Total trading volumes on Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX), the region’s leading ‎commodities derivatives venue, touched a record new high of 2,097,739 contracts in ‎February, registering the exchange’s highest overall monthly value of above $47.03 billion.‎

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The UAE’s main bourse has also delivered a stellar year-over-year growth of ‎‎67 percent in February 2018. The healthy performance came as ‎market participants digested the implications of geo-political tensions in key ‎markets, which led investors to increasingly turn to derivatives to hedge and ‎mitigate the impact of volatility.‎

Building on the standout performance, the DGCX witnessed high volumes in ‎the ‎currency segment, with its flagship Indian rupee contract signifying the ‎growth trajectory in the first quarter. More specifically, ADV on Indian rupee ‎options registered strong year-on-year growth of 38 percent, with over 56,328 lots‎ traded per day, valued at $1.74 billion.‎

The exchange said in a statement that euro, pound sterling ‎and Australian dollar futures showed their highest ‎monthly volumes in February 2018. Taking a year-to-date ‎‎(YTD) prospective, trading volumes in the three ‎currencies registered impressive growth of 207 percent, ‎‎160 percent and 76 percent, respectively, relative to the ‎comparable period in 2017. ‎

DGCX’s precious metals suite also emerged as one the best performers in February, with the ‎segment’s overall volumes registering an incremental growth of double digits. Volumes ‎in Gold Quanto Futures were up by 120 percent from last February, coming in at 1,714 ‎contracts. ‎

Les Male, CEO of the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange, commented: ‎‎“Last month was an extremely volatile period for the global financial markets, ‎because of which traders are continuously seeking protection and various ‎hedging mechanisms to mitigate their risk. These volatility spikes correspond ‎with the record trading volumes and increased participation at the DGCX, as ‎the Exchange offers a diverse range of products and risk management tools ‎that support traders and investors during rapid market movements. In ‎addition, the Exchange deploys the best risk management and surveillance ‎systems which allow our markets participants to trade with confidence and ‎also monitor risk in real-time.”‎