Mumbai - Jeera and red chilli traded sharply down due to heavy profit-booking by traders and speculators during early hours of the session on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) Monday. Black pepper futures too shed sharp gains of the last weekend and traded lower while turmeric futures extended previous weakness to remain in the red zone during first session of the week.

Heavy profit-booking by traders pulled jeera futures sharply down during initial hours of trade on the NCDEX Monday. At 10.44 am IST, March jeera contract tumbled Rs 199 to trade at Rs 8,697/quintal. Benchmark April futures were trading down Rs 180 at Rs 8,845/quintal. Volume for Mar and Apr contracts was 255 and 1,677 tonnes respectively.

At the spot markets Saturday, jeera declined Rs 200/quintal at the main spices market Unjha in Gujarat. Farmers are looking relaxed as weather has became clear in jeera-growing areas in Rajasthan. However, a point of concern for these farmers are the western winds, which indicate that clouds may hover anytime in the region. Demat stock at NCDEX-monitored warehouses, as of March 12, was 543 tonnes.

Bearish trend continued to prevail upon red chilli futures, which surrendered further gains to trade sharply down during initial hours of trade on the NCDEX. At 10.48 am IST, March red chilli contract lost Rs 65 to trade at Rs 3,765/quintal with a volume of 50 tonnes. April red chilli contract trading down Rs 62 at Rs 3,936/quintal with a volume of 840 tonnes.

Black pepper futures shed sharp gains of the last weekend and slipped into the red territory amid profit-booking on the NCDEX Monday. At 10.32 am IST, March black pepper futures dropped Rs 62 to trade at Rs 14,860/quintal. Benchmark April contract was trading down Rs 97 at Rs 15,290/quintal. Volume in Mar and Apr contracts was 110 tonnes and 1,256 tonnes respectively.

Spot black pepper traded steady at the main market Kochi Saturday. Traders say, fundamentals in black pepper are not weak, but buying is very poor in the domestic market with the approaching end of the fiscal year. Traders and busy updating the account books. Demat stock of black pepper at NCDEX-monitored warehouses, as of March 12, was 5,246 tonnes while 220 tonnes were in process.

Turmeric futures extended previous amid profit-booking by traders during early hours of the session on the NCDEX Monday. At 10.46 am IST, April turmeric contract went down Rs 16 to trade at Rs 3,204/quintal with a volume of 4,010 tonnes. Benchmark May futures slipped Rs 13 to trade at Rs 3,274/quintal with a volume of 2,210 tonnes.