Slack demand hits pulses

COMMODITY SPIKES

The overall pulses market - futures as well as spot - turned bearish towards the end of the week. Though the market witnessed some strength early in the week, the low demand did not support the momentum and mounting prices made a dip by the end of the week.

In the spot, chana, which opened down Rs 47 at Rs 2,822 a quintal as against last week's close, could manage to notch up to Rs 2,827 on Saturday - up Rs 5. Urad desi too witnessed a similar trend. The spot price fell by Rs 40 to close at Rs 3,450 a quintal, despite showing some initial strength in the mid-week to touch Rs 3,524. Tur desi closed at Rs 1,870 against the week opening of Rs 1,896.

However, masoor, which started off on a weaker note at Rs 1,850 a quintal, rallied a little less than a per cent (0.97 per cent) and closed the week at Rs 1,868. Futures market on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (Ncdex) remained subdued. Except masoor, which moved in tandem with rising spot prices, the pulses closed weaker.

The January contract of chana fell by around 2 per cent to Rs 2,689 a quintal on Saturday as against its opening of Rs 2,741. Urad desi futures declined by 3.84 per cent.

Urad futures closed at Rs 3,109 a quintal compared with its opening price of Rs 3,293. Interestingly, the week's last trading session saw the commodity slipping Rs 124 a quintal. Tur desi dropped by over 2 per cent closing at Rs 1,941 on Saturday on Ncdex as against its opening of Rs 1,984.

Continuing low domestic demand is affecting the pulse prices negatively. The urad crop is expected to be normal this season. However, tur output is likely to take a hit of about 25-30 per cent. Chana arrival will start by the end-January.