Steel rebar options and silver options were launched for trading on the Shanghai Futures Exchange on Monday.
With the debut of the two new options, the tally of futures and options varieties listed on the futures exchange has reached 28, including eight options varieties.
On the launch day, four series of steel rebar options were listed with 224 contracts, as were three series of silver options with 136 contracts.
Rebar and silver are important varieties in the steel industry and the non-ferrous metal industry, respectively. The steel sector, represented by rebar, is an important basic industry of the national economy, while silver has both commodity and financial attributes and is an important raw material for the new energy industry and the high-end manufacturing industry.
Rebar futures and silver futures were listed as early as 2009 and 2012, respectively, showing the characteristics of large market size, good contract liquidity and reasonable investor structure. The two varieties of futures have become important risk management tools for China’s steel industry and non-ferrous metals industry.
The person in charge of the Shanghai Futures Exchange pledged that the exchange will adhere to the focus of serving the real economy, and intensify efforts to enrich the existing product system.
By the closing bell of the first trading day on Monday, steel rebar options posted a full-day trading volume of 26,872 lots with a total turnover of 21.771 million yuan (US$3.126 million), while silver options saw a full-day volume of 3,796 lots with the turnover approximating 5.663 million yuan.
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