Pepper Futures Witnesses Down Trend

Kochi: Pepper futures saw a down on May 7, on reports of decline in Vietnam prices and bull liquidation. However, Vietnam was reportedly offering 500 GL at $3,850 a tonne (f.o.b) and 550 GL at $4,000 a tonne (f.o.b), while V Asta was $4,050 a tonne (f.o.b). Indian parity was at $4,050 a tonne (c&f). Indian prices are at competitive level and hence there is a possibility of business coming to here. Indonesian crop is said to arrive only in August. Lampung Asta is reportedly quoted at $4,500 a tonne (fob). Many bull operators were liquidating on May as was evident from the drop of 915 tonnes in the open interest for this month, which was not reflected anywhere. The difference in price between May and June was around Rs 6 per kg, while between May and July it was around Rs 12 a kg. The decline in other contracts was from Rs 74 to Rs 172 a quintal. Spot prices were also in tandem with the futures market. Prices declined by Rs 100 a quintal to close on May 7, at Rs 14,200 (un-garbled) and Rs 14,800 (MG 1). On NMCE, May contract dropped by Rs 209 to close at Rs 14,500 a quintal from Rs 14,709 at weekend close. The decline in other contracts was from Rs 54 to Rs 534 a quintal. The total turnover on the NCDEX soared by 21,863 tonnes to 47,417 tonnes on May 7, while on the NMCE it increased by 1,695 tonnes to 4,310 tonnes. The total open interest on the NCDEX fell by 970 tonnes to 29,877 tonnes. On NMCE, the total open interest increased by 189 tonnes to 4,242 tonnes. May position declined by 41 tonnes to 1,840 tonnes, while June increased by 241 tonnes to 1,931 tonnes.