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Pratim Ranjan Bose

Kolkata , Aug. 4

Investor interest now seems to have shifted from pulses and foodgrain to commodities like jeera and pepper in the futures market.

Trading is at an all-time high or close to it, and both have been witnessing volatile price movements from mid-July.

Jeera and pepper seem to be following in the footsteps of guar, mentha oil, urad, tuar and wheat; and have been extremely active since July 12, market sources told Business Line.

Pepper touched an all-time high of Rs 11,054 a quintal on July 31 on the most active August contract on NCDEX.

Near contract on jeera is trading over Rs 8,000 a quintal, close to the all-time high of Rs 8,231 recorded on February 24 also on NCDEX.

Both the commodities are recording four per cent daily movement on an average, said Mr Vivek Bajaj of Mars Comtrade. "Fundamentals of jeera and pepper are bullish in the short run."

However, he did not attach any specific reason to the sudden volatility.

Kotak CSL Research said that supply shortage concerns and uncertainty over imports from Vietnam have made pepper technically bullish. On the other hand, "jeera is bullish due to export demand and some selling may take place at Rs 8,150 levels."

Lacklustre market

Meanwhile, the other agri-commodities are showing signs of a slowdown or backwardation.

Both the near and mid-term contracts on wheat are trading at a discount to the spot market price on NCDEX, presumably in expectation of fresh imports. The potato September contract touched a low of Rs 487 a quintal in the expectation of fresh crop.

In the pulses segment, urad near and medium contracts are also trading at a discount to spot. Activity has reduced in mentha oil on MCX.

The situation is no better in the metals and bullion segment. "The market simply has no view and is moving too erratically," said Mr Anand Singhania of Prompt Securities.

According to him, gold should be a good buy if it comes down to $625-630 levels.

More Stories on : Spices & Condiments | Commodity Exchanges

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