Chana down 1.8% as exchange imposes special margin

Chana prices fell 1.79% to Rs 3,679 per quintal in futures trade today as speculators off-loaded positions after the authorities imposed a special deposit margin of 10% to curb rising prices.

Besides, reports that the government was examining a proposal to ban futures trading in commodity also put pressure.

At the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), May chana tumbled Rs 67, or 1.79%, to Rs 3,679 per quintal, with an open interest of 1,17,090 lots.

The April delivery also declined by Rs 57, or 1.57% to Rs 3,563 per quintal, having an open interest of 60,770 lots.

Market analysts attributed today's fall in chana futures prices to off-loading of positions by nervous speculators after reports that NCDEX has imposed a special margin of 10% on all long positions in commodity from tomorrow with a move to curb speculative rise in the prices.

Meanwhile, according to the NCDEX data, chana prices have risen by 67% to Rs 3,989 per quintal as on March 28 in the April contract of this year, as against Rs 2,382 per quintal in the same period of the April contract last year.