Indian chick pea gain on low-level buying

MUMBAI: India's chick pea futures rose by 1 per cent on Tuesday afternoon on buying interest at lower levels supported by spot demand in chana dal, analysts said. "Demand is picking up in the spot market arrivals will decline in the coming days. Spot prices are not likely to go below Rs 2,100-2,050," said Mehul Agrawal, analyst at Sharekhan Commodities.

The most active June futures contract on the National Commodity Derivatives Exchange was up 0.83 per cent at Rs 2,197 per 100 kg. In NCDEX accredited warehouses, chana stocks rose by 1,044 tonnes to 45,440 tonnes as on May 17, data on the exchange website showed. Estimates of higher output and ample stocks, however, limited the gains, said analysts.

In the Delhi spot market, chana inched up Rs 7 to Rs 2,150 per 100 kg. According to the third advance estimates, the production of chana (gram) in 2009/10, is likely to be 7.38 million tonnes against the actual production of 7.05 million tonnes last year, official data showed on Wednesday.