The Hindu Business Line : Pepper futures continue to decline

Kochi, Sept. 17 The pepper futures market continued to fall on Monday on restrictions on nearby month position. The September contract is nearing maturity on NCDEX. Added to this were rumours spread by the European players that Brazil has reduced prices for Asta grade.

Besides, speculators, who were holding long positions, did not want delivery and wanted to sell. But exporters who wanted to buy could not do so as the quantity restrictions, according to which all the seven deliveries of an exporter put together should not exceed 500 tonnes.

The stocks held by exchanges are also on the higher side, which is not a healthy sign, market sources told Business Line.

There has been no selling on spot for the past nine weeks. Indian parity is at $3,400-3,450 a tonne (c&f).

In the international market, Brazil prices were reportedly firm with marginal fluctuations. Lampong Asta remained unchanged at $3,350-3,400 a tonne (f.o.b.).

Vietnam was reportedly offering VAsta at $3,580 a tonne (f.o.b.), and 500 GL FAQ and FAQ 550 GL at $3,150 and $3,300 a tonne (f.o.b.) respectively.

CONTRACT POSITION

The September contract on the NCDEX dropped by Rs 302 a quintal on Monday to Rs 11,968. The fall in other contracts was from Rs 254 to Rs 463 a quintal. On NMCE, the September contract matured and 76 tonnes of pepper was delivered. The October contract fell by Rs 286 a quintal to Rs 11,960. The drop in other contracts was from Rs 310 to Rs 357 a quintal.

Total turnover on the NCDEX dropped by 5,065 tonnes to 13,146 tonnes, while on the NMCE it declined by 405 tonnes to 1,887 tonnes.

Total open interest on the NCDEX moved up by 34 tonnes to 23,071 tonnes.

The September position dropped by 14 per cent, while October moved up by 50 per cent. The November position fell by 20 per cent.

On the NMCE, total open interest moved up by 28 tonnes to 1,675 tonnes.

Spot prices in tandem with the futures market trend dropped by Rs 100 a quintal on Monday to close at Rs 11,900 (un-garbled) and Rs 12,500 (MG 1).

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