Pepper Futures Increase On Purchasing Support

Kochi: Pepper futures moved up on good purchasing support and a squeeze in availability. US purchasers have shown interest in Indian pepper, which is the cheapest in the world market at present. Spot arrivals, meanwhile, were very limited with the material available only with the exchanges. Vietnam prices have risen by $55 a tonne (f.o.b) on strong Chinese buying interest. Meanwhile, Brazil Asta was offered at $3,800 a tonne (f.o.b). June contract on NCDEX matured and 1,717 tonnes of pepper was delivered. The increase in other contracts was from Rs 291 a quintal to Rs 417. The total turnover on NCDEX dipped by 3,989 tonnes to 19,399 tonnes while on NMCE it declined by 909 tonnes to 1,800 tonnes. The total open interest on NCDEX increased by 976 tonnes to 22,939 tonnes. July position dropped by 342 tonnes to 7,425 tonnes while August increased by 1,211 tonnes to 12,122 tonnes. On NMCE, total open interest declined by six tonnes to 2,581 tonnes.