Dubai’s DGCX sees 16% rise in volume of trades in 2022, total value touches $162bn

The region’s largest derivatives exchange Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX) has registered a total of 8.239 million contracts with a total value of $162.01bn in 2022, representing growth of 16 per cent and 8.24 per cent, respectively.

With inflation rising steadily over the course of 2022, investors increasingly turned to gold, with DGCX reporting a 78 per cent increase in the volume of gold contracts traded on the exchange compared to the previous year.

Throughout the year, DGCX saw steady trading in Indian rupee as market participants looked to hedge their exposure to one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.

DGCX had successfully traded over 8 million contracts with a total value of USD 162 billion in 2022. Read last year’s highlights including the great demand for the #gold and Indian #INR futures products, and strategic partnerships: https://t.co/LyfQMYlwXv pic.twitter.com/C2sOi8mpPu

— DGCX (@DGCX) January 26, 2023

DGCX also saw volume growth for the Yen, Australian, and Canadian dollars and increased investor interest in the Euro and British currency.

Ahmed Bin Sulayem, CEO of DGCX, said: “During 2022, DGCX delivered significant double-digit growth across multiple metrics in the face of continued economic challenges around the world. Within this context, with participants focusing on currencies and gold, DGCX launched physical gold and spot gold contracts. DGCX also made history by being the first UAE exchange to list Israeli Shekel Futures, delivering even greater product diversity and liquidity for traders.

“As we look to 2023, DGCX will continue to expand its operations by building new partnerships and providing investors and market participants with products and services that are highly innovative and add value.”

Milestones achieved

In 2022, the exchange launched new Physical Gold Futures and Spot Gold Contracts as part of its strategic focus on becoming the region’s ‘de facto’ gold pricing standard.

Read: Dubai’s DGCX launches physical gold futures, spot gold contracts

The two products provide traders and financial institutions with the ability to use physical gold as collateral to access affordable sources of short-term lending, backed by the guarantee provided through the exchange clearing house.

The move followed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with precious metals firm, FinMet to expand DGCX’s product offering and market participation.

Read: Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange, FinMet collaborate to expand DGCX gold product offering

The first transaction was completed in September 2022 between DGCX member Paloma Precious DMCC and a leading UAE bank, and in November 2022, SAM Precious Metals (SPM) received the required approvals to trade their gold and silver bars for the first time on DGCX.

 DGCX also saw its recognition as a third-country CCP (TC-CCP) by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) renewed in 2022, a move that reflects its adherence to international regulatory standards and reaffirms its alignment with the most stringent risk management and governance frameworks.

Israeli Shekel Futures

Th exchange also listed Israeli Shekel Futures from June 2022, as part of its strategic focus on diversifying its FX product offering and fast-growing currency segment.

The announcement was swiftly followed by its participation in the region’s largest derivatives-focused conference, FOW Trading Israel, organised by Futures & Options World (FOW).

As the second largest futures trading hub after the US, Israel represents an important market for DGCX as it sets out to deliver strong currency volume growth over the coming years.