Profit selling by traders to keep chana down

Spot and futures prices of chana are expected to trade weak in the next 5-6 sessions due to profit sales by traders on the back of an increase in arrivals, analysts and traders said.

"The market is also expected to remain subdued before the likely release of the Abhijit Sen committee report on April 9," said Yogendra Singh, an analyst with Religare commodities.

The committee headed by Planning Commission member Abhijit Sen will report on the impact of futures trading on rise in prices of agricultural commodities.

Today, Delhi spot opened at Rs 2,450 a quintal, down Rs 108 from Saturday, but still at 2-3 per cent premium to the near-month April futures, due to shortage of chana in spot markets.

Today 22 trucks (1 truck carries 18-20 tonne) of chana arrived in the Delhi markets.

Spot markets were closed for most part of last week due to Ramnavami and the annual closure of accounts, curtailing stock movement of the commodity. Today, the main markets in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are closed due to Hanuman Jayanti. Despite this, the arrival of seven trucks from Rajasthan in Delhi today hinted at a further rise in arrivals during the month.

Hence, traders are not taking any long positions as of now and are waiting for prices to come down further.

"Today, around 20-22 trucks arrived in Delhi, mostly from Madhya Pradesh, and are waiting for buyers, indicating very low demand for chana," Yogendra Singh, an analyst with Religare Commodities said.

Spot prices are likely to come down to Rs 2,300-2,325 a quintal in Delhi in the next 5-6 sessions, Singh said.

Keeping in mind the pressure of arrivals in the next couple of weeks, traders are taking spread positions by buying April and selling May contracts.