Dubai: The volume of gold futures traded on the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) fell 6.5 per cent in May, the bourse said yesterday.

DGCX traded 51,558 gold futures contracts in May valued at $1.48 billion, down from 55,135 contracts valued at $1.6 billion the previous month, it said in a statement to Reuters.

Total volumes of all contracts - commodities and currencies - traded on DGCX in May stood at 89,550 contracts valued at $4.98 billion, up from the previous month which saw 86,584 contracts valued at $4.3 billion, DGCX said.

Dubai launched the region's first gold futures exchange in 2005 as the economies of Gulf Arab nations boomed on oil income.

Total open interest for gold as of May 31 stood at 4,056 contracts, down from 4,905 contracts on April 31, DGCX said.

Expansion

DGCX wants to become a major commodities centre in the region. It hopes to continue its growth in futures trading this year after almost doubling its activities in 2007.

On May 27, it listed two cash-settled light sweet crude oil contracts in the world's top oil exporting region in order to allow funds in the region to invest in oil futures without taking money elsewhere.