Sugar spot market witnessed steady sentiment during Thursday’s trade on the back of stagnant demand in the major markets of Delhi and Muzaffarnagar, whereas the spot market price in Kolkata eased slightly on weak demand. Market activities remained dull due to delay in monthly release of free sale quota for February month. However, earlier the government has released 41 lakh tonne of free sale quota for the quarter January to March, 2007, in which the free sale quota for the months of February and March is 13 and 15 lakh tons respectively. This quantity is sufficient to meet the routine and festival demand of ‘Holi’.

Wheat prices remained mixed in the domestic markets on Thursday. At Delhi, Wheat dara for mills was up by Rs.30 per Qtl. at Rs.1040-1050/qtl on decreased arrivals of around 3,000-4000 bags. The lower demand of wheat and wheat products continued pressurizing the market. Fresh wheat crop continue arriving in market yards of Gujarat. Wheat crop in northern India are mostly in tillering stage. Winter rains in this region have raised hopes of higher wheat production. Day temperatures have been higher recently, which so far has not seriously affected crop prospects. However, prolonged high temperature in coming fortnight is not beneficial for crop growth.

The guar spot markets continued to witness bearish sentiments. The arrivals at the major physical markets are reported to be steady at around 15000-16000 bags. Arrivals stood steady at 1200 bags in Bikaner, while it increased to 400 bags from 200 bags in Nokha. With a steady arrival, the prices of guar at the physical markets remained on the lower side. Moreover, the weakness in the futures market also weighed on spot market sentiments. Despite a lower price, activity was limited in the physical markets with the sellers not active at lower levels. Traders are expecting a quick recovery in guar prices, as export activity is likely to pick up in coming days.