DUBAI -- Trade in the Indian Rupee/Dollar futures surged to a new daily high on the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange, or DGCX, 1,074 contracts valued at $47.37 million were recorded on the exchange -- the highest value and volume achieved -- since the contract was launched in 2007. The new high surpassed the earlier record of 957 contracts achieved on May 19, 2009, valued at $40.04 million. DGCX offers the only Indian Rupee futures contract outside of India and the contract is cash settled against the US Dollar reference rate published by the Reserve Bank of India in Mumbai. The DGCX contract is available for trading from 8.30am to 11.30pm (Dubai time), extending eight hours beyond the closing time of the domestic futures markets. "The increased activity in DGCX Indian Rupee futures supports the trend of stronger international interest in the currency," said Eric Hasham, Chief Executive Officer, DGCX. "Improved liquidity, tighter on-screen prices and the large contract size have encouraged participants, especially 'hedgers', to trade the DGCX Indian Rupee contract. We have also received feedback from clients who want to move business to the exchange from the OTC market in order to better manage their counterparty risk by both trading and clearing in a well regulated environment", he said. In addition to Indian Rupee/Dollar futures, DGCX offers currency contracts in Euro/Dollar, Sterling/Dollar and Yen/Dollar futures. Total volume on DGCX gathered momentum in February, increasing 146 per cent year-on-year to reach 179,278 contracts, valued at $10.7 billion. Trading in the DGCX Indian Rupee/Dollar futures contract was also higher in February compared with last year at 7,796 contracts.

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