Gold futures trade drops on Dubai exchange

The volume of gold futures traded on the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange fell 19 per cent in March as price volatility in international markets prompted investor caution, the bourse said yesterday.

DGCX traded 77,996 gold futures contracts in March, down from 96,099 contracts the previous month, it said in a statement. Total volumes of all contracts – commodities and currencies – traded on DGCX in March stood at 96,192 contracts, up 12 per cent from the same period last year, and down 18 per cent from the previous month, DGCX said.

Dubai launched the region's first gold futures exchange in 2005 as the economies of Gulf Arab nations boomed on oil income. Total open interest for gold as of March 31 stood at 1,877 contracts, down from 3,894 contracts on Feb. 29, the bourse said.

The average number of gold contracts traded per day stood at 3,900 in March, compared to 4,576 in the previous month, the exchange said.

Total volume of gold futures contracts traded since its launch on November 22, 2005, stood at around 321,824 contracts, it said.

The exchange plans to introduce four plastics futures contracts this year to cater to the rapidly growing petrochemicals industry in the Gulf.

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