The Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) will launch its Gold Spot T+0 Contract on June 22, introducing the first same-day physically settled spot gold product on a regulated exchange in the GCC and strengthening Dubai’s gold market infrastructure.
The contract has been developed to address growing demand for faster settlement, improved price certainty and greater operational efficiency in physical gold trading, DGCX said.
By integrating exchange execution, central counterparty clearing and physical delivery within a single framework, the product provides market participants with a regulated alternative to traditional over-the-counter transactions.
“Dubai is one of the world’s leading hubs for physical gold trade, handling significant bullion flows between East and West,” said Ahmed Bin Sulayem, chairman and chief executive officer of DGCX.
“As the market continues to expand, participants increasingly need faster, more efficient, and more transparent ways to trade and settle physical gold,” he added.
The Gold Spot T+0 Contract is based on 1kg UAE Good Delivery gold and settled in UAE dirhams. All transactions are cleared through the Dubai Commodities Clearing Corporation (DCCC), providing counterparty risk management and settlement certainty, while physical delivery takes place through approved vault infrastructure.
“The launch of the DGCX Gold Spot T+0 Contract marks an important step in strengthening Dubai’s gold market infrastructure,” Bin Sulayem said.
“By bringing exchange trading, central clearing, and same-day physical settlement together within a regulated framework, we are providing market participants with greater certainty, improved efficiency, and direct access to physical delivery,” he added.
The launch reflects broader changes in global bullion markets, where participants are increasingly seeking settlement mechanisms that align more closely with the speed of physical trading activity.
While many exchange-traded products continue to operate on next-day or longer settlement cycles, the new contract enables market participants to execute, clear and settle physical gold on the same day, reducing operational friction and improving the efficiency of capital deployment.
Bin Sulayem said the contract reinforces Dubai’s position at the centre of the global gold market while deepening liquidity, strengthening price discovery, and establishing a more robust benchmark for physical gold in the UAE.
The contract has been developed specifically for bullion dealers, refineries, brokers, clearing members and institutional market participants.
Through integration with approved vault infrastructure, it creates a direct connection between trading activity and physical delivery while reducing friction associated with legacy settlement cycles.
The launch comes amid strong momentum for DGCX. In 2025, total traded volumes rose 30% year-on-year to 2,048,556 lots, with the total value of contracts traded reaching $46.96 billion. Average daily volumes increased to 7,940 lots, while average open interest reached 13,015 lots.
DGCX owns and operates the Dubai Commodities Clearing Corporation, which is recognised as a licensed central counterparty by the UAE’s Capital Market Authority, a recognised clearing house by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and a third-country central counterparty by the European Securities and Markets Authority.