Singapore-based Abaxx Exchange, which is owned by Abaxx Technologies, said it is eyeing April for the gold kilo bar futures having previously said the contract would go live before the end of March.

“Our gold futures contract launch remains on track with plans for it to be available for trading within the month of April, pending regulatory approval. The process is moving forward as expected, and we will provide updates on first trades as they progress,” said Abaxx Technologies chair and chief executive Josh Crumb.

“The launch of our gold contract, alongside our energy and battery metals contracts, reflects our broader strategy to introduce physically-deliverable benchmarks that more accurately reflect the commercial realities of today’s global markets.

“Onboarding has been proceeding as expected with more firms approaching us each day to express their interest in connecting to Abaxx markets and trading our energy, environmental and battery metals products.”

Abaxx Exchange submitted the planned launch to the local regulator earlier this month, a key step in listing. If the submission is returned without comment, the exchange can begin working with futures commission merchants (FCMs) to finalise a launch date, which will require two weeks’ notice, according to Crumb.

The gold future will complement the lithium carbonate futures launched earlier this month and nickel sulphate futures which came to market in January. This followed the nascent exchange’s launch in late June last year with liquefied natural gas (LNG) and carbon futures.

The price of spot gold broke the $3,000 (£2,320) per ounce mark on March 14 and is up 39% over the last 12 months, according to Trading Economics data, enjoying a rally due to wider geopolitical uncertainty.

Gold should be considered as a high-quality liquid asset similarly to government bonds, according to an Abaxx Exchange advisor who argued the precious metal should also be recognised as eligible collateral.