Monday, April 21, 2008

Jute Futures On MCX Set For Correction

Mumbai: The jute futures on MCX, which rallied for the past few weeks on lower production estimates, are all set for a correction. In the last ten days, jute for June delivery on MCX has rallied from Rs 1,562 to Rs 1,621 a quintal on Saturday.

“Although the overall bullish trend remains, prices are likely to take some correction due to lack of buying support at higher levels,” said Veeresh Hiremath, research analyst, Karvy Commodities.

Prices may come down by Rs 50-60 in the futures trade due to long liquidation before the near-month contract expires on April 30, he said. Currently spot prices are quoting around Rs 1,400 (TD-4) in spot markets of West Bengal.

According to trade estimates, output is likely to come down to 75-80 lakh bales (180 kgs a bale) from 103.49 bales logged last year. Carry forward stocks are likely to be around 20-22 lakh bales by end of season. The area under jute cultivation is lagging as farmers have shifted to other commercial crops, said an analyst.

Government increased minimum support price (MSP) for Jute (TD 5) to Rs 1,250 a bale for 2008-09 effective from July 2008.

Usually, sowing is done between February and April. Depending on the rainfall, harvest starts in June and continues till September. For getting a good combination of fibre quality and yield, about 120 days after sowing is found to be the optimum time for harvesting. Sowing in the eastern region is almost complete.

Jute is the most important cash crop, industrial raw material and the biggest foreign exchange earner in India and Bangladesh. It is among the least expensive and most versatile of textile annual fibre crop.

Jeera may gain

The concerns over crop damage in Syria and Turkey — major jeera producers — may push up jeera futures on NCDEX further. Forecast of strong wind coupled with heavy rainfall in parts of Rajasthan may damage the crop, particularly at the harvesting stage.

In the last one week, the May contract on NCDEX has gained Rs 173 to Rs 8,817 a quintal on Friday. Similarly, the July delivery moved up by Rs 113 to Rs 9,051 in the same period.

Arrivals in the Unjha spot markets have slowed down in last few days to 16,000 bags from 20,000 bags earlier. It will fall further as farmers have adopted a wait-and-watch policy with the recent Syria development, said a trader. “Buy futures at Rs 8,700 with a target of Rs 9,086,” said Ventura Commodities Ltd.

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