iGrain India - The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has extended the ban on futures trading in several key commodities until January 31, 2025.
This decision, announced on December 18, 2024, applies to commodities that have been under suspension since December 19, 2021, including non-basmati rice, wheat, gram, moong, mustard, soybean, and crude palm oil (CPO).
The suspension of futures trading in these commodities was originally imposed on December 19, 2021, with the understanding that it would be lifted by December 2022. However, the ban was extended twice, once until December 2023 and then again until December 2024.
This latest extension, however, differs from previous ones in that it is for a shorter duration of just 42 days, instead of the usual one-year extension.
This decision follows ongoing requests from organizations like the Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA), which have been advocating for the lifting of the ban on futures trading, particularly for mustard and soybean, as their market prices have fallen below the government's support price.
Despite these appeals, the SEBI's circular means that the suspension will remain in effect until the end of January 2025, halting any changes to the trading conditions for at least 40-45 more days.