Not much activity in pepper

COMMODITY SPIKES

Pepper spot and futures may move in a narrow band in the week ahead on a slowdown in demand due to apprehensions that the sellers in Vietnam may ease the rates, according to local traders.

Vietnam is offering 550GL at Rs 131,178 a tonne as compared with Rs 138,303 a week ago. The sellers in Vietnam are likely to bring in more stocks as the markets in that country would be closed from Monday for a couple of days due to local festivals. The local futures commodity exchanges have raised their margin from Friday.

The new margins are 25 per cent for buying and 20 per cent for selling. The rupee's strength vis-a-vis the dollar is also likely to keep the overseas buyers away. These factors are expected to weaken the sentiments further.