Hong Kong bourse proposes to revive gold futures as volatility grips market

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) is looking to relaunch gold futures, as the city ​pushes to become an international gold trading and ‌storage hub amid volatile bullion prices driven by geopolitical tensions.

The bourse’s head of markets, Gregory Yu, told local lawmakers this week that ​the exchange plans to revive gold futures, according ​to a video of the meeting reviewed by Reuters.

HKEX ⁠last launched gold futures in 2017 after an earlier ​product introduced in 2008 was suspended in 2015, but both ​efforts failed to gain traction due to weak liquidity and competition from established global markets.

Yu, who did not give a timeline, said ​HKEX would continue to consult market participants and stakeholders, ​refine contract design and improve delivery mechanisms.

“A lot of investors are in ‌need ⁠of risk diversification given the geopolitics, and are therefore interested in trading and storing gold,” Yu said.

“We therefore believe it is imperative to connect the gold futures market with ​the physical gold ​ecosystem here.”

HKEX ⁠confirmed the proposal made during the meeting on Monday, which has not been reported ​previously.

The Hong Kong government has been pushing to ​expand ⁠bullion storage and position the city as an international gold trading centre.

Gold prices have swung sharply since the outbreak of ⁠the ​Iran war, as investors shift between ​safe-haven buying and reassessing the conflict’s impact on oil prices, inflation, the dollar ​and interest-rate expectations.

(By Selena Li; Editing by Mark Potter)