Expanding its suite of forex (FX) products, the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange today announced the launch of three new currency futures contracts – Swiss Franc/US Dollar (DCHF), Australian Dollar/US Dollar (DAUD) and Canadian Dollar/US Dollar (DCAD). The new contracts will go live on June 15, 2010 and will be cleared by the Dubai Commodities Clearing Corporation.
DGCX currently lists four currency futures contracts - Euro/US Dollar, GBP/US Dollar, Yen/US Dollar and Indian Rupee/US Dollar. The Exchange has witnessed 128% growth in currency futures volume year to date.
“The increase in DGCX currency futures volume coupled with growing demand from members, has encouraged us to offer the DCHF, DAUD and DCAD futures contracts. DGCX will be the only futures Exchange outside of the US and Europe to offer the six most liquid currency futures pairs. The new contracts will enhance the exchange’s currency portfolio and provide alternative economic indicators and trading opportunities for participants, for example the Australian Dollar is predominantly a commodity based currency, while trading in the Swiss Franc is mainly investment based,” said Eric Hasham, CEO, DGCX.
Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman, DGCX, added, “Under the regulatory guidance of the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), DGCX has contributed significantly towards the diversification of the region’s financial services offering by providing viable risk management and investment tools. The launch of the new currency futures contracts, which has been approved by both SCA and the UAE Central Bank, will ensure DGCX sustains its momentum in this market. The increase in currency futures volume on the Exchange year to date demonstrates that the UAE is turning into an important centre for regulated forex trading.”
The new currency contracts will trade from 8:30am to 11:30pm Dubai Time (4:30am to 7:30pm GMT and 12:30am to 3:30pm Eastern Time). The contracts are sized at CHF 50,000, AUD 50,000 and CAD 50,000, with the contract price quoted in US dollars. The minimum price fluctuation will be US $0.0001 per contract, equivalent to a tick value of US $5 per contract. The first delivery month available for trading for all three contracts will be September 2010.
The impact of the global crisis highlighted the counterparty risk and lack of transparency associated with transacting FX trades bi-laterally or over-the counter. Regulated exchanges and Clearing Houses are assuming even more importance in today’s FX markets and they have a key role to play in future developments.
DGCX has recorded an Average Daily Volume of 5,835 currency futures contracts in 2010. Year to Date currency futures volume stands at 362,000 contracts, valued at US $24.4 billion, as at the end of March 2010.
As part of DGCX’s ongoing awareness and educational programme for currency futures, the Exchange will be supporting and speaking at the 6th Middle East Forex Expo & Conference in Beirut on 21-22 May 2010.