Mumbai Red chilli futures managed to retain the positive trend and moved up further amid continued buying during initial hours of session on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) Friday. All other spices, including cumin-seed, black pepper and turmeric, were trading sharply down on profit-booking. Coriander futures on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) were trading directionless amid sluggish business.

RED CHILLI: Red chilli futures carried forward gains and traded up around one per cent amid continued buying by traders and speculators during initial hours of trade on the NCDEX Friday. At 10.57 am IST, NCDEX October red chilli rose Rs 47 to trade at Rs 5,471/quintal with a volume of 245 tonnes. Benchmark December red chilli traded up Rs 75 at Rs 5,705/quintal with a volume of 160 tonnes.

Spot red chilli remained stronger at the benchmark market Guntur in Andhra Pradesh Thursday. Around 30,000 bags of red chilli from cold-storage and 500-700 bags from non-cold-storage arrived today. As of September 02, demat stocks of red chilli at NCDEX-monitored warehouses were at 1,316 tonnes while 100 tonnes were in processing.

BLACK PEPPER: Enlarging yesterdays small losses, black pepper futures fell sharply amid heavy profit-booking by traders and speculators during early hours of trade on the NCDEX Friday. At 10.50 am IST, NCDEX September black pepper drowned Rs 171 to trade at Rs 13,770/quintal. Benchmark October contract traded down Rs 171 at Rs 14,045/quintal. Volume in September and October contracts was 474 tonnes and 781 tonnes respectively.

Spot black pepper prices rose Rs 100/quintal amid some demand but sluggish trade activities in the domestic physical market Thursday. Traders say, black pepper demand for the winter season will start coming very soon. Demand from Europe and the United States is also expected to come during this period. As of September 02, demat stock of black pepper at NCDEX-monitored warehouses was 5,494 tonnes while10 tonnes were in process.

CUMIN-SEED: Cumin-seed futures were trading lower as traders and speculators preferred booking profits of yesterdays sharp gains on the NCDEX Friday. At 10.56 am IST, NCDEX September cumin-seed dropped Rs 103 to trade at Rs 11,929/quintal. Benchmark October contract traded down Rs 113 at Rs 12,161/quintal. Volume for September and October contracts was 1080 and 2181 tonnes respectively.

Spot cuminseed prices jumped amid remarkable improvement in demand from domestic traders and exporters at the benchmark spices market Unjha in Gujarat Thursday. The market saw arrivals of 2,000 bags while 7,000 bags were traded by the noon. As of September 02, demat stock of cuminseed at NCDEX-monitored warehouses was 1,973 tonnes while three tonnes were in process.

TURMERIC: Turmeric futures surrendered yesterdays small recovery and slipped into the red territory amid speculative selling during early hours of trade on the NCDEX Friday. At 10.53 am IST, NCDEX October turmeric slipped Rs 27 to trade at Rs 3,814/quintal with a volume of 4850 tonnes. Benchmark December contract traded down Rs 25 at Rs 3,922/quintal with a volume 2500 tonnes.

Spot turmeric continued to trade unchanged at the previous level at major markets in the country Thursday. Trading at almost all markets is sluggish amid the ongoing Paryushan Parv and Ganeshotsava festival. As of September 02, demat stock of turmeric at NCDEX-monitored warehouses was of 3,108 tonnes.

CORIANDER: Coriander futures were mixed, mostly little changed, amid sluggish trade activities during early hours of trade on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) Thursday. At 10.58 am IST, MCX September coriander rose Rs six to trade at Rs 8,410/quintal with a volume of two lots. Benchmark October coriander traded down Rs 21 at Rs 8,565/quintal with a volume of six lots.