SGX FX futures trading volume hits US$992b in Q3

The number of contracts reached a quarterly high at 7 million.

The total trading volume for SGX FX futures jumped to $1.37t (US$992b) in Q3 from the $896.49b (US$650b) figure recorded in Q3 2018, surpassing the $1.26t (US$914b) recorded in end-2018, according to an SGX report.

There were about 7 million contracts in the period, which is said to be a new quarterly high for SGX FX futures. Its monthly volume has crossed 2 million contracts in the months July, August, and September.

The aggregate trading volume for SGX FX futures in the quarter stood at $528.24b (US$383b), which the report says is a record quarterly volume for SGX (in both notional and contract terms), up 20% QoQ and 44% YoY.

SGX USD/CNH futures trading volume grew 50% YoY to $357.22b (US$259b) in Q3, on the back of Renminbi weakness. Its average daily volume hit $5.57b (US$4.04b), driven by Renminbi volatility in mid-quarter before subsiding in September. There were 24 days where trading volume exceeded $5.52b (US$4b), compared with 17 such days in the preceding quarter.

Meanwhile, the SGX INR/USD futures volume in Q3 went up 25% YoY to $165.51b (US$120b), with trading exceeded $2.76 (US$2b) for 29 days in the period. Its average daily volume also grew to $2.68b (US$1.94b) from US$1.42b in Q2. Lastly, SGX KRW/USD futures trading skyrocketed 409% to over $3.86b (US$2.8b) in the same period as the number of contracts went up 15% YoY to 6,584 contracts.