After nearly a six-month ban, Future trading in soya oil, chana, potato and rubber resumed on 4 December on the MCX, NCDEX, NMCE and NBOT platforms. While soya oil and chana opened weak, potato and rubber were firm.

Mr Veeresh Hiremath, research analyst, Karvy Comtrade, said, "We had not expected such a good response in the four commodities. Volumes were good right from the beginning and went up further as the day progressed." Rubber on NMCE was trading at Rs6, 378 per tonne. Soya oil for January 2009 delivery fell 2.71% at Rs447.55 per 10 kg on NCDEX, while it dipped by 4% at Rs451.20 on the MCX. Soya oil on the regional bourses also began on a modest note. Potato for March delivery on MCX recorded a turnover of Rs 44 lakh through 32 contracts. It opened on the higher side at Rs 494 a quintal and touched a low of Rs 432 before closing at Rs 479 a quintal. Potato futures are expected to trade on the firm note with the lower production estimates.

The government had suspended futures trading in the four items for four months on 6 May under pressure from the Left, which blamed futures markets for price rise. The ban was later extended till 30 November.