The Hindu Business Line : Buying could keep turmeric firm

Turmeric futures prices may continue to rule firm this week on continued speculative buying support from big operators against reduced offerings bystockists, traders said.

Turmeric May contracts on NCDEX were up Rs 100 at Rs 2,292 a quintal (ex-Nizamabad) on Friday over previous week. However, May and June contracts prices were down marginally by Rs 45-50 during the weekend on partial selling by some operators on reports of delivery problem in May contracts.

June contracts were up Rs 300 at Rs 2,674 a quintal over previous week.

"The overall sentiment for short term is bullish. Futures prices may rule higher on continued speculative buying. Domestic demand from Uttar Pradesh is good. Also, there are some export enquiries from Gulf countries," Mr Pradeep Thakker, a local trader said.

Sugar

Sugar (medium grade) futures prices may rule weak this week on limited buying support and steady supply.

Sugar June 2006 contracts on NCDEX were down Rs 50 at Rs 2,090 a quintal (Ex-Muzaffar Nagar) on Friday, while May 2006 contracts were down Rs 35 at Rs 1,990 on selling.

In the physical market, prices were largely steady last week in the absence of fresh buying interest. Prices of sugar medium grade hovered around Rs 2,030-2040 a quintal at Muzaffar Nagar, while ready prices at Vashimarket were down Rs 5-10 at Rs 1,980-2,010 per quintal on Saturday.

"Prices may rule weak this week mainly on low off-take against steady supply," a local trader said.

Mentha oil

Mentha Oil futures prices could rise further this week on continued speculative support from operators and stockists amid restricted supply.

On MCX and NCDEX, mentha oil May 2006 contracts prices were up Rs 65-70 Rs 518 and Rs 488 a kg (Ex-Chandausi) over previous week. June contracts were traded at Rs 534 on MCX and Rs 492 on NCDEX on speculative buying.

"We expect prices to rule firm on bullish fundamentals for short term," an analyst with Karvy Comtrade said.