Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX) said its volume in March was the highest ever achieved  since inception with 101,215 contracts, thus registering 39 per cent increase when compared to the previous month.

The volume growth was driven by increased volume in currency futures, especially in Euro-Dollar and Sterling-Dollar, which grew by 37 per cent and 136 per cent respectively.

The DGCX Indian Rupee-Dollar, Gold and WTI futures also recorded higher activity during March compared to the previous month, thus confirming strong interest for its products, the commodities exchange said in a statement.

The first quarter of 2009 has demonstrated a positive start  to the year for DGCX, following lower volumes in the last quarter of 2008. Month-on-month volumes have been increasing steadily.

The total first quarter volume for the exchange was 212,485, up 70 per cent on the previous quarter, but down by 33 per cent on the same period last year, the statement said.

'Much of the volume increase has been led by the growing  interest and demand for currency futures, said Malcolm Wall Morris, chief executive officer, DGCX.

'Volatility in currencies has encouraged market participants to hedge  their exchange-rate risk on DGCX in order to better manage  their exposure,' he noted.

'Despite weakness in global market conditions, the month-on-month volume growth and strong first quarter performance shows that DGCX is moving in the right direction  so far this year and demonstrates the appeal of our value proposition and product portfolio',  Morris added.-TradeArabia News Service