The spot market of the Iran Mercantile Exchange hosted 10.826 million tons of goods worth 802 trillion rials ($2.6 billion) in the last calendar month to June 21.
In terms of volume, the deals increased 36% on the month before and value was up 21%, the IME public relations website said.
IME is a commodities exchange in Tehran founded in 2006 to host deals in farm, industrial and petrochemical products in the spot and futures markets.
As always industrial and mineral products contributed the most to the trade accounting for 60% of the total value in the spot market. More than 9.18 million tons goods worth 475 trillion rials ($1.5b) changed hands in the month.
Cement topped the list with 5.986 million tons followed by 1.669 million tons of steel products. Other products included 1.224 million tons of iron ore, 35,361 tons copper, 83,470 tons aluminum, 180,000 tons sponge iron, 55,149 tons zinc, 670 tons molybdenum concentrate, 1,000 tons coke, 60 tons lead, and 5 kg gold ingot.
Commodities traded on the petrochemical and petroleum floor reached 1.558 million tons worth 310 trillion rials ($1b). Goods in this category were bought by local and foreign companies.
According to the IME report, commodities in this category included 400,622 tons of bitumen, 444,102 tons polymer products, 155,855 tons chemicals, 24,198 tons base oil and 300,800 tons vacuum bottom. The list also included 25,165 tons sulfur, 500 tons argon, 206,000 tons lube cut and 800 tons moisture insulation materials.
The agriculture floor hosted five tons of saffron. Deals handled in the IME Side Market amounted to 86,358 tons. Miscellaneous items are also traded via this floor.
The IME handled the sale of 22 ‘Cara’ vehicles assembled by Bahman Group. It was the second month automakers offered their products at the IME.
While car sales were initially seen as a sign of a bigger plan to move all auto sales to the IME, the scheme was halted abruptly in the middle of the last month by the Industries Ministry.
The ministry claimed selling cars via the IME was incompatible with rules to regulate the auto market and had given rise to fresh volatility in the long chaotic auto market.
As per the previous policy, cars that were not subject to pricing mechanism by the government could be offered at the IME.
The ministry’s move was censured as “against transparency” norms which would undermine efforts to curb the government’s arbitrary intervention in the auto market. The suspension order came a few days before a prescheduled offer of 430 cars in early June.
Value of annual deals in the IME spot market reached 6,300.6 trillion rials ($20.3b) in the last fiscal year (ended in March), which was double (102%) from the earlier year, logging the highest annual growth since IME’s birth in 2006.
