The power of glowing gold

The Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange, DGCX, announced that its year-to-date volumes surpassed the two million contracts mark on August 12, 2011, the first time since inception. Close of trading on August 12, 2011, saw year-to-date volumes reach 2,005,566 contracts, valued at $98.7bn, a 76 percent increase from last year. Year-to-date average daily volumes also rose by 67 percent to touch 12,963 contracts this year. DGCX currency contracts, in particular the Indian Rupee-Dollar contracts, were the key drivers of the Exchange's volumes, with Indian Rupee year-to-date volume reaching 1,356,993 contracts a 1331 percent increase from last year. Precious metals also witnessed increased interest and participation, with YTD volume touching 328,856, up by 1 percent. Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman of DGCX, said, "We are pleased to have achieved this milestone so early this year. These high volumes reflect our ability to provide exceptional tools to manage risk effectively in an uncertain market. High liquidity and competitive transaction fees combined with the efficient, safe and secured environment that we are able to offer, have encouraged significant trading on the Exchange." DGCX achieved a record daily volume of 35,796 contracts on August 4, 2011, valued at $1.91bn. On August 9, 2011, the Exchange crossed the 2010 overall volumes of 1,925,463 contracts, which is a feat by itself.