trading is a response to a international backdrop of economic uncertainty, with investors more and more looking towards safe-haven assets. Total volumes on the DGCX in February hit 1.49 million contracts, while Y-T-D Average Open Interest (AOI) was 367,878 contracts, up from 243,409 a growth of 51.1% in the course of the same duration in 2019.

Trading throughout the DGCXs G6 currency pairs was also strong in February, with the asset class recording overall volume boom of 18.1% in February, with an underlying value of USD 7.2 billion. The EURUSD Futures contract was the most prominent, trading 76,595 contracts, up 41.1% month-on-month (M-O-M).

Les Male, CEO of DGCX, commented: Unforeseen events in the course of the first two months of this year have sent shockwaves throughout international markets. Investors are bearish on the international economy and increasingly turning to products that can assist them manipulate their risk. This is mirrored in the trading we are seeing on the DGCX, in which an increased number of investors are recognizing the value our products provide for hedging purposes. The rest of the year promises to be particularly busy for us, as we prepare to launch new locally relevant products to provide our members with a wider range of tools to safely protect their investments.

Subject to regulatory approval, the DGCX also has plans to launch new and innovative FX products, which includes the launch of FX Rolling contracts perpetual rolling FX contracts for three currency pairs, which are predicted to be specifically beneficial to the DGCXs institutional investors.

The DGCXs INR product portfolio was another driver of trading previous month, on the back of President Donald Trumps visit to India. INR Mini Futures was the standout performer, trading 113,521 contracts, up 43% M-O-M and 9.6% Y-O-Y.