MCX launches monthly silver Options, sees broad-based growth across bullion

Mon June 16 2025

The Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) has launched monthly Options in silver, introducing 5 kg and 30 kg contracts with expiries designed around key hedging periods — September to December and December to March. Shivanshu Mehta, Head of Bullion at MCX, told CNBC-TV18 this was a strategic move aimed at offering more flexibility to small and medium hedgers, especially jewellers.

“The idea is to support efficient hedging with economical premiums and flexible tenures,” Mehta said. The launch comes after the success of gold monthly Options, which were introduced in November last year. Since then, turnover has grown considerably — from ₹6,100 crore in FY24 to ₹28,100 crore in FY25. “That’s the kind of growth we’ve seen,” he said.

MCX has also emerged as a global leader in commodity Options. “As per an FII study, MCX is the largest commodity Options exchange globally by number of lots traded. For both gold and silver, it's the second largest globally,” Mehta noted.

Participation across bullion Futures and Options has picked up steadily, supported by a strong domestic price benchmark and robust delivery systems. In 2024 alone, MCX saw 600 tonnes of silver being delivered through its platform. “That again proves the point that both as a hedging platform and for retail investors, these products are serving various use cases,” he said.

The exchange has also cut additional margins — previously 2% for gold and 3% for silver — to encourage more participation. “This allows for more efficient hedging and better capital deployment into the physical bullion and jewellery industry, while improving cash management,” Mehta said.

Retail participation is rising too, especially with the recent launch of gold coin SIPs in 1 gram, 8 gram, and 10 gram formats. These can be accumulated in electronic form and converted into physical delivery via MCX’s COMRIS platform. “There is tremendous vibrancy in the SIP environment,” he added.

On the industrial side, silver continues to attract strong interest from importers, refiners, and end-use manufacturers. According to Mehta, the silver 1 kg contract — which saw over 600 tonnes delivered since 2020–21 — has grown in popularity as a retail and industrial product.

Source: https://www.cnbctv18.com/