Commodity futures not aiding inflation: NCDEX

Prices of essential commodities traded in the futures market have increased at a slower pace than those not traded on the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX).

According to a study conducted by NCDEX, a basket of 15 commodities traded on the exchange has shown a year-on-year price increase of 5.84% as against 9.04% for nearly 30 items not traded in the futures market. Certain items have shown price increase of as much as 47-48%,  but these were both in the traded and non-traded baskets.

The traded items included in the analysis for the week ended March 3 have a weightage of 7.78% in the wholesale price index (WPI). On the other hand, the basket of nearly 30 non-traded items have a weightage of 17.6% in the WPI. In the traded group, items showing slow price rise included gur, chana, groundnut, seed and soyabean oil while price increases were higher for soyabean, masur, rapeseed and mustard oil. In the non-traded category, prices of vegetables, egg, meat and fish, vanaspati and milk rose marginally while prices of edible oil, arhar, jowar and sunflower oil witnessed a significant rise.

P H Ravikumar, chief executive,  NCDEX, said: "The analysis rules out that futures trading is contributing to any food inflationary pressure."

Increase in prices of crude oil and food items in the global market have a larger impact on domestic price movements, and supply mismanagement against increasing demand is also pushing inflation, he added.