Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today launched gold options trading on the leading commodity bourse MCX and said this is one of the steps towards formalising trade in the yellow metal.
Options are derivatives which give a buyer the right but not the obligation to buy or sell an underlying asset or instrument at a specific price on or before a certain date.
He said, Indians are great buyers of gold, adding that this new product will be extremely successful.
Emphasising that the government is taking efforts to formalise gold trade, Jaitley said, that’s in consonance with the business environment for future that we see for us.
This is the first product for options trading that the regulator Sebi has allowed after 14 years of commencement of commodity exchanges in the country, he added.
The gold options contract launched today allows trading in 1kg gold.
Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa, Economic Advisor to PM Bibek Debroy, MCX Chairman Saurabh Chandra and MCX Managing Director and CEO Mrugank Paranjape were present at the event.
MCX is the leading commodity bourse in the country with a market share of over 90 per cent. It has a large presence in gold, base metals, and energy.
Source: AIR