The Hindu Business Line : Mixed trend in pepper futures

Pepper futures witnessed a mixed trend with marginal increase in some contracts and slight decline in others on Wednesday. Overseas buyers continued to "wait and watch', anticipating a fall in prices.

The January contract declined by Rs 4 a quintal on NCDEX to Rs 11,135 on Wednesday. February ruled steady at previous levels, while March moved up by Rs 13 to Rs 11,628 a quintal. April and June fell by Rs 3 and Rs 45 respectively, while May and July moved up by Rs 3 and Rs 46 a quintal.

On NMCE, the February contract increased by Rs 52 a quintal to Rs 11,350 on Wednesday. March also went up by Rs 42 a quintal, while April ruled steady at Tuesday's level. May dropped by Rs 54 a quintal. June increased by Rs 39 a quintal, while July remained unchanged at Rs 12,250.

Turnover

The total turnover on NCDEX stood at 13,089 tonnes against 10,591 tonnes on Tuesday. On NMCE, it was at 2,619 tonnes compared with 1,782 tonnes on Tuesday.

The total open interest on NCDEX dropped by 469 tonnes to 23,827 tonnes. The open interest for January fell by 461 tonnes to 1,731 tonnes, while February dropped by 258 tonnes to 10,119 tonnes.

On NMCE, total open interest increased by 15 tonnes to 3,907 tonnes. The net open position for March was at 3,569 tonnes.

The spot market ruled steady with prices remaining at Rs 10,600 (un-garbled) and Rs 11,200 (MG 1) a quintal on Wednesday.

Arrivals at the terminal markets continued to be thin as buyers from North India are said to be purchasing directly from the primary markets, market observers told Business Line.

Exporters are also reportedly covering from the primary markets to meet their January commitments.