Egyptian Mercantile Exchange considers trading in aluminum, gold

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Informed sources have revealed to Daily News Egypt that the Egyptian Mercantile Exchange (EMX) considers trading in aluminum and gold during the second half of this year.

The sources added that trading in aluminum is more likely than gold, pointing out that trading in gold will be linked to the procedures of announcing prices on the screens of the Egyptian Stock Exchange, which is expected to be completed soon.

The sources also explained that the aim of adding these commodities is that they are highly traded and go through multiple price fluctuations.

Ibrahim Ashmawy, Head of the EMX, said in early May that the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) has started offering yellow corn, which will be offered to local producers on the stock exchange.

The General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) began rolling out rare practices for corn earlier this year in an effort to address a fodder crisis that has harmed small producers and prompted some farmers to cull chicks

Ali El-Moselhy, Minister of Supply and Internal Trade, said that the strategic reserve of wheat can be sufficient for up to 2.6 months, in addition to the start of the domestic supply season,

Moselhy added that offering wheat on the Mercantile Exchange contributed to controlling the prices of flour and pasta in free markets, although it put some pressure on the strategic reserve.

He added that the rise in the prices of corn, soybeans, sunflower oils, and all similar products is the consequence of the coronavirus crisis and the Russian-Ukrainian war, indicating that the ministry has curbed inflation coming from abroad to a large extent.

The Minister of Supply indicated that commodity reserves reached six months, and with the import crisis, the reserves ranged from three to six months now.

He pointed out that the most dangerous thing is the shortage of any commodity, which causes an unjustified increase in its prices. Additionally, the price of fodder, corn and soybeans are the main reasons for the rise in commodity prices along with the decline in the value of the pound against the dollar.

Last November, the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade announced the start of offering the wheat commodity on the Mercantile Exchange last November, as the Supply Commodities Authority offered 12,000 tonnes of imported Russian wheat for sale to private sector mills at a price of EGP 9,750 per tonne through the stock exchange platform, and 18 purchases were carried out.