Deutsche Bank has launched an exchange-traded commodities (ETC) range with the issue of four new products on the German Stock Exchange’s Xetra platform.

The new product range, which is to be branded “db ETC”, will expand into the rest of Europe during 2010 and include ETCs tracking gold, silver, platinum and palladium.

According to Thorsten Michalik, head of db x-trackers (Deutsche Bank’s ETF platform), the bank expects to launch more than 30 ETCs before June.

The ETC range will include US dollar-based and euro-hedged products on benchmark commodity indices, as well as products tracking Deutsche Bank’s proprietary optimum yield indices, which aim to minimise losses and maximise gains from the rolling forward of futures-based commodity positions.

The ETCs will be fully collateralised and Deutsche Bank says that, apart from a management fee of 0.45%, any other costs arising from the products, underlying investments or collateral will be disclosed on its ETC website.

Deutsche Bank’s first four ETCs are all euro-hedged, offering exposure to Brent crude oil, industrial metals, short Brent crude and short gold.

ETCs are one of the fastest-growing areas of the exchange-traded product market, the bank says, with total assets in exchange-traded commodity products across Europe growing by 145% in 2009, compared to 43% for equity and 17% for fixed income products.