Silver futures witness increasing interest on MCX amid Covid-19 crisis

The Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) on Wednesday said it has witnessed increasing interest in silver futures amid the coronavirus pandemic, as their average daily turnover value (ADTV) during April-June stood at Rs 5,850.62crore.

In the first quarter of the current financial year, the rising concerns over the coronavirus pandemic across the world have encouraged investors to park their resources in silver, which is also considered a safe-haven metal, MCX said in a statement.

In the April-June quarter, the ADTV value of futures contracts in silver was at Rs 5,850.62 crore, the highest since the introduction of the commodities transactions tax in July 2013, which had negatively impacted commodity futures volume in the following years.

In the January-March 2020 quarter, the ADTV in silver futures was Rs 5,321.95 crore, it added.

The overall combined ADTV for gold and silver futures and options contracts in the April-June quarter was marginally down at Rs 13,115.93 crore compared with the previous quarter, which can be attributed to reduced participation in gold contracts as a reflection of slowdown in consumer demand amid lockdown coupled with a sharp rise in prices.

However, the number was still the second highest on a quarterly basis since July 2013, it added.

Gold futures prices have risen from Rs 40,989per 10 grams at the beginning of the quarter to a high of Rs 48,304on the MCX on June 30, posting an 18 per cent gain for the quarter.

This has severely impacted consumer demand across sectors, excluding investment buying, the MCX added.

The exchange also witnessed decline in ADTV in the April-June quarter.

The MCX has posted a total ADTV of all commodities traded on the exchange at Rs 23,128.51crore in the April-June quarter, compared withRs27,473.17crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.

The drop in volume can be attributed to reduced participation in the wake of coronavirus-induced lockdown, which has brought the economy in the country to a standstill for most part of the quarter.

The MCX accounts for over95 per cent of the country's futures and options volume in commodities.