Two months after the government suspended futures in four commodities (soy oil, chana, rubber and potato) in the name of curbing price rise, spot market data shows that barring potato, prices of the other three commodities have risen from the levels prevailing at the time of the ban.

Potato? the only commodity the prices of which have declined after futures were suspended for four months? was quoted at around Rs 3.83 per kg in the wholesale spot markets for the Agra variety. On the date of suspension the price was around Rs 4.72 per kg, which means prices have dropped almost 19%.

The scenario is exactly opposite when it comes to the prices of other three commodities namely rubber, refined soyoil and chana; futures trading in these were also suspended in May along with potato.

Rubber prices have risen by around 14.23% since May to around Rs 116.63 per kg. Refined soy oil has risen by around 19% and is currently quoted at Rs 70.35 per kg. Chana has gone up from Rs 23.68 per kg on May 8 to around Rs 24.10 per kg in July, a rise of almost 2%.

If this is story of commodities in which futures trading was suspended in May, the story is not very different for the commodities in which futures was banned in January-February 2007. Except for wheat, price of those four commodities have also risen in the last more than a year.

Prices of wheat has risen marginally to around Rs 10.75 per kg from around Rs 10.40 per kilogram a year-back. Experts said prices of wheat have risen only marginally in open markets mainly due to bumper production and record procurement by state-agencies.

?This could have happened even if futures were continued as whenever supply rises more than demand prices will follow,? a commodity analyst based in Mumbai said.

Rice, another commodity whose futures was banned along with wheat in February has risen by almost 50% since last year and is now quoting at around Rs 16.50 per kg. Same is the case of tur, futures of which was banned almost a month before rice and wheat.

Spot prices of tur has risen from around Rs 23.50 per kg in January 2007 to around Rs 28.75 per kg in July 2008.

Urad prices, however, have dropped by around 30% in the last more than one year and are currently quoting at Rs 28.75 per kg.