The Hindu Business Line : Pepper declines on lack of buying support

Overseas buyers appear to have taken a wait-and-watch attitude anticipating that the Indian parity will collapse, market observers here told Business Line.

In fact, Indian parity is at $2,650-$2,775 a tonne (c&f), while Indonesia is not reducing its prices. Brazil was also not that cheap. Meanwhile, Vietnam said to have quoted Asta grade December/January out of its old crop at $2,900 a tonne (f.o.b), they said.

The November contract on NCDEX dropped by Rs 100 a quintal to close at Rs 10,600 on Friday. December, January and February positions declined by Rs 53, Rs 71 and Rs 53 respectively, while March, April and May increased by Rs 11, Rs 2 and Rs 20, respectively.

On NMCE, the December contract fell by Rs 63 a quintal to close at Rs 10,360 from Rs 10,423. January and March contracts declined by Rs 145 and Rs 39 a quintal, respectively, while February and April went up by Rs 75 and Rs 118 a quintal on Friday. May contract ruled steady at Rs 11,383 a quintal.

Turnover down

The total turnover on NCDEX on Friday fell by 3,235 tonnes to 10,574 tonnes, while on NMCE it dropped by 535 tonnes to 2,643 tonnes.

The total open interest on NCDEX was up by 201 tonnes to 21,844 tonnes. On NMCE, it moved up by 105 tonnes to 5,100 tonnes.

The November outstanding position on NCDEX was down by 397 tonnes to 2,315 tonnes, while the December position increased by 415 tonnes to 13,254 tonnes. The December open interest on NMCE went up by 69 tonnes to 4,106 tonnes.

North India demand

Demand from North India has started picking up, as winter has set in and it is expected to gain strength in a fortnight, the market observers said. Good domestic demand might lead to an increase in prices.

Spot prices ruled steady at Rs 10,300 (un-garbled) and Rs 10,900 (MG 1) a quintal on Friday.