The value of trade at the Iran Mercantile Exchange spot market increased 56% during the last fiscal year that ended in March
A total of 26.33 million tons of goods worth 1,691 trillion rials ($10.5 billion) were traded via the exchange last year, which was a 6.1% hike in volume compared to the earlier year.
Spot markets trade accounted for 1,376 trillion rials ($8.6 billion) of the deals, IRNA reported, citing IME data.
Goods, including industrial products and commodities, gold, future contracts, petrochemicals and agricultural products are traded via the IME spot and derivatives markets.
More than 9.7 million tons of goods valued at 61.2 trillion rials ($381 million) changed hands on the mineral and industrial trading floor during the one-year period. This was a 24.8% and 87% annual growth in volume and value, respectively.
Trade in metals topped the list with 9 million tons followed by copper, aluminum and iron ore, with 218,000, 198,000 and 115,000 tons, respectively.
Other trades included zinc, lead, various metal concentrates, coke, coal and molybdenum concentrate.
About 4.6 million tons of petrochemicals and polymers with overall value of 420.5 trillion rials ($2.6 billion) changed hands in the petrochemical ring, indicating 38% rise in value but a 2% decline in volume. Polymers accounted for 3.2 million tons of the trade.
Petroleum by-products posted growth both in value and volume. Close to 12 million tons of oil products worth 330.1 trillion rials were traded at the IME last year to indicate 51 and 15% hike in value and volume, respectively.
Among the most widely traded products were vacuum batum, different grades of bitumen and lube cut, accounting for 5.4 million, 4.6 million and 1.4 million tons.
Other traded petroleum products included paraffin, slack wax, rubber process oil and solvent 404.
Agro Products Less Attractive
Trade in agro products declined both in value and volume last year. More than 4,051 tons goods worth 93.5 billion rials were traded at the IME spot market in the period with saffron and dates topping the list.
IME has strived to diversify and expand financing methods for agricultural products, including creating platforms for trading saffron, cumin and pistachio future contracts.
It launched futures contract for pistachio last October. IME chief Hamed Soltaninejad said the initiative is the first derivative market for pistachio trade in the world. He expressed the hope that the market would emerge as a center for reference pricing for the delicacy in global markets.
The mercantile exchange launched cumin and saffron futures contracts last year with the aim of supporting local production of the spices.
Mercantile investors traded more than 15.78 million futures and option contracts worth 250 trillion rials ($1.5 billion) last year. Option contracts had a meager share of derivative contracts as futures accounted for 15 million of the total.
A future is a right and an obligation to buy or sell an underlying stock (or other assets) at a predetermined price and deliverable at a predetermined time. Options are a right without an obligation to buy or sell equity or index. A call option is a right to buy while a put option is a right to sell.
IME also hosted trade of 531 kilograms of gold worth 2.95 trillion rials last year – up 224% and 357% in weight and value compared to the year before.
Iran’s capital market has four wings, namely IME, Tehran Stock Exchange, Iran Fara Bourse (over-the-counter stock market) and Iran Energy Exchange. IME was established in 2007 following merger of the agro and metal exchanges in Tehran.
