The pepper market continues to remain hot on highly speculative buying and selling activities in the futures and spot markets. Consequently, futures continues to head north, while spot is scaling new heights daily.

“There were buyers and as well as sellers with the former remaining stronger wanting to buy at higher levels,” market sources told Business Line .

Investors were ready to buy exchange delivered MG1 spot and against that they were selling June and July on the exchange platform. The speculators could use this also as a weapon to push up the market, they claimed.

Good quantity of pepper from North Kerala — Kasargod, Kannur and Malappuram — and Pathanamthitta in the South was sold at Rs 281-289 a kg depending on the quality. The end users who have been postponing their buying on the anticipation that the prices would fall, have started covering so as to complete it before the onset of South-west monsoon, trade sources said.

Overseas market

In the overseas market, Vietnam continued to remain steady to firm and that has also aided the price rise, they said. International operators with multi-origin operations, are also covering from Vietnam, they said.

May contract on the NCDEX increased by Rs 466 to close at Rs 30,180 a quintal. June and July contracts went up by Rs 549 and Rs 482, respectively, to close at Rs 30,477 and Rs 30,831 a quintal.

The total turn over dropped by 1,688 tonnes to 24,353 tonnes. Total open interest declined by 227 tonnes to 20,929 tonnes, and yet the market moved up significantly.

Spot prices, in tandem with the futures market trend and good buying support, increased by Rs 400 to close at Rs 28,100 (ungarbled) and Rs 28,900 a quintal.

Indian parity in the international market was at 6,950-7,000 a tonne (c&f) despite the rise in the futures because of the weakening of the rupee against the dollar.

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