Pepper markets continued to rule high on Friday on strong demand amid tight availability.

On the IPSTA platform, both December and January contracts increased, while a similar situation existed on the National Multi Commodity Exchange on Thursday. Some resistance has emerged from upcountry buyers at prices above Rs 500 a kg. At the same time, there are no sellers as those having the material are holding back due to prices rising daily, market sources told Business Line . In the international market, there are buyers at even $8,125 a tonne. At the same time, resellers are offering January-June shipments at $7,700 a tonne in a bid to push the market down. There are, however, no sellers below $8,200-8,300 a tonne. Malabar is totally out priced at $8,750 (c&f) for Europe and $9,050 (c&f) for the US, they said.

On the IPSTA platform, November contracts matured today and they closed at Rs 51,489 up by Rs 489. December and January contracts increased by Rs 482 and Rs 510 to Rs 50,732 and Rs 50,510 a quintal. The turnover dropped by 49 tonnes to 40 tonnes. Spot prices remained unchanged at Rs 49,800 (ungarbled) and Rs 51,800 (garbled) a quintal despite strong demand amid tight availability.