Introduction

MCX bhavcopy is the exchange's end-of-day file for a trading date. The word "bhavcopy" combines two Hindi words: bhaav (price) and copy (record). For MCX it is a downloadable data file that lists, for every listed futures and options contract, the prices, volume, value and open interest for that day.

If you work with MCX data, the bhavcopy is the exchange's own end-of-day record, which makes it a clean starting point for checking closing prices, open interest and which contracts actually traded.

What MCX Bhavcopy Contains

Each row in the file is one contract. The columns are:

  • Date — the trading date. A file covers one date.
  • Instrument Name — FUTCOM (commodity futures), OPTFUT (options on commodity futures), FUTIDX (index futures) or OPTIDX (index options)
  • Symbol — the commodity or index code (GOLD, SILVER, CRUDEOIL, COPPER, NATURALGAS, ZINC, LEAD, ALUMINIUM, NICKEL, COTTON and others)
  • Expiry Date — the contract's expiry, written like 30SEP2026
  • Option Type — CE (call) or PE (put) for options, a dash for futures
  • Strike Price — the option strike, zero for futures
  • Open, High, Low — the session's prices, left blank for contracts that did not trade
  • Close and Previous Close — the contract's closing price and the prior session's close
  • Volume(Lots) — contracts traded, in lots
  • Volume(In 000's) — volume in thousands of the contract's own unit, such as KGS, GRMS, BBL or mmBtu
  • Value(Lacs) — value in lakh, as reported
  • Open Interest(Lots) — lots still open at the end of the day

Two things catch people out. First, volumes are in different units for different commodities, so volumes of different commodities cannot be added together. Second, the file lists every listed contract, including option strikes that did not trade, so most rows are empty of activity. In the files we checked, fewer than one row in ten had any volume or open interest.

There is no open-interest change column. To see how open interest moved, compare two consecutive days' files.

How to Access MCX Bhavcopy

MCX publishes the bhavcopy on its website under Market Data, then Bhavcopy. You choose a date and can view the data by date or by commodity. MCX states that data is available from November 2003.

For systematic work such as logging closing prices or building open-interest trackers, the file taken directly from MCX avoids reformatting errors introduced by third parties.

You do not need to open the file in a spreadsheet to read it. The free bhavcopy viewer reads the file you downloaded inside your browser and shows futures, open interest, put-call ratio and max pain by commodity. The file is not uploaded.

How Traders Use It

Open interest by strike and expiry. Because every listed option strike appears in the file, one day's bhavcopy shows where open interest is concentrated, which is the basis for put-call ratio and max pain.

Open interest change. Traders often watch open interest alongside price: rising open interest with rising price suggests fresh long positions, while falling open interest on a rally can point to short covering rather than new buying. The file gives you the level for each day, so you compare two days' files to see the change.

Spread and roll analysis. The near-month and far-month contracts of a commodity sit in the same file, so you can compare their closes and open interest side by side when deciding when to roll a position.

Historical price series. Analysts use the daily archive to build price histories. A continuous series for a commodity needs successive contracts stitched together at expiry.

What to Watch

  • Settlement and closing prices — the file's Close column is the contract's closing price; check with your broker for the price used in your own margin calculations
  • Open interest in far-month contracts — shows where positions are being carried further out
  • Unusual volume near expiry — worth reading against the expiry calendar
  • Lot size changes — a change in lot size alters what open-interest numbers mean in absolute terms