Trade at the Iran Mercantile Exchange (IME) is expected to exceed 10,000 trillion rials ($24.63 billion) by the end of the current fiscal year in March, Hamed Soltani Nejad, the IME head said.
"Trade was up 40% in the first three quarters of this year" SENA quoted him as saying.
According to Soltani Nejad, “inflation had no significant role in the growth rates.” He did not elaborate.
Referring to auto sale at IME as a key contributing factor in market growth, even though "hardly 3-4% of the auto sales take place via the IME." Local media reports in the past two days said car sales via this market have been suspended until further notice.
However, the Competition Council later denied making any decision about suspending auto offers at IME, saying that it has not yet made any decision in this regard.
IME trade reached 6,937 trillion rials ($18.1 billion) in the first nine months of the calendar year to December 22 -- an all-time high and above the previous fiscal year (ended March 2022), SENA news agency said.
IME is a multi-commodity market founded in 2006 for farm, industrial and petrochemical products in the spot and futures markets.
The jump in spot market deals was the main driver of growth. It hosted commodities worth 6,457 trillion rials ($16.7 billion). An estimated 87.5 million tons of goods and more than 11,000 vehicles were traded in this market during the period.
Noticeable growth in the spot market was partly due to cement trade after factories were obliged by the Industries Ministry to sell only via the IME.
Commodity trade on the industrial floor reached 71.8 million tons worth 3,912 trillion rials ($10.1 billion). On the petrochemical and petroleum floor 14.5 million tons worth 2,397 trillion rials ($6.6 billion) were traded.
*** Derivatives Down
Unlike the spot market, trade in derivatives declined. An estimated 2.8 million derivative contracts worth 116 trillion rials ($301 million) changed hands in the period, down by almost half in volume but up 1% in value on the same period a year ago.
Derivatives included 2.06 million futures worth 114 trillion rials and 651,000 options contracts reported at 1.16 trillion rials.
The IME hosted 10.33 million standard salaf contracts. A salaf contract is an Islamic contract similar to futures with the difference being that the total price should be paid in advance.
A total of 630 million commodity-based certificates of deposit worth 180 trillion rials were sold in the period.
Auto Sales
Auto trade in the exchange reached 17,038 vehicles in nine months with Peugeot 207s topping the list at 5,200 vehicles. In the same period 2,970 Tara cars, produced/assembled by Sipa were sold followed by 2,064 Shahin by the same company, 1,228 Fidelity sedans manufactured/assembled by Bahman Motor were sold along with 3,605 Haima of Iran Khodro and Dignity brands.
Bahman Motors also sold 1,098 Kara pickups, a popular vehicle in Iran originally produced by Mazda. Data show that 374 Lamari Eamas of Arian Pars Motor, 69 KMC T8s by Kerman Motor and 68 JAC S5s by Kerman Motor were sold since March.
Heavy-duty vehicles, FAW and EM Power brands from China assembled by Bahman Motors and Siba Motor in Iran, were also popular. A total 207 Empower puller trucks by Bahman Diesel and 35 FAW puller trucks by Siba Motor were traded.
Auto sale was temporarily suspended by the Industries Ministry last May. It argued that the practice was incompatible with the aim to regulate the volatile auto market. In July the ministry backtracked and the High Council of Securities and Exchange agreed to offering selected brands.
Per procedures, only cars not subject to pricing mechanism by the government are offered at the IME. The Industry Ministry said earlier it wants to offer some 900,000 domestically-made cars via the IME in the next 6 months.
Imported cars are also set to be offered at the IME later this month if the prerequisites are met.
So far there are orders for 40,000 foreign cars. Permits for sale and number plate registration have been received and there are no impediments for import or customs clearance of foreign cars.
It is estimated that with the increase in car sales the market will be saturated and cars will lose their luster as a capital good. With the rial taking a historic drubbing in recent months people in a desperate hunt for safe havens have rushed to the gold, forex, real estate and car markets to protect their life’s savings.
Earlier, Industry Minister Reza Fatemi-Amin said that 200,000 vehicles will be imported by mid-2023. “Per plans, 100,000 cars will be imported in the last quarter of the current fiscal year [Dec 2022-March 20, 2023] and 100,000 in early next year,” he said.
