One-Month IME Trade at $1.5b

EghtesadOnline: Commodities weighing 2.89 million tons worth 338 trillion rials ($1.5 billion) were traded at the Iran Mercantile Exchange in the last Iranian month (Dec.21-Jan.19).

News ID: ۷۸۵۸۱۱

23 January 2021

The deals grew 5% in volume and 7% in value compared to the month before, the IME news agency imereport.ir said.

IME is a commodities exchange in Tehran founded in 2006 to host deals in farm, industrial and petrochemical products in the spot and futures markets.

Trade during the month included industrial and mineral products weighing more than 1.27 million tons and valued at 167 trillion rials ($742 million) -- down 7% in volume and 1% in value compared to the earlier month.

Steel topped the list with 1.093 million tons followed by copper 5,160 tons, precious metal concentrates 30 tons, aluminum 15,955 tons, molybdenum concentrate 480 tons, coke 800 tons, zinc dust  20,500 tons and 54 kilograms of gold.

Goods traded on the petrochemical and petroleum floor reached 1.7 million worth 169.74 trillion rials ($750m) bought by domestic and foreign companies.

IME said commodities under the category included 602,855 tons of bitumen, 257,511 tons polymer products, 124,965 tons of petrochemicals, 6,300 tons slap wax and 503,760 tons vacuum bottom. The list includes 11,825 tons base oil, 69,7250 tons sulfur, 200 tons argon and 129,000 tons lube cut.

Goods weighing 9,510 tons were traded at the Side Market of the IME in the period. On the agriculture floor 10.5 tons of saffron was traded.

Iran’s capital market has four segments: the Tehran Stock Exchange, Iran Fara Bourse (junior equity exchange), Energy Exchange (IRENEX) and IME.

IRENEX Trade

A report published by the Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture about IRENEX indicates more than $97 million worth of deals in petroleum products in the month ending January 17.

Diesel fuel, liquid gas, kerosene, raffinate, aviation turbine kerosene (jet fuel) and heavy hydrocarbons were traded. Liquid gas topped the list at $27.3m followed by naphtha at $25.7m.

Deals included diesel worth $3m, LNG $2.8m and gasoline $1.2m, according to the report published on the TCCIM website.

Selling oil and oil byproducts via the energy bourse gained traction two years ago after former US president Donald Trump walked away from the historic Iran nuclear deal in May 2018 and announced new economic sanctions to “drive Iran's oil export to zero.”  The Tehran government is doing all it can to counter the hostile US moves and export oil. One such measure is the sale of oil and oil products via the capital market.