* Volumes, value traded doubles
* Rand extremely volatile in 2011
JOHANNESBURG Dec 19 (Reuters) – The value and volume
of currency derivatives traded in South Africa has more than
doubled this year, boosted by global market turbulence, stock
exchange operator JSE Ltd said on Monday.
The JSE, which runs Africa’s largest bourse, said in a
statement that 13.2 million currency derivative contracts were
traded in the year to end-November, an increase of 103 percent
from a year earlier.
The value of those contracts totalled 91.2 billion rand
($10.81 billion), an increase of 117 percent, the exchange said.
“The growth also indicates that investors are moving trades
onto the regulated market as they are asked to improve their
risk profile,” Warren Geers, general manager of derivatives
trading and head of the currency derivatives at the JSE said in
a statement.
“On-market instruments require no foreign exchange clearance
and are settled in rand.”
Market players use currency derivatives such as forward
contracts to their protect their exposure to volatility in
foreign exchange markets.
The rand is a globally traded currency that is
often seen as a proxy for risk sentiment.
Continued…
