Commexes' turnover drops by over 41% till Feb 15 of FY15

The turnover of the commodity exchanges fell by 41.42% to Rs 53.92 lakh crore during the April-February 15 period of the current fiscal on sharp decline in the trading volumes of most commodities, according to the Forward Markets Commission (FMC).

Total business at the exchanges platform had stood at Rs 92.05 lakh crore in the same period of corresponding year, the regulator FMC said in its latest fortnightly report.

The trading volumes fell in most commodities including bullion, base metals, energy and agriculture.

According to the FMC data, the turnover from bullion declined by 52% to Rs 19.15 lakh crore in the April-February 15 period of the 2014-15 fiscal from Rs 39.72 lakh crore in the year-ago period.

Similarly, the business from energy items like crude oil declined by 37% to Rs 14 lakh crore from Rs 22.45 lakh crore, while the turnover from base metals dropped by 31% to Rs 11.13 lakh crore from Rs 16 lakh crore in the review period.

The turnover from agricultural commodities also fell by 31% to Rs 9.56 lakh crore in the April-February 15 of this fiscal from Rs 13.79 lakh crore in the year-ago.

Experts attributed the fall in trade volumes to lack of volatility in the commodity futures market and high transaction cost, which has forced traders to shift their investment to the equity market.

Currently, there are four national and six regional exchanges operating in the country.