European derivatives exchange Eurex is to launch futures and options FX contracts in October as the industry increasingly moves to on-exchange trading of derivatives.
From 7 October, futures and options contracts covering six major currency pairs will be available to trade on Eurex.
The currency pairs will cover EUR/USD, EUR/GBP, EUR/CHF, GBP/USD, GBP/CHF and USD/CHF, which currently make up the bulk of OTC FX derivatives trades.
Eurex said the move reflects industry drives to increase safety in derivatives markets and bring trading on-exchange.
“The large majority of FX derivatives are currently traded off-exchange. With our listed contracts we are offering an alternative in which we bring the advantages of exchange trading, including clearing, to a market that has so far been organized predominantly bilaterally,” said Peter Reitz, member of the Eurex Executive Board.
The contracts will feature physical settlement via delivery of respective currencies via continuous linked settlement, an established FX market international settlement system.
Futures will be traded from 8am to 10pm CET while options can be traded from 8am to 7.30pm CET. Eurex said it will offer long-term incentive programs with revenue sharing to provide sufficient liquidity to the order book, with special options available to market makers.