| MCX, which offers futures contract in Light Sweet Crude, just as on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), reported trading in close to 3.5 lakh barrels of crude oil on February 9, the day of its launch. |
| Thus, MCX was able to do business amounting to 1 per cent of the average daily trades on the NYMEX, which trades an average of 300 lakh barrels per day. |
| To put matters in perspective, in the equity markets, the National Stock Exchange has an average daily turnover of about Rs 6,000 crore which is around 3 per cent of the average daily turnover of $46 billion (Rs 2,02,400 crore) on the NYSE. |
| The overall open interest on February 9 was also healthy at 35,500 contracts. The first half of today's session saw an open interest of 26,700 compared with 15,100 during the first-half yesterday. |
| The price of crude stood at Rs 2002 per barrel for April contract and Rs 2009 for May contracts. The prices are also expected to look up, with a marginal rise in crude prices in the US today. |
| According to Joseph Massey, deputy managing director, MCX, "The participation on the first day of trading indicated a healthy outlook towards the launch of futures in crude oil. It is an essential commodity, and traders from across the board, from agricultural commodities, bullion traders to equity brokerages participated in the trade. It was also well distributed geographically." |
| He further added that the success of the commodity could be determined after three months of its launch with volumes picking up. The chief executive officer of the exchange, Anjani Sinha also reiterated his views and expected the daily turnover to stabilise at Rs 100 crore in the next week. |
| The second day however saw the trades a bit lower, with volumes at Rs 11.29 crore during the first session of trade. |
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