The Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) announced today that May 2013 trading volume averaged 109,818 contracts per day, down 29.6% from April 2013. Average daily volume for most listed commodities fell: Gold was down 35.1% to 53,134 contracts, Platinum was down 20.9% to 16,015 contracts and Crude Oil was down 25.1% to 4,114 contracts.
In May, commodity market volatility was lower than in April, when commodities traded in wide price range. Markets reacted in April to FRB discussions on possible QE3 reductions. Also China announced that their GDP may not meet previous expectations. This month, stock markets declined across Asia after China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped below 50 on May 23. In Japan, the Nikkei Stock Average fell1,143 yen in one day. Such heightened stock market volatility caused a “wait-and-see” sentiment among market participants and held back trading on TOCOM.
Open interest at the end of May for all listed products totaled 302,746 contracts, a decrease of 1,302 contracts (-0.4%) from the prior month.
Click here for full details.