Eurex, jointly owned by Deutsche Borse and SIX Swiss Exchange, has said that it will launch futures and options on Xetra-Gold, an exchange-traded commodity (ETC) in Germany. The new gold contracts are set to launch on 28 September 2010.

Xetra-Gold is a zero-coupon bond denominated in euro and issued by Deutsche Borse Commodities. Launched in December 2007, Xetra-Gold is traded on Xetra, Deutsche Borse’s pan-European electronic trading platform for the cash market.

The Xetra-Gold derivatives are the latest addition to Eurex’s precious metals derivatives. Since February 2009, Eurex has been offering US-dollar denominated gold futures and options based on fixing prices of the London Bullion Market. Silver futures and options based on the London Silver Fixing followed shortly after in June 2009.

According to Eurex, the new contracts will be denominated in euro and will be physically settled with the delivery of the underlying Xetra-Gold ETC. Additionally, in a separate transaction between the holder of the ETC and Deutsche Borse Commodities, the holder will have the right to request delivery of physical gold.

Expiration dates of the derivatives will be on the third Friday of the next three calendar months as well as in March, June, September and December.

Eurex executive board member Peter Reitz said that the new futures and options will give members further access to the gold market and will provide more flexibility to suit their specific needs.