Singapore Exchange achieved a new monthly record in Iron Ore Swaps in May 2012, with 7.67 million tonnes or 15,353 lots cleared on the exchange. This was 122% (YOY) higher than May 2011 (6,905 lots). SGX Iron Ore Swaps market continues its upward trend in growth.
Month-end open interest in May 2012 was 6.18 million tonnes or 12,375 lots, slightly higher than the previous record of 12,211 lots in March 2012. Please refer to Chart 1 for the monthly volume and open interest up to May 2012.
In addition, SGX has made significant inroads into China. Almost half of the participants who cleared through SGX in May are Asian companies. Trade size has increased as well, with larger clip sizes of up to 100kt per contract month cleared in May 2012. SGX continues to be the preferred market for serious market participants who wish to hedge their underlying exposure. With Iron Ore options set to be launch in the second half of this year, we believe the Iron Ore Swaps market will continue to grow in strength.
Prices are available on Bloomberg (Ticker: OREXIO1M Index or type MINE and select Iron Ore Forward), Reuters (IOCS=SGX), Dow Jones Metals, Logical Information Machine and www.sgx.com/asiaclear/commodities.
How to get started:
1. Select an SGX Clearing Member (CM)
2. Complete Account Opening forms and submit supporting documents to CM
3. Receive confirmation from CM of account approval and setup for OTC clearing with the Exchange
4. Arrange margin deposit or facility to fund the account for trading to commence
5. Inform CM of selected OTC IDB, where applicable
6. CMs or IDBs will assist to register all matched OTC trades onto the SGX AsiaClear platform for clearing purposes