The Hindu Business Line : Pepper futures crash on liquidation

October contract on NCDEX was down byRs 532 a quintal to close at Rs 12,785 a quintal on Thursday. On NMCE, it fell by Rs 505 to close at Rs 12,397 a quintal.

The decline in other positions on NCDEX was from Rs 527 to Rs 578 a quintal, while on NMCE it was from Rs 495 to Rs 775 a quintal.

Turnover up

The total turnover on NCDEX went up by 9,763 tonnes to close at 33,310 tonnes from 23,547 tonnes, while on NMCE it moved up 642 tonnes to 4,523 tonnes from 3,881 tonnes.

The total open interest on NCDEX stood at 27,894 tonnes as against 26,600 tonnes, while on NMCE it was at 5,672 tonnes compared to 6,007 tonnes.

The outstanding position on NCDEX for October, November and December was 5,829 tonnes, 12,643 tonnes and 6,004 tonnes respectively. On NMCE, the outstanding position for December was 3,661 tonnes.

Some operators were liquidating October and switching over to November and December. "There is no reason for such a crash," market observers told Business Line.

There was not much selling pressure on spot except some stray business, they said.

This kind of wide and wild fluctuation in the prices would only get the small players wiped out, they warned.

Global prices rise

In the international market, Indonesia continued to rule high. However, Vietnam was reportedly selling FAQ 500 GL at $2,700 a tonne (f.o.b.) and there were said to be some stray buyers, they said.

In tandem with the fall in the futures, spot prices dropped by Rs 200 a quintal to close at 12,000 (un-garbled) and Rs 12,400 (MG 1) on Friday.