Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) said an uptick in Gold and Indian Rupee Futures trading drove a 117 per cent year-on-year growth in trading volumes last month.

The exchange registered 919,282 contracts in the month pushing 2012 year-to-date volumes to 8,700,951 contracts, a 140 per cent increase from last year.

DGCX Gold Futures, one of the Exchange’s flagship products, grew a substantial 121 per cent in November from the same month in 2011, registering 48,967 contracts.

Trading in the contract has steadily gained momentum in recent months with the price of the precious metal experiencing severe volatility amidst global economic uncertainty.

Commenting on the growth, CEO Gary Anderson said, “Over 2012, our Gold Futures contract has emerged as an important price benchmark for gold trading communities not only in the Middle East but in Asian trading hubs as well. Gold Futures provides an exceptional hedging and portfolio diversification tool in a volatile environment, allowing participants to both manage risk and profit from market movements.”

According to him, the DGCX Indian Rupee futures continued to see brisk trading in November with monthly volumes touching 845,451 contracts, a growth of 123 per cent from November 2011.

Year-to-date volumes in the contract reached 7,810,935 contracts, up 180 per cent from the same period last year. “A growing number of institutions across the world that consume Indian Rupee liquidity are using the DGCX contract for hedging and investment purposes,” said Anderson.

Currencies drove a substantial part of DGCX’s volumes growth in November, aggregating 853,408 contracts – an increase of 115 per cent from the same month last year.

Steep fluctuations in currencies resulting from global economic uncertainty have led investors to hedge exchange-rate risk on DGCX, he added.-TradeArabia News Service