When clocks in the United States move forward in spring, the Indian commodity market does not stay open later. It closes 25 minutes earlier. That inversion is the most commonly misquoted fact about commodity market timings, and it catches traders out every March. Indian commodity exchanges run one of the longest trading days in the country, from morning into late night. The schedule shifts twice a year, and the two main exchanges no longer open at the same hour.
Commodity Market Trading Timings in India
Here is the full weekday schedule as on August 2026.
Exchange | Segment | Trading hours, Monday to Friday |
MCX | Non-agri: bullion, base metals, energy | 9:00 AM to 11:30 PM |
MCX | Select agri: cotton, cotton seed wash oil, kapas | 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM |
MCX | All other agricultural commodities | 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM |
NCDEX | All commodities except Mumbai Rainfall | 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM |
NCDEX | Mumbai Rainfall (RAINMUMBAI) contract | 10:00 AM to 11:45 PM |
The MCX non-agri close of 11:30 PM applies from 9 March 2026 to 1 November 2026. The NCDEX schedule follows exchange circular NCDEX/TRADING-021/2026, effective 29 May 2026. Both exchanges stay closed on Saturday, Sunday and exchange-declared holidays.
What is Commodity Market Trading?
Commodity market trading means buying and selling standardised derivative contracts on raw materials through a recognised exchange. You are not trading the metal or the crop. You are trading a contract that references it, with a fixed quantity, quality and expiry date.
Two exchanges dominate. MCX handles bullion, base metals and energy. NCDEX handles agricultural contracts. Both operate under SEBI regulation.
Entry is on margin. Initial margin on commodity futures typically runs from 5% to 10% of contract value, so a modest deposit controls a large position. Losses scale in the same proportion as gains, and they are not capped at your deposit.
Also Read: If you want to understand the process in greater detail, explore What is Commodity Trading and how it works.
Commodity Market Trading Hours in India
Commodity market trading time in India is not one continuous block. MCX opens at 9:00 AM. From 8:45 AM to 8:59 AM, just before that open, the exchange runs a special session. This window exists only to cancel pending orders. Nothing matches, no price is discovered, and nothing you place there executes.
NCDEX works differently. Its pre-open session runs from 9:45 AM to 10:00 AM, and continuous trading begins at 10:00 AM.
From the open, MCX non-agri contracts run without a break until 11:30 PM under the current schedule. Agricultural contracts close much earlier. A full non-agri day on MCX is more than twice the length of an equity session.
Commodity Market Trading Timings by Commodity Segment
The close is set by segment, not by exchange. So is the deadline for correcting a mis-keyed client code.
Segment | Examples | Close | Client code modification until |
MCX non-agri | Gold, silver, copper, crude oil, natural gas | 11:30 PM | 11:45 PM |
MCX select agri | Cotton, cotton seed wash oil, kapas | 9:00 PM | 9:15 PM |
MCX other agri | Remaining MCX agricultural contracts | 5:00 PM | 5:15 PM |
NCDEX agri | Chana, turmeric, soybean and other farm contracts | 5:00 PM | 5:15 PM |
NCDEX rainfall | Mumbai Rainfall (RAINMUMBAI) | 11:45 PM | 11:45 PM |
Schedule as on August 2026. Your commodity trade timing therefore depends on the contract you hold, not on the exchange you hold it with.
Why Do Commodity Trading Timings Differ?
The answer is where the price comes from.
Agricultural prices are discovered domestically. Mandi arrivals, monsoon performance and government policy set them, and those are daytime Indian events. A 5:00 PM close loses nothing.
Bullion, base metals and energy are different. Their reference prices form on international markets that are busiest while India is in its evening. If MCX shut at 3:30 PM, you would watch global prices move all night with no way to act, then open every morning into a gap. The evening session closes that hole, which is why commodity trading in metals and energy runs so late.
Also Read: If you are comparing different market segments, learn more about Commodity Market vs Stock Market and how their trading characteristics differ.
