Mumbai - After collecting sharp gains in the previous session, black pepper futures were marching ahead on the recovery path Friday amid continued buying by traders and speculators. Jeera, however, fell prey to profit-booking and was trading downwards during the initial trade on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange [NCDEX]. Turmeric futures too started in the negative zone while red chilli futures were trading slightly higher.

Black pepper futures were trading higher amid continued buying during the early trade Friday. At 10.16 am IST, benchmark December-07 black pepper was trading up Rs 41 at Rs 13,413/quintal, while January-08 futures surged Rs 37 to trade at Rs 13,690/quintal. Volume in December and January contracts was 198 tonnes and 962 tonnes respectively.

Earlier, at the spot market Thursday, black pepper dipped Rs 200/quintal amid heavy selling pressure from traders. Though production is likely to decline in the next season, selling pressure is seen at every rise. Traders are not expecting a significant surge in prices in near future. Black pepper prices will remain weak due to lack of demand from exporters, who have stepped back looking at the higher prices of Indian variety in the international markets, traders added.

After collecting some gains during the previous couple of sessions, jeera futures were witnessing a weak trend amid profit-booking on the NCDEX. At 10.16 am IST, benchmark December-07 futures dropped Rs 41 to trade at Rs 9696/quintal with 84 tonnes contracted. January-08 futures fell Rs 13 to trade at Rs 9910/quintal with a volume of 276 tonnes.

Spot jeera traded down Rs 100/quintal at main market Unjha in Gujarat while prices are steady at Jodhpur in Rajasthan. Traders said, the highly volatile futures of jeera were weakening the sentiments in spot market. On the other hand, Turkey, Syria, Egypt and Iran have finished with the stocks of jeera and India has been left as the lone supplier in the international market. Importers too are staying away from market looking at the volatile futures and expecting further decline in prices.

Turmeric futures continued with the weakness during the initial trade on the exchange. At 10.16 am IST, more-active December-07 turmeric dipped Rs 21 to trade at Rs 2304/quintal with 1300 tonnes contracted. April-08 contract went down Rs 28 to trade at Rs 2562/quintal with a volume of 1700 tonnes.

Spot turmeric traded higher amid continued domestic demand Thursday. Turmeric went up Rs 25-Rs 30/quintal at the main market Sangli while prices jumped by Rs 50-Rs 80/quintal at Erode, Duggirala and Warangal amid strong domestic demand. Turmeric has gained around Rs 550/quintal during the last fortnight.

Red chilli, however, reversed the weak trend and were trading slightly higher amid fresh buying on the domestic exchange. At 10.12 am IST, February-08 red chilli contract was up Rs 19 to trade at Rs 3503/quintal with a volume of five tonnes. Trading in March-08 futures had not started till the filing of this report.

Red chilli traded down Rs 50/quintal amid weak demand and increasing arrivals at the main market Guntur in Andhra Pradesh Thursday. A total of 40,000 bags arrived at Guntur market while around 20,000 bags were traded. Importers provided boost to the volume by purchasing around 10,000 bags, said local traders.