Driven by bullion trade especially in the second fortnight of February, the turnover of the commodity exchanges in the country rose by 29 per cent to Rs 46.44 lakh crore in the current fiscal till last month.

Also Read   News Now Paper Specials - Sensex makes remarkable recovery, regains 17K - WKLY TECH ANALYSIS: Markets await a clear direction - Shubhalakshmi Panse takes charge as Vijaya Bank ED - S C Kalia takes over as Union Bank ED - PNB may acquire majority stake in Kazakh bank More     Also Read   News Now Paper Specials - RIL offers to buy Dutch petrochem firm - ICICI raises $750 mn in overseas bonds - IOC fire burns Rs 100-cr hole in GIC's pocket - Kurbaan could be Karan Johar's first flop - Hershey trust pushes $17-bn offer for Cadbury More   Also Read   News Now Paper Specials   - Q3 FY09 Results: Earnings Season - Saving Satyam: Govt gets into action - India-Pakistan Tensions: Fallout of Mumbai Terror Attack - Your Money: Where to invest - Market Crash: Global worries weigh - Time Out: Books, fashion, food, travel, sports, health...  More

It was Rs 35.95 lakh crore in the corresponding period last fiscal.

The business in bullion rose significantly by 75.68 per cent to Rs 26.18 lakh crore during the review period from Rs 14.90 lakh crore in a year-ago period, commodity market regulator Forward Markets Commission (FMC) said in a statement.

The FMC, which releases data every fortnight, said that futures trading in three national level commodity exchanges and 19 regional bourses stood at Rs 2,51,093 crore during the second fortnight of February, up by 19.86 per cent, compared with the year-ago period.

During February 16-28, the turnover of the leading exchange MCX stood at Rs 2,24,364 crore, while the leading agri-commodity bourse NCDEX recorded a business of Rs 18,765 crore. Other national level exchange Ahmedabad-based NMCE reported a turnover of Rs 4,476 crore.

Among the regional bourses, the Indore-based National Board of Trade, which basically deals in soya oil showed an impressive turnover of Rs 2,022 crore in the second fortnight of February.

Of the traded commodities at the MCX, gold, silver and crude oil recorded the highest volume, FMC data said.

The near month contract (April 2009) in gold quoted at its highest at Rs 16,040 per 10 gram on February 20 and the total value of trade in all gold contracts was Rs 1,26,700 crore. Silver turnover at the MCX was Rs 44,158 crore while crude oil trading was Rs 33,162 crore.

At the NCDEX, soyabean, turmeric and gaur seed had the highest volumes of trade. Soyabean trading surpassed the guar seed with a turnover of Rs 4,104 crore. Guar seed recorded a business of Rs 2,261 crore.

Other Stories      - Sensex makes remarkable recovery, regains 17K - S C Kalia takes over as Union Bank ED - PNB may acquire majority stake in Kazakh bank - Maoist hindering land acquisition for Tata steel project: Raman - Koda says he will report to ED only after Jharkhand polls More

Tags : commodities | bullion | gold | silver | FMC | MCX | NCDEX | NMCE | crude oil   Read Business news in  Advertisements   Get financial advisory and solutions for your projects   Holidays starting at a delightful EMI of Rs 3481   Switch on and say hello to Monday morning !   Your dream home can now be a reality.   Visit Fortis for a preventive health check-up & get a 20% discount.   Follow the ups and downs of your investments. Try our new Portfolio Tracker   Kolkata Dock \ Freight contract for the British Gurkhas Nepal   Find how Midsize Businesses use ERP to gain competitive advantage   Trading in Forex is now as easy as 1-2-3   Discover an economical and cost effective way to market your products and services   Giftwithlove.com: Same day delivery of Flowers and Cakes to India   Download the E-book on the Future of Business Intelligence   Learn Best Practices for improving customer satisfaction   Know your customers better... download the free e-book on CRM