On February 5, 2009 futures contracts on EUR/USD and EUR/RUR exchange rate started trading on FORTS, RTS derivatives section. Trading volume in the new contracts totalled 41,516 contracts comprising 4,111 trades.
The first trade in the EUR/USD contract was entered into by the clients of Investment Company FINAM CJSC and ALOR Group of Companies, while clients of Investment Company FINAM CJSC and Brokercreditservice Ltd. were the first ones to trade the EUR/RUR futures. For the EUR/USD contract the largest volume contributor was a client of JSC "Investment Company "ITInvest", and for the EUR/RUR contract – a client of KIT Finance Ltd.
This solid interest in the new FX contracts is a sign of a well-timed launch in response to the market needs. In active global currency markets most investors turn to new defensive mechanisms. Stalling equity markets make both speculators and arbitrage players explore new instruments. The EUR/USD futures contract is supported by the cutting-edge technologies offered by FORTS.
The contract size is Euros 1,000. Full contract specs are available here.
FORTS, the derivatives market of RTS, is a leading trading venue for futures and options in Russia. Trading on FORTS started in September 2001. At present FORTS has the widest range of instruments in Russia. These are 48 contracts (31 futures and 17 options) on shares of Russian companies, bonds, short term interest rates, currency, RTS Index, oil, silver, gas, oil, sugar and gold.