• Commodities and FX spur derivatives volume growth
• Singapore’s equities market outperforms peers across Southeast Asia

Singapore Exchange (SGX Group) today released its market statistics for December 2023. Heightened trading activity in commodities and foreign exchange (FX) derivatives lifted volume gains for the month, while steady global institutional interest in key equity index futures contracts brought open interest to a strong close for the final quarter of the year.

Derivatives traded volume rose 6% year-on-year (y-o-y) in December to 21.1 million contracts, with derivatives daily average volume (DDAV) up 13% y-o-y at more than 1 million contracts.

Growing open interest in equity futures

On SGX Equity Derivatives, equity index futures traded volume totalled 12.5 million contracts in December, with robust growth in open interest in benchmark China and Taiwan contracts over the October-to-December quarter. Open interest in SGX FTSE China A50 Index Futures – the world’s most liquid international futures contract for Chinese equities – climbed 17% from the preceding quarter to 933,000 lots or a notional US$11 billion, as mixed views over the outlook for China’s economy bolstered risk management.

SGX FTSE Taiwan Index Futures open interest increased 70% over the October-to-December quarter to 144,000 lots or a notional US$9 billion, with renewed confidence in the U.S. technology sector spurring international investor demand for exposure to Taiwan equities.

The Indian equities market emerged as the fourth-largest globally following a strong second half of 2023, as market capitalisation exceeded US$4 trillion. The volume of GIFT Nifty futures and options rose to 1.5 million contracts in December. Open interest stood at 244,444 contracts or a notional US$10.6 billion, up 7% in the six months since the start of full-scale operations of the NSE IX-SGX GIFT Connect.

Record iron ore derivatives volume

On SGX Commodities, accelerating adoption among financial participants fuelled the iron ore derivatives market’s growth. For 2023, iron ore derivatives volume climbed 43% over 2022 to the equivalent of 4.4 billion metric tonnes – a record high.

Commodity derivatives traded volume increased 45% y-o-y in December to 4.2 million contracts. Benchmark iron ore derivatives volume gained 45% y-o-y, while forward freight agreement (FFA) volume surged 74% y-o-y. The unique S...