According to the Forward Markets Commission (FMC), combined turnover of commodity exchanges dropped by 25% to Rs 65.68 lakh crore in the first six months of 2013-14, compared to business of Rs 87.62 lakh crore made in the same period last year. This fall was due to a sharp decline in trading volumes in most commodities. The maximum fall in business was seen in agricultural items, followed by bullion, metals and energy commodities.
The business from agricultural commodities declined by 37% and stood at Rs 7.47 lakh crore during the April-September period, as against Rs 11.88 lakh crore in the same period last year. Further, the turnover from bullion fell by 27% to Rs 29.62 lakh crore from Rs 40.61 lakh crore, while the turnover from energy items like crude oil decreased by 14% and stood at Rs 16.27 lakh crore from Rs 19.02 lakh crore in the review period. Similarly, the turnover from metals like copper fell by 24% to Rs 12.20 lakh crore during April- September of 2013-14 fiscal from Rs 16.09 lakh crore in the year-ago period.
