The Hindu Business Line : Bears pull down pepper futures

Pepper futures witnessed high volatility on Wednesday and closed below Tuesday’s rates on bearish activities and the reported surplus availability in Indonesia.

The December contract dropped Rs 207 a quintal to Rs 10,993. January and February fell by Rs 219 and Rs 240 to Rs 11,080 and Rs 11,125 a quintal respectively on NCDEX.

Total turnover increased by 1,668 tonnes to 7,491 tonnes. Open interest fell by 354 tonnes to 11,120 tonnes. Net open position for December dropped by 523 tonnes to 5,047 tonnes, while January and February positions moved up 23 tonnes and 80 tonnes respectively.

About 175 tonnes of black pepper were reportedly traded. It wascovered by leading exporters, processors and inter-state dealers.

Investors liquidated their stocks at Rs125 to Rs150 a quintal below December price, market sources told Business Line. Spot prices dropped by Rs100 a quintal in tandem with the futures to Rs10,900 (un-garbled) and Rs 11,400 (MG 1) a quintal. The difference between spot and futures prices of the nearby positions continued to widen.

Appreciation of the rupee against the dollar on Wednesday kept theIndian parity at Tuesday’s level.

In the international market, no interest from buyers was witnessedVietnam and Indonesian markets remained firm but unchanged. Brazil, however, was still the most competitive origin. B Asta was reportedly traded at $2,125 a tonne for December shipment.

Prices quoted c&f New York for different origins were V Asta $2,875 a tonne; Ecuador Asta $2,550 a tonne (limited quantity was available); MG 1 $2,550-$2,600 a tonne; Brazil Asta $2,200 a tonne (f.o.b) and MLSV Asta $2,875 a tonne ex-warehouse NY/NJ.

According another overseas report, with the IPC meeting in theVietnamese capital under way and Thanksgiving Holiday in the US business was at a standstill. “Absolutely nothing going on here exceptbad economic news and predictions. Brazil ASTA dropping again to $2,150 f.o.b Belem for Jan/Feb shipment,” it said

Aother report from the US said there was no selling pressure from Indonesia. “We were informed that the figures which were presented during the IPC meeting were totally wrong. We were also told that the Indonesian delegate admitted the inaccuracy of the figures, and that it needed to be rectified,” the report said.

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