NCDEX to start spot trading in coffee, sugar, steel by April end

Mumbai, Apr 2 (UNI) The National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) will commence spot trading of coffee, sugar, steel and soyabean by the end of April, NCDEX Managing Director P H Ravikumar said today.

Talking to mediapersons here, Mr Ravikumar said that there were certain technical issues involved in commencing spot trading. ''They have now been resolved and trading should start in two to three weeks time,'' he informed.

While coffee trading would be predominantly based out of Karnataka, the main grower of the commodity, steel would be pan India and sugar, predominantly in Maharashtra.

On Soyabean, he said, four states- Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat were main producers.

On trading of gold coins, he said that since the retail trade was widely dispersed it would take some time before NCDEX entered, as quality and quantity had to be ensured. Most of the banks have approached the Exchange on gold coin trading, he added.

He said that the Exchange was in dialogue with the Union Finance Ministry with regards to the Commodities Transaction Tax (CTT) introduction. It had received more 100 letters from traders with regards to the CTT and the commodity market sentiments had been forwarded to the Finance Ministry, he added.

On the current inflationary trends he reiterated that it was fuelled more by noon food articles, especially steel and cement.

Replying to a question on power exchange for which NCDEX had registered a company in partnership with the National Stock Exchange, he said that the Central electricity Regulatory Commission has convened on April 24 a public hearing on the proposal. He expected the Power exchange to be operational by August this year.

UNI VK SR SM1513