We reported throughout 2012 the great growth at the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX). The exchange has just released its December and full year 2012 figures. For 2012, the exchange traded 900,602 contracts which was a 117% YoY increase. During the month, currency trading dominated overall volumes, but the precious metal’s segment continues to experience rapid growth, as 38,052 contracts were traded, a 374% YoY gain.

For 2012, a total of 9,601,553 contracts were traded, a 137% increase from 2011. Currencies comprised the bulk of trading at 8,880,403 contracts, with Indian Rupee volumes accounting for an astonishing 8,638,993 of the total. According to the DCGX, the exchange accounts for 30% of global exchange traded value of Indian Rupee futures contracts.

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Gary Anderson, CEO of DGCX said: “DGCX’s exceptional performance in 2012 has been driven by its ability to enhance liquidity in its contracts and widen investor participation. Trading on DGCX has benefited from the rising profile of derivatives as an asset class among regional investors and the growing need to manage currency and commodity price risk in a volatile environment. Over 2013, we will look to expand our product portfolio and further enhance our contracts based on market feedback. With the development of our new trading platform in partnership with global technology provider Cinnober, we are well positioned to meet growing demand.”

Looking toward 2013, after hitting records in every conceivable metric during 2012, the test comes this year for the exchange. After achieving a record month during October of 1,057,508 contracts, trading volumes subsided to end the year. While this could be the result of the traditional ‘end of the year’ slow period, it’s worth noting that both the ICE and CME Group launched competing Indian Rupee products during Q4 2012. As such, it will be interesting to see how the DCGX responds to the increased competition.