TEHRAN- Over 2.77 million tons of products worth $1.32 billion were traded at Iran Mercantile Exchange (IME) during the ninth Iranian calendar month Azar (November 21-December 20), indicating 57 percent growth in terms of value compared to its preceding month.

Based on the report released by the IME's Public Relations Department, also the volume of monthly trades at the IME indicates a 42-percent rise.

As shown by the figures, the industrial and mineral spot market of the exchange traded 1.178 million tons of basic commodities worth of $697 million, of which steel sections accounted for 1.137 million tons among an array of underlying commodities like copper, precious metals concentrates, molybdenum, aluminum, coke, zinc, cast-iron and gold bar.

The petrochemical and oil-related market of the IME saw trades of 1.559 million tons of polymers, chemicals, vacuum bottom and bitumen for which the flagship commodities were vacuum bottom (530,000 tons), bitumen (467,000 tons), polymers (245,000 tons), chemicals (218,000 tons), and Lube cut with a quantity of 144,000 tons.

In the agricultural market of the exchange 320 kilograms of premium saffron changed hands.

Meanwhile, the side market of the exchange traded 3350 tons of OTC products and commodities.

IME is one of the four major stock markets of Iran, the other three markets are Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE), Iran's over-the-counter (OTC) market known also as Iran Fara Bourse (IFB), and Iran Energy Exchange (IRENEX).

In late April, IME Managing Director Hamed Soltani-Nejad unveiled the market's new outlook plan, which depicts IME's development roadmap until the Iranian calendar year of 1404 (March 20205-March 2026). Materializing the slogan of this Iranian year, which is “Surge in Production” is seriously considered in the mentioned plan and it is, in fact, the strategic approach of the outlook plan.

MA/MA