Pulses, Spices In Bearish Mode

Mumbai: National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (Ncdex) witnessed a mixed session in futures trading on the on January 3 in agri-commodities. With pulses market continuing in the bearish mode, spices joined them on the day. Conversely, grains garnered some strength during the session. Near-month contract of wheat jumped to Rs 1,018 a quintal from the previous close of Rs 1,012. Since the beginning of the year, this is the second consecutive rise in the closing prices. Maize too became strong by Rs 2 at Rs 734 a quintal. Chana seems to be getting no anchoring. Free fall continued and during the day, futures fell by Rs 19 closing at Rs 2,277 a quintal. Tur desi, which had closed on a stronger note on January 2, could not sustain at high levels and fell. It weakened by Rs 16 at Rs 1,922 a quintal. In spices category, while cumin seeds (jeera) closed at Rs 9,185, up Rs 90 a quintal, turmeric, chilli, pepper and turmeric prices fell. Chilli futures for March delivery fell by Rs 35 a quintal. On the back of good crop estimates, chilli ended the day at Rs 4,063 a quintal. The market is expecting a jump of over 75 per cent in its production this season. Turmeric, after a long period, dropped below Rs 2,000. It fell to Rs 1,988 a quintal against its previous close of Rs 2,032. Estimates suggest that overall production this season will be 55 lakh bags (each of 75 kg) against last year's 47 lakh bags. Pepper, which had climbed up by more than 10 per cent in the last one week, came back to its week-before level. It dropped below Rs 11,000 mark to close at Rs 10,751 a quintal, a fall of over 3 per cent.