NSE to launch Gold 10 grams futures from March 16 after Sebi approval. Check expiry and other details

The National Stock Exchange will introduce Gold 10 grams futures contracts in its commodity derivatives segment from March 16 after receiving approval from regulator Sebi. The exchange said the new contract will be available for trading in monthly series.

Risk management, clearing and settlement norms will be communicated separately by NSE Clearing. The Gold 10 grams futures contract will have a trading unit of 10 grams, with the symbol GOLD10G and description format GOLD10GYYMMM.

Contracts will be listed on a monthly basis, with expiry on the last calendar day of the contract month. If the last calendar day falls on a holiday, the preceding working day will be treated as the expiry date.

Trading will take place from Monday to Friday between 9:00 am and 11:30 pm or 11:55 pm, depending on the US daylight saving period. The tick size has been set at Re 1 per 10 grams, and the maximum order size will be 10 kg.

The price quote will be ex-Ahmedabad and inclusive of all taxes and levies relating to import duty and customs, but excluding GST and any additional GST-related surcharges.

On price movement safeguards, the base daily price limit has been fixed at 6%. If this limit is breached, after a 15-minute cooling-off period the limit may be relaxed up to 9%.

In case of significant movements in international markets, the exchange may further relax limits in steps of 3% beyond the maximum permitted limit, with appropriate notice to the market.Margins will be determined based on volatility category or SPAN, whichever is higher, along with an extreme loss margin of 1%. Additional or special margins may be imposed in case of heightened volatility.

Position limits have also been specified. For a member collectively for all clients, the maximum allowable open position will be 50 metric tonnes or 20% of the market-wide open position, whichever is higher, across all gold contracts combined. For individual clients, the cap will be 5 metric tonnes or 5% of the market-wide open position, whichever is higher.

The contract will be compulsory delivery-based. The delivery unit is 10 grams of 999 purity gold, serially numbered and supplied by LBMA-approved or other NSE-approved suppliers, accompanied by a quality certificate. The designated delivery centre will be clearing house facilities at Ahmedabad.

Delivery pay-in will be on an E+1 basis by 11:00 am, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and trading holidays. The staggered delivery period will comprise the last three working days, including the expiry day.

The final settlement price will be based on the Ahmedabad spot price for gold (10 grams) of 995 purity, converted to 999 purity, polled on the expiry day around 5:00 pm. In case of non-availability of the polled spot price due to sudden closure of the physical market, the exchange will determine the final settlement price in consultation with Sebi.

The introduction of a smaller 10-gram gold futures contract is expected to enhance participation by retail and smaller market participants in the commodity derivatives segment, while aligning contract size more closely with domestic bullion trading practices.