Jaggery, groundnut and linseed oil hold fort, as sugar loses grip

The wholesale gur (jaggery) prices depicted a firm tendency in the national capital during the week on restricted supply from manufacturing areas of Uttar Pradesh coupled with increased demand from retailers and stockist. Marketmen said stockist and retailers were enlarging their stocks in view of fall in output of sugar-cane production, which pushed up the prices.
    Reports that a fall in sugarcane crops production in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat, mainly
fuelled the uptrend.
    Gur chakku rose from Rs.1900-2000 to Rs.1950-2000 per quintal, gur pedi and dhayya moved higher from Rs.1900-2000 and Rs 1,950-2,000 to end the week at Rs.1900-2050 and Rs.2000-2050 per quintal respectively. Shakkar also settled higher at Rs.2100-2150 as compared to the last week's close of Rs.2050-2100 per quintal.
    In Muzzafar Nagar, similar trend noticed and gur khurpa improved from Rs.1675-1725 to Rs.1675-1750 per quintal. While, gur raskat and chakku remained quiet throughout the week on some support at Rs.1675-1725 and Rs.1800-1900 per quintal respectively.
    At Murad Nagar gur pedi and Dhayya strengthened from Rs.1800-1825 each to Rs.1800-1860 and Rs.1800-1850 per quintal respectively on increased demand. A moderate recovery in castorseeds bold and castoroil commercial on the oils and oilseeds market during the week under review due to fresh enquiries from shippers and soap manufacturers. Elsewhere, castorseeds futures firmed up on good export enquiries.
    Refined palmolein also shot up owing to good buying support coupled with higher Malaysian advices.
    Groundnut oil and linseed oil, however, continued rule steady in the absence of market-moving factors. In the non-edible section, castorseeds bold resumed lower at Rs 2,170, but later recovered to close at Rs 2,225 from preceding weekend's level of Rs 2,190, showing a gain of Rs 35. Castoroil commercial also ended higher at Rs 475 from Rs 468 previously, a gain of Rs 7. Linseed oil, however, continued to rule steady at Rs 580.
    Turning to the futures section, castorseeds April contract resumed higher at Rs 2,069 and firmed up further to touch a high of Rs 2,135 before ending at Rs 2,108 from previous weekend's level of Rs 2,062,
showing a smart gain of Rs 46. Moving to the edible section, refined palmolein resumed slightly higher at Rs 328 and firmed up further to close at Rs 337 from last Saturday's closing level of Rs 326, disclosing a gain of Rs 11. Groundnut oil, however, continued to rule steady at Rs 520.
    The wholesale prices declined by up to Rs 25 per quintal in the national capital during the week under review on selling by mills in a process to clear last month's free-sale quota.
    Earlier, sugar prices had gained on reports of lower output to nearly 16 million tonne, but subsequently fell back after the government allowed millers to import duty-free sugar and sell in the domestic market. It also proposed to impose limit on stockist's holdings. Sugar ready medium and second grade shed from Rs 2,300-2,400 and Rs 2,280-2,390 to end at Rs 2,275-2,375 and Rs 2,265-2,365 per quintal respectively, showing a net loss of around Rs 25 per quintal.
    Mill delivery medium grade price lost from Rs 2,125-2,300 to Rs 2,125-2,275, depicting a loss of Rs 25 per quintal. Among millgate section, sugar agota, malak narain, rani nangal remained weak at Rs 2,150, Rs 2,140 and Rs 2,160 per quintal respectively. Sabitgarh, and venus traded lower at Rs 2,140 and Rs 2,150 per quintal respectively.

Crude prices may finally see the bottom, reveals report

Crude oil saw a movement of over 17% in the week in the international market, to hit a high $45 a barrel from a low of $37 on New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude for April delivery ended the week at $40.80 a barrel on the Nymex.
    According to a Standard Bank report, the March contract not only held well above December's low of $32.40, it also stayed above the important technical $38 mark. "That's a good sign that a bottom may be forming," stated the report.
    The United States Oil Fund (USO) decision to roll its positions over a four-day period (instead of just one day) should also release some of the downward pressure on front-month contracts. The USO heavily influences trading because it holds about 20% of the outstanding front-month futures contracts.
    On the Indian bourse MCX, the crude oil March contract moved up by 12.39% to Rs 2,232 per barrel. Natural gas April was up 1.93% to Rs 211.40 per mmBTU. Even heating oil March contract was up 11.16% to Rs 64.75 per US gallon.
    According to Ali Muhammad, research analyst, Anand Rathi Commodities, the price has risen because of short covering. "With the March contract expiring on Nymex people shorted in April," he said.
    According to various reports, OPEC in January had announced price cuts which it had already complied with, and in February as well the output has declined. This