Pepper Witnesses Mixed Trend

Kochi: Pepper futures market saw a mixed trend on April 3, with the distant positions showing down. The Kerala state procurement agency, Marketfed will sell 80 tonnes of pepper from its stock on April 4, has also slowed down the purchasing activities. Bullish trend was seen in domestic market. April contract on NCDEX moved up by Rs 3 a quintal to Rs 13,830. May and June increased by Rs 11 and Rs 78 a quintal, respectively, while July, August and September dipped by Rs 94,Rs 105 and Rs 89 a quintal, respectively. The decline in other contracts was from Rs 29 to Rs 68 a quintal except May, which moved up by Rs 3 a quintal. The total turnover on NCDEX decreased by 5,537 tonnes to 28,826 tonnes, while on NMCE it declined by 877 tonnes to 5,213 tonnes. The total open interest on NMCE decreased by 43 tonnes to 4,546 tonnes. April position stood at 340 tonnes, while May was down by 68 tonnes to 2,789 tonnes. Spot rates ruled firm on purchasing support at previous level of Rs 12,900 (un-garbled) and Rs 13,500 (MG 1) a quintal.