China’s Guangzhou Futures Exchange (GFEX) has announced a fresh set of trading curbs for selected platinum and palladium futures contracts, tightening position requirements and daily trading limits as part of broader efforts to manage volatility and curb speculative activity in the niche precious metals market.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the exchange said the changes will take effect from December 29 and will apply to several forward-dated platinum and palladium contracts that are actively traded by investors. For platinum, the affected contracts are PT2606, PT2608, PT2610, and PT2612, while the adjustments for palladium cover PD2606, PD2608, PD2610, and PD2612.
Under the revised rules, the minimum daily opening position for the specified platinum and palladium contracts will be raised from one lot to two lots. The minimum closing position will remain unchanged at one lot. Exchange officials said the adjustment is intended to raise the entry threshold for new positions, discouraging short-term, low-capital trades that can amplify price swings, while still allowing investors to reduce or exit positions smoothly.
Register for Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 19 (Feb 9 – May 2, 2026): big discounts for early bird.
Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and co-invest in great global startups.
Register for Tekedia AI Lab: From Technical Design to Deployment (next edition begins Jan 24 2026).
Beyond the opening position requirement, GFEX will also impose a daily opening position limit of 300 lots per contract for non-futures company members and individual clients. The cap applies on a per-contract basis and is designed to prevent concentrated bets from dominating trading in markets that are relatively small compared with major base metals or energy futures. The exchange clarified that hedging transactions and market-making trades will be exempt from the limits, ensuring that industrial users and liquidity providers can continue to operate without restriction.
Platinum and palladium futures are among the newer contracts launched by the Guangzhou Futures Exchange, which was established to expand China’s derivatives market beyond traditional commodities and to strengthen the country’s role in pricing strategic resources. Both metals are critical inputs in automotive catalytic converters and are also used in electronics, chemicals, and jewellery, making their prices sensitive to shifts in global auto production, emissions regulations, and substitution between the two metals.
Market participants say these contracts can be prone to sharp price moves, particularly when liquidity thins or speculative interest rises. As a result, Chinese exchanges frequently adjust trading rules such as position limits, margins, and transaction thresholds to maintain orderly markets and contain systemic risk. Similar measures have been deployed in the past across commodities ranging from steel and coal to lithium and rare earths during periods of heightened volatility.
The timing of the latest curbs also comes as global platinum group metals markets face structural uncertainty. Demand is being reshaped by slowing growth in internal combustion vehicle sales in some regions, rising adoption of electric vehicles, and ongoing shifts in emissions standards. Supply dynamics, including output from major producers in South Africa and Russia, continue to add to price sensitivity.
By exempting hedging and market-making activity, GFEX appears to be signaling that its focus is squarely on speculative excess rather than on restricting legitimate risk management or liquidity provision. Traders said the measures are likely to moderate intraday volatility without materially harming overall market participation.
The exchange did not indicate whether further adjustments are planned, but analysts expect GFEX and other Chinese exchanges to remain proactive in fine-tuning trading rules as market conditions evolve and as newer futures contracts gain broader participation.
