MCX discontinues gold, silver contracts expiring 2015

Leading commodity bourse MCX today said it discontinued six futures trading contracts in gold and silver expiring in 2015, effective yesterday, due to procedural problems.

The exchange also asked traders to square off their trading positions in three contracts -- gold February 2015, kapas March 2015 and kapas April 2015.

"All these contracts will be made available for trading after obtaining the requisite approval from the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) for launching the contracts expiring in the calendar year 2015 onwards," Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd said in a statement.

The exchange withdrew one gold contract expiring in April 2015 and three 'silver 1000' contracts each set to expire in January, February and March of next year, it said.

MCX discontinued one 'silver mini' contract and one 'silver' contract that were to expire in February and March next year with effect from April 29.

The exchange said the withdrawal of the six far-month contracts in the two commodities is a "procedural issue" and "is not in relation with FMC's December 17, 2013, order."

In the order, the FMC declared erstwhile promoter Financial Technologies India Ltd (FTIL) as "not fit and proper' to hold more than a 2 per cent stake in the bourse. The regulator had given MCX a deadline till today to ensure FTIL pares its stake from the current 26 per cent.

The regulator has warned MCX that it would not renew contracts, allow new contracts and eventually take away the licence to run the bourse if it does not ensure FTIL complies with the regulatory norms.