BFX trading turnover exceeds $250m

The Bahrain Financial Exchange (BFX), the first multi-asset exchange in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, proudly announces the completion of three months of successful trading. The BFX achieved a major milestone of total trading turnover surpassing the $250 million mark, with the total volume increasing to 6,461 contracts. As on Feb.24, 2012, the total single-side trading turnover on the BFX Futures was $250.70 million with a total volume of 6,461 contracts (single side) traded since the launch of the BFX Futures on Nov.23, 2011. During this period, the largest traded BFX Futures contract in terms of volume was the BFX Euro USD Futures (3,026 contracts with a turnover of $99 million). In terms of the trading turnover, the BFX Gold Futures was the highest (2,702 contracts with a turnover of $146.48 million). The volume on the BFX natural gas futures was 733 contracts with a trading turnover of $5.20 million. The highest daily trading turnover till date was $8.12 million and the highest daily volume was 196 contracts. Commenting on the occasion, Arshad Khan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the BFX and the BFX Clearing and Depository Corporation (BCDC), said: “We are pleased with the trading turnover for the first quarter. We see the results as a confirmation to the Exchange’s sound approach in attracting investors in the region to trade in our markets.  Our immediate plan is to broaden our trading portfolio by launching new products that include the BFX Dow Jones SAFE India Index Futures. In Parallel, we are focusing on increasing the membership base of the Exchange which will further widen the investor base of our market.” The BFX launched its conventional segment with the commencement of Futures trading on gold, natural gas and the euro - US dollar currency pair on Nov.23, 2011. Since the launch date, the weekly trading turnover has increased to over $35.03 million (for the week ended on Feb.24, 2012) from $8.27 million (for the week ended Dec.2, 2011) - an increase of 323.58 per cent. The weekly trading volume also increased from 231 contracts to over 901 contracts during the same period - an increase of over 290 per cent. The BFX markets provide hedgers and cash market participants - including Jewellers, manufacturers, fabricators, service providers, traders, importers, exporters, etc - an opportunity to mitigate risk against volatile asset prices. The uncertainty in the Eurozone economies, expectations of higher demand for bullion as a hedge against inflation and the increasing global cash liquidity increased the asset price volatility.