INDIA has banned futures trading in soybean oil, rubber, chickpeas and potatoes in a bid to rein in the fastest inflation since 2005.

The Forward Markets Commission has halted trading for at least four months, Anupam Mishra, a director at the market regulator, said. Trades will be settled at Wednesday's closing price. India's inflation reached 7.57 percent last month.

More than a dozen nations including China, India and Vietnam have taken steps to curb food costs, including halting exports of rice. French Agriculture Minister Michel Barnier urged limits to speculation after prices that rose 57 percent in the past year sparked unrest in Indonesia, Haiti, Egypt and the Ivory Coast, Bloomberg News said.

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The four commodities banned by India have a daily traded value of about 12 billion rupees (US$288 million), according to the regulator. Trading of all commodities on India's 23 exchanges totaled US$922 billion in the year to March.

Chickpeas futures surged 89 percent in the past 12 months on the National Commodities exchange, while rubber rose 41 percent and soybean oil advanced 21 percent over the same period.

The government halted futures trading in wheat and rice last year and lentils in 2006 to check a surge in local prices.

India relies on imports to meet half its edible-oil needs, buying palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia and soybean oil from Argentina and Brazil.

Rubber-growers don't expect the ban to have a significant impact because they don't rely on the futures market to price their crops, said Sajen Peter, chairman of the state-run Rubber Board.

"Indian farmers don't depend much on the futures to formulate their selling strategies," he said.