Commodity Trading Time Today: Things That Can Change Market Hours
Four things move the schedule.
United States daylight saving runs from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November. During it, the MCX non-agri close shortens to 11:30 PM. Outside it, the close extends to 11:55 PM. In 2026, the shorter schedule took effect on 9 March and runs to 1 November.
Commodities market hours are also revised by exchange circular, under the framework of SEBI circular SEBI/HO/CDMRD/DMP/CIR/P/2018/146 dated 30 November 2018. Each change arrives as an exchange notice such as MCX/TRD/491/2025.
Holidays follow a separate commodity calendar. It does not match stock market timings or the equity holiday list.
Muhurat trading adds a one-off session. MCX has scheduled one for Sunday, 8 November 2026, with timings to be notified separately.
Best Time to Trade Commodities
Liquidity is not spread evenly across the day, and the busiest window depends on what you trade.
For crude oil, the most active stretch runs roughly from 7:30 PM to 11:30 PM IST, when the New York session is live and global price discovery peaks. The largest scheduled event inside that window is the weekly United States Energy Information Administration inventory report. It is released each Wednesday at 10:30 AM Eastern, which is about 8:00 PM IST.
Agricultural contracts invert this. Their liquidity concentrates in the Indian morning, when physical market activity is under way.
Higher liquidity narrows spreads. It also widens the price range, so the window that improves your fill can move against you faster.
Factors to Consider Before Trading During Market Hours
Three things decide whether a session suits you, before any chart does.
The first is attention. A crude oil position taken at 10:00 AM needs watching, or a protective order on it, until close to midnight. Few salaried traders can supply that.
The second is margin. Initial margin of 5% to 10% means a modest deposit controls a large contract, and mark-to-market losses are collected daily. A leveraged position can lose more than the deposit backing it.
The third is cost per order. At Indiabulls Securities, brokerage is 2.5% or ₹11 per executed order, whichever is lower, applicable in NSE (CM, FO, CD), BSE (CM, FO) and MCX. You will need to open a demat account and a trading account before any of that applies.
Before you start trading, review the applicable Commodity Trading Charges to understand the costs involved.
Tips for Trading Commodities Successfully
- Confirm your broker’s square-off time, not just the exchange close, before taking an intraday position.
- Note the client code modification cut-off for your segment. It sits 15 minutes past the close.
- Set a protective stop-loss order if you cannot watch the evening session live.
- Spread exposure across segments rather than one contract. This reduces contract-specific risk and does not eliminate market risk.
- Check the exchange holiday calendar at the start of each month.
- Size positions on capital you can afford to lose, since leveraged losses can exceed your deposit.
- For agri contracts, open a trading account with access to both MCX and NCDEX.
Ready to explore commodity trading? Trade in Commodities Through a platform that provides access to the commodity market.
Common Mistakes Traders Make Regarding Commodity Trading Hours
Reading the daylight saving rule backwards is the most common. Traders expect an 11:55 PM close during United States daylight saving. The close is 11:30 PM. The extension to 11:55 PM applies once daylight saving ends.
Treating the exchange close as your deadline is the costlier one. Intraday positions are squared off before the close, and brokers set that time themselves. Published broker square-off times have included 11:25 PM, 11:00 PM and 10:50 PM. Yours may differ from all three.
Assuming both exchanges open together is a newer error. MCX opens at 9:00 AM. NCDEX has opened at 10:00 AM since 29 May 2026.
Treating the 8:45 AM window as an equity-style pre-open is the last. It cancels orders. It does not trade.
Conclusion
Before you place a commodity order, check three clocks rather than one. First, the exchange close for your specific segment, which ranges from 5:00 PM to 11:30 PM. Second, your broker’s intraday square-off, which lands earlier than the close and varies between brokers. Third, the calendar, because the non-agri evening session changes on the second Sunday of March and the first Sunday of November.
Write those three times down before your next trade. A position closed on your terms at 10:45 PM is a different outcome from one force-closed at 10:50 PM.
