Chana down on profit sales

All chana contracts on National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange closed down today on profit sales after four-session rally, traders and analysts said.

Chana contracts rose nearly 5 per cent in the last four sessions. The fall in open interest in March and April contracts on the back of over 1 per cent fall in prices indicates liquidation of long positions.

"Chana was also down due to talk of ban in futures trading in farm commodities, lingering for the past few weeks," a Delhi-based trader said. The talk gained strength after the Left parties re-iterated their demand to ban farm futures in parliament today.

However, spot chana in Delhi was relatively steady at Rs 2,345, down just Rs 5 from Thursday.

Weather forecast for the next 2-3 days has predicted rainfall in northern and central parts of the country due to western disturbance. This forecast has helped chana contract recover in the last hour of trade from its intra-day low of Rs 2,052 a quintal.