Shanghai Futures Exchange’s simulation of continuous trading of gold and futures completed as the afterhours trading closed at 2:30 a.m. on July 3.

 

Statistics showed that during the simulation of continuous trading, the total and daily average trading volume of gold futures were 842,700 and 140,000 respectively, with the total and daily average turnover of RMB210.281 billion and RMB35.047 billion respectively, 1.1. times of that of the daytime market during the stimulation. The total and daily average trading volume of silver futures were 3,112,600 and 518,800 respectively, with the total and daily average turnover of 182.28 billion and RMB30.38 billion respectively, 0.67 times of that of the daytime market. Over 5100 clients and 160 odd members traded, which means a daily average of 50 members invested over RMB8.5 million through 5 settlement banks. Around 10 market data vendors involved in the simulation in sync. During the simulation, all procedures and technology systems worked smoothly, transactions were executed actively and prices fluctuated frequently, basically in line with the volatility of the international markets lately.

 

On July 1, SHFE carried out a market-wide emergency drill to try out its contingency plan in the event that “SHFE changes the time of the opening of continuous trading upon the reception of reports of anomalies by 30% of its members”. The drill was carried out phase by phase, including: a) reporting issues in a timely manner; b) activating contingency plan in time; c) notifying the market of the postponing of market opening; d) solving the problem and identifying the time to resume trading; e) implementing thorough risk control. With the participation of 133 members, the drill showed how effectively can the exchange’s transaction, clearing, surveillance and technology functions respond to emergencies and coordinate with one another.

 

According to an SHFE executive in charge of the initiative, the simulation operation and maintenance team called those who made registration to participate in the simulation, to check their staff deployment, seat arrangement, capital, risk control and other key factors, analyzed statistics collected in the simulation, and addressed problems in a timely manner. The exchange also established a liaison system, held meetings with CSRC agencies, and improved the mechanism to prevent potential risks on Fridays. All the measures guaranteed the success of the simulation.