DAT in steel futures contract sees sharp increase

Within a month of its launch, daily average turnover (DAT) in steel futures contract has witnessed a sharp increase following the merger of Ahmedabad-based National Multi Commodity Exchange (NMCE) with Reliance ADAG anchored Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX). ICEX launched steel futures nearly a month ago. The DAT in steel futures has surpassed the benchmark Rs 300 million in the first month of the launch against nearly Rs 360 million of average turnover generated in the stabilised diamond contracts. “Steel industry is exposed to tremendous price volatility. The market is already witnessing frequent price revisions by miners and manufacturers. In the last one year, steel spot prices rose by 40 per cent to reach a peak in June 2018 and then came down by 10 per cent from its peak and are currently again on an upward trend. The steel long futures contract of ICEX is helping buyers and sellers to hedge against such price volatility and providing a transparent and demand-supply driven price discovery platform,” said Sanjit Prasad, managing director and chief executive officer, ICEX.