HKMEx Gold Trading Surpasses 10,000 Contracts

Milestone symbolises growing market acceptance

HONG KONG, 4 June, 2012  – The Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange (HKMEx), China’s global marketplace, announces today that trading of its US-dollar gold futures surpassed 10,000 contracts for the first time on June 1. A total 10,389 gold contracts were traded on the day.

“The 10,000-contract mark is significant for gold because it indicates the contract has gained increased maturity and market acceptance since our trading launch in May 2011,” said HKMEx Chairman Barry Cheung. “We are pleased that volumes have reached this new record. We anticipate this trend will continue as we further enhance distribution and connectivity with our broking and clearing members, laying the foundations for the imminent launch of our renminbi product suite.”

HKMEx’s gold and silver futures contracts are traded in 32 troy ounces (1 kilo) and 1,000 troy ounces sizes respectively.  Both have physical delivery in Hong Kong. Going forward, the Exchange plans to launch gold and copper contracts denominated in renminbi, followed by other products in precious and base metals, as well as energy, agriculture, and commodity indices.