Dubai's DGCX to set date in two weeks for launch of spot gold

[DUBAI] The Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) will announce in two weeks the date for launching its spot gold contract, a senior executive at the exchange said on Monday.

"In a couple of weeks we will be able to announce when we will launch it," Ian Wright, chief business officer at DGCX, said on the sidelines of the Dubai Precious Metals Conference.

The exchange is still in talks with a local bank about the contract.

"We are heading in the right direction. It is moving forward and the discussions are advanced. I see no bumps in the road," Mr Wright said.

DGCX announced plans for a spot gold contract early last year as part of its growth as a top trading centre for the precious metal. The launch was originally scheduled for last June, but has been delayed.

The exchange, which currently trades gold futures, said last year that the spot contract was expected to be for 1 kilogramme (32 troy ounces) of 0.995 purity gold.

Asia, home to the world's top two gold buyers, China and India, has been keen to gain more pricing power over the metal and challenge the dominance of London and New York in trading.

The Singapore Exchange launched a 25 kg gold contract last October, after a short delay due to technical issues in setting up the trading system. Shanghai launched international gold contracts last September, opening up its gold market to foreign players for the first time.

The Shanghai Gold Exchange said on Sunday it would introduce new pricing products to serve market participants.

REUTERS