Futures in 2000

Since 1978, when futures trading in gold really took off in the United States, the total volume on United States’ exchanges has increased dramatically. Trading has largely been concentrated on COMEX (now a division of the New York Mercantile Exchange – NYMEX), however, with daily turnover on this exchange during 2001 peaking at 137 tonnes (4.4 million oz) in May, and hitting its low, of 56 tonnes (1.8 million oz), in September.

The other important exchange is TOCOM (Tokyo Commodity Exchange), whose turnover in a one kilogram contract. In 2001, turnover peaked at over 1.2 million contracts in May, falling only 541,000 in July.

While these two futures exchanges remain important market places for gold, the rapid growth of both exchange options and over-the-counter options, which have added a third dimension to the market since the 1980s, has probably inhibited their expansion. Or at least futures and options must be seen in tandem as major elements. Both have given a fresh dimension to a market that was, until twenty-five years ago, largely about physical business.