Singapore Exchange (SGX) saw strong growth in trading volumes and market activities across securities and derivatives, and a 30% increase in bond listings in March as heavy news events and data releases drove volatility higher in the last month of Q1. For the record, there were 22 trading days in March 2015 compared with 18 days in February 2015 and 21 days in March 2014.
SGX FX futures had a stellar month and is gaining strong traction since its introduction a year before. In March, FX futures traded a total of 252,435 contracts, which is more than 20 times the volume a year earlier and rose by 22% month-on-month.
Last month the exchange added Taiwanese dollar and Renminbi FX contracts, as well as expanded it’s reach by opening a Hong Kong office.
For a full rundown of March activities on SGX see below:
Securities
Securities average daily trading value was $1.14 billion in March, the same value as the year before but down slightly by 3% month-on-month. Total traded value was up 5% year-on-year and up 19% to $25 billion from a month earlier.
There were 56 bond listings, raising more than $22 billion. This was up 30% year-on-year and more than 2.5 times higher month-on-month.
Derivatives
Derivatives average daily trading volume increased by 46% year-on-year to 678,126 contracts and up 15% month-on-month. Total derivatives volume in March was 14.8 million contracts, up 56% year-on-year and 52% month-on-month.
SGX Equity Index Futures registered a total traded volume of 13.3 billion contracts, a 59% jump year-on-year and almost 58% increase month-on-month.
SGX’s leading suite of Asian equity contracts including FTSE China A50 futures, Nikkei 225 Index, CNX Nifty Index, MSCI India Index futures, MSCI Taiwan Index Futures, and MSCI Singapore Index Futures recorded double-digit growth month-on-month.
Volume of cleared OTC SGD Interest Rate Swaps was $6.8 billion, up 23% year-on-year but 30% lower month-on-month, as market rates continued to remain volatile.
Commodities
Total AsiaClear volume was 551,642 contracts, more than three times the volume a year before and up 61% month-on-month.
Volume of clear iron ore derivatives hit a total of 532,541 contracts, more than three times the total last year and increased by 67% month-on-month.
SICOM rubber futures, the world’s benchmark for physical rubber pricing, traded a total of 45,260 contracts in March. This was an increase of 14% year-on-year but down 15% month-on-month.
For the official PDF release, click here.