The Hindu Business Line : Agro commodities futures slip

With a few exceptions, most agro commodities traded on NCDEX and MCX closed lower on Thursday. Cardamom futures on MCX fell by 3.61 per cent to Rs 374 a kg on speculative selling, while rubber lost Rs 249 a quintal to Rs 10,291.

Mentha oil dips

Mentha oil futures were volatile with prices touching a high of Rs 577 per quintal but closed lower at Rs 563. "High mentha production coupled with lack of demand in spot markets depressed futures prices. Lack of export enquiries also contributed to the fall," said a Karvy Comtrade report.

Turmeric closed down 1.26 per cent on NCDEX at Rs 1962 per quintal while wheat lost 1.22 per cent at Rs 1,062 per quintal.

Short covering in chana

Short covering by traders pulled down chana futures prices by 2.46 per cent to Rs 2,331 per quintal. "The spread between NCDEX chana January and February contract widened by Rs 191. Buying at lower levels by stockists and millers supported the prices in the southern markets.

Desi chana improved by Rs 150 per quintal in Vijayawada while imported chana improved by Rs 50 per quintal in Mumbai. Investors could buy NCDEX February contract with a target price of Rs 2,191," said a Kotak research report.

Guarseed futures lost 2.48 per cent to Rs 1,999 per quintal.

NCDEX registered a turnover of Rs 2,774 crore through 97,530 trades against Rs 3,757 crore through 1,26,260 trades on Wednesday while MCX recorded Rs 4,681.75 crore (Rs 1,437 crore through 2,26,518 trades) through 83,640 trades.