Almost all the agriculture commodity futures including pepper, jeera, turmeric, edible oil and seeds, chana, cocud and sugar had closed lower on Wednesday as fears of more trading restrictions to be levied by the Forward Markets Commission.
The National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Ltd (NCDEX) has banned any fresh positions in August contract during the staggered delivery period. The market regulator has also banned the launch of new Tarkeshwar potato contract.
Turmeric and chilli futures hit the lower circuit of four per cent at Rs 6,092 a quintal and Rs 5,812 a quintal, respectively. Jeera was down two per cent at Rs 16,060 a quintal and pepper fell 0.3 per cent to Rs 43,760 a quintal.
Turmeric prices may remain under pressure as traders unwind their buy positions. Demand from stockists remains low as they expect prices to come down.
Turmeric has risen by almost 80 per cent in the futures market. Output is estimated to be down nearly 20-30 per cent due to deficient rains.
Fall in jeera prices may continue on lower demand from stockists and improvement in rainfall in major growing areas. NCDEX has allocated 375 tonnes for delivery in August contract through the staggered delivery system.