India spices open firm, jeera trades steady

MUMBAI, July 6 (Reuters) - Indian jeera futures opened steady with a downside bias on Monday as a healthy global crop this season weighed on sentiment, but buying at lower levels capped losses, analysts said.

At 10.21 a.m., benchmark July jeera NJEN9 was down 0.12 percent at 10,740 rupees per 100 kg.

Good crop from Syria and Turkey is weighing on Indian exports this season.

However, reports of rainfall in the past week in Turkey and buying on lower levels to establish parity between spot and futures prices is expected to support prices, analysts said.

PEPPER:

India pepper futures opened up on short-covering after falling over 2 percent in the past week, analysts said.

Domestic demand, which continued to be firm due to low stocks, also supported sentiment, analysts added.

At 10.24 a.m., benchmark July pepper NPEN9 was up 0.36 percent at 12,310 rupees per 100 kg.

However, the trend remained bearish as Indian rates are higher than rates quoted by Vietnam and Indonesia and so export demand is weak, analysts said.