DGCX to Launch the World’s First PKR Futures Contract

The Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX) today confirmed that it will soon launch a Pakistani Rupee (PKR) Futures Contract, the first of its kind on any regulated exchange in the world, enabling market participants to expand their trading opportunities to the Pakistani market. The launch follows extensive market research and feedback from DGCX members.

The Contract, which is set to go live on Friday 16 April 2021, will allow regional market participants with the ability to hedge exposure to the Pakistani Rupee, on a globally recognized, regulated and secure platform. Additionally, the Dubai Commodities Clearing Corporation (DCCC) will provide margin offsets for calendar spreads in PKR Futures, which will result in greater capital efficiency for DGCX members.

Les Male, CEO of DGCX, said: “We are proud to launch the long-awaited PKR Futures Contract, which will add further diversification to our currencies portfolio, and provide our members with additional short-term hedging and arbitrage opportunities. Pakistani nationals are the second largest population in the UAE, and as this Contract is the first of its kind in any regulated exchange, we are confident that this Contract will provide market participants with ample opportunity and flexibility to gain exposure to the large and increasingly prominent Pakistani market. We are confident that this launch will play a key role in DGCX’s future growth strategy and look forward to announcing the launch of similar initiatives shortly.”

The contract size is 2,000,000 of base currently (PKR) and will be traded and cash settled in US Dollars (USD) based on publicly available reference prices displayed on the last trading day. Trading hours will be from 07:00 to 23:55, Gulf Standard Time.

The announcement comes on the heels of surging interest in DGCX’s currency contracts. In February, the DGCX registered significant interest in its Indian Rupee (INR) Future Contracts trading at the end of the month. The DGCX also saw a record monthly Open Interest (OI) of 168,000 lots and total volume of 121,570 contracts on Friday, February 26, during that month.