India commodity futures trade jump 36 pct in Apr-Dec

MUMBAI Jan 14 (Reuters) - Indian commodity futures trade rose 35.62 percent to 36.84 trillion rupees during the first nine months of financial year 2008/09, helped mainly by the surging trade in bullion, official data showed.

Turnover rose 37.85 percent to 1.76 trillion rupees in the fortnight ended Dec. 31, data from the regulator Forward Markets Commission (FMC) showed on Wednesday.

Trade was most active in gold, silver, crude oil, and copper in the energy and metals pack during the period, the data showed.

Futures trade in bullion almost doubled to 20.23 trillion rupees, accounting for more than half of the total trade, in April-December. It rose 92.80 percent to 1.06 trillion rupees in the fortnight to Dec. 31.

Cumulative trade in agri-commodities declined by a third in the nine months. Rapeseed, guar seed, soybean, soyoil, sugar and pepper were the most traded among such commodities.

India had removed suspension on four agricultural commodities with effect from Dec 1, 2008, after food price inflation declined to comfortable levels.

Analysts believe this can prop agricultural futures trade in the last three months of the fiscal year.

FMC Chairman B.C. Khatua expects futures trade in the country to grow more than 40 percent to 57 trillion rupees in the year to March 2009.

India, which allowed futures trading in commodities in 2003, has one of the fastest-growing commodity futures markets with a combined trade turnover of 40.66 trillion rupees in 2007/08.

According to the FMC, the country has 22 commodity bourses, of which three operate at the national level, with a proposed fourth bourse on the cards.

(Reporting by Sourav Mishra; Editing by Prem Udayabhanu)