Barley slips

COMMODITY SPIKES

After a long bull run, the barley market last week cooled down after a slight fall in demand. The market, which crossed Rs 1,200 a quintal mark in the last fortnight, managed to sustain the all-time high levels for more than a week.

However, the last week saw the near-month contract prices declining to Rs 1,174 against the highest level of Rs 1,237 a quintal, a drop of over 5 per cent. According to traders, the commodity could see a further fall of Rs 50 a quintal in the near future. However, they added the downfall was a temporary phenomenon and soon the market may see a jump of over Rs 100 a quintal. The country is running short of stocks and new crop is only expected in March next year.

Sowing for new crop will begin by December. On the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, the October contract for barley closed at Rs 1,179 a quintal on Saturday against the previous week's close of Rs 1,237.