Indian Commodities
Gold, Silver, Crude Oil and Natural Gas on MCX, covering session timings, margin requirements and international price linkage.
Commodity
Gold
Gold futures on the MCX are one of India's most actively traded commodity contracts, used both for price speculation and as a hedge against inflation and currency depreciation. Domestic prices closely track international COMEX benchmarks, adjusted for the USD/INR rate and import duties.
Key Points
Initial margin requirements are set by MCX/SEBI and revised periodically. Always confirm current margin before taking a position.
Contracts have fixed monthly expiration dates; check the expiry calendar to avoid unwanted physical delivery obligations.
Domestic MCX gold prices take direction from international COMEX gold, adjusted for USD/INR movement.
Import duty and customs policy changes can cause domestic price divergence from pure international benchmarks.
MCX Session 1: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM IST · Session 2: 5:00 PM – 11:30 PM IST (11:55 PM IST during US daylight saving) · Monday to Friday.
Session 1
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM IST
Session 2
5:00 – 11:30 PM IST
Margin Requirement
Initial margin requirements are set by MCX/SEBI and revised periodically. Always confirm current margin before taking a position.
International Linkage
Domestic MCX gold prices take direction from international COMEX gold, adjusted for USD/INR movement.
Commodity
Silver
Silver combines precious-metal and industrial-demand characteristics, making it more volatile than gold. MCX silver contracts are widely used for hedging and directional trading, with price action influenced by both COMEX silver and global industrial demand trends.
Key Points
Typically carries higher margin requirements than gold due to greater price volatility. Verify current exchange margin before entry.
Contract expiry dates are fixed monthly; track the expiry calendar closely to manage rollovers.
International price linkage to COMEX silver means overnight global moves can gap the domestic open.
Industrial demand data (electronics, solar) adds a volatility driver on top of standard precious-metal dynamics.
MCX Session 1: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM IST · Session 2: 5:00 PM – 11:30 PM IST (11:55 PM IST during US daylight saving) · Monday to Friday.
Session 1
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM IST
Session 2
5:00 – 11:30 PM IST
Higher Margin
Typically carries higher margin requirements than gold due to greater price volatility. Verify current exchange margin before entry.
Industrial Demand
Industrial demand data (electronics, solar) adds a volatility driver on top of standard precious-metal dynamics.
Commodity
Crude Oil
MCX crude oil contracts are cash-settled and track international benchmark pricing, primarily linked to NYMEX WTI crude. Prices are highly sensitive to OPEC+ supply decisions, US inventory data, and global geopolitical developments.
Key Points
MCX crude is cash-settled, so there is no physical delivery risk, but expiry-day volatility can spike sharply.
Margins can widen quickly around major news events (OPEC+ meetings, EIA inventory data); size positions accordingly.
Price closely tracks NYMEX WTI, so US trading-session moves often carry through to the domestic session.
Weekly EIA/API inventory reports and OPEC+ production decisions are the key scheduled catalysts to track.
MCX Session 1: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM IST · Session 2: 5:00 PM – 11:30 PM IST (11:55 PM IST during US daylight saving) · Monday to Friday.
Session 1
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM IST
Session 2
5:00 – 11:30 PM IST
Expiry Volatility
MCX crude is cash-settled, so there is no physical delivery risk, but expiry-day volatility can spike sharply.
Inventory Catalyst
Weekly EIA/API inventory reports and OPEC+ production decisions are the key scheduled catalysts to track.
Commodity
Natural Gas
MCX natural gas is one of the most volatile commodity contracts, cash-settled and benchmarked against NYMEX Henry Hub pricing. Seasonal demand swings, US storage reports, and weather patterns drive some of the sharpest short-term price moves on the exchange.
Key Points
One of the most volatile MCX contracts. Use tighter position sizing and wider margin buffers than other commodities.
Cash-settled against NYMEX Henry Hub pricing, so US weather and storage data drive much of the domestic move.
Weekly EIA natural gas storage reports are a major scheduled volatility event.
Seasonal demand (winter heating, summer cooling) creates recurring, somewhat predictable volatility windows.
MCX Session 1: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM IST · Session 2: 5:00 PM – 11:30 PM IST (11:55 PM IST during US daylight saving) · Monday to Friday.
Session 1
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM IST
Session 2
5:00 – 11:30 PM IST
High Volatility
One of the most volatile MCX contracts. Use tighter position sizing and wider margin buffers than other commodities.
Seasonal Catalyst
Seasonal demand (winter heating, summer cooling) creates recurring, somewhat predictable volatility windows.