Mumbai - Jeera and turmeric futures stretched yesterday's sharp gains while black pepper and red chilli turned green as the market was witnessing buying interest among traders and speculators on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) Thursday. All the spices were trading higher during early hours of session on the exchange.

JEERA: After accumulating over three per cent gains yesterday, jeera futures marched further with sharp gains amid continued buying interest among traders and speculators during early hours of trade on the NCDEX Thursday. At 10.41 am IST, NCDEX July jeera contract surged Rs 175 to trade at Rs 13,210/quintal. Benchmark September contract traded up Rs 128 at Rs 13,856/quintal. Volume for July and September contracts was 75 and 4302 tonnes respectively.

Spot jeera gained Rs 100/quintal at the main spices market Unjha in Gujarat Wednesday. The market saw arrivals of 6,000 bags while 8,000 bags were traded by the afternoon. Demand from exporters is lo but improvement in domestic demand in holding the prices higher. As of July 14, demat stock of jeera at NCDEX-monitored warehouses was 1744 tonnes while 12 tonnes were in process.

RED CHILLI: Doing away with the mixed trend of the last session, red chilli futures regained some strength amid fresh buying and short covering by traders and speculators during early hours of trade on the NCDEX Thursday. At 10.44 am IST, NCDEX August red chilli jumped Rs 69 to trade at Rs 5,743/quintal with a volume of 585 tonnes. Benchmark October red chilli traded up Rs 50 at Rs 6,131/quintal with a volume of 200 tonnes.

Spot red chilli was quoted higher amid improvement in demand from domestic buyers and exporters at the benchmark market Guntur in Andhra Pradesh Wednesday. Traders from Sri Lanka and Malaysia are also buying heavily in the market. Around 40,000 bags of red chilli from cold-storage and 12,000 bags from farmers arrived today at the market. As of July 14, demat stocks of red chilli at NCDEX-monitored warehouses were at 1,047 tonnes while five tonne were in process.

BLACK PEPPER: Black pepper futures overcame yesterday's mixed trend and took to the northward direction amid fresh buying by traders and speculators during initial hours of session on the NCDEX Thursday. At 10.35 am IST, NCDEX July black pepper gained Rs 80 to trade at Rs 14,164/quintal. Benchmark August contract traded up Rs 118 at Rs 14,550/quintal. Volume in July and August contracts was 178 tonnes and 2378 tonnes respectively.

Spot black pepper prices did not witness any change in the domestic market Wednesday. Traders say demand from exporters is almost negligible these days, and the business is limited to domestic demand only. Meanwhile, monsoon rains have been insufficient in Kerala and therefore the next crop is likely to be affected. As of July 14, demat stock of black pepper at NCDEX-monitored warehouses was 6,029 tonnes while 10 tonne were in process.

TURMERIC: Turmeric futures extended sharp gains of the previous session and moved up with slight gains as traders continued to buy during early hours of trade on the NCDEX Thursday. At 10.35 am ITS, NCDEX August turmeric rose Rs 23 to trade at Rs 4,831/quintal with a volume of 7600 tonnes. Benchmark October contract traded up Rs 10 at Rs 5,050/quintal with a volume 3900 tonnes.

Encouraged by fresh buying by stockists, spot turmeric traded up Rs 100/quintal at all major markets across the country Wednesday. As of July 15, demat stock of turmeric at NCDEX-monitored warehouses was of 2,524 tonnes while 199 tonnes were in process. Overall stocks of turmeric in the country as of June 2008 were 18.5 lakh to 19 lakh bags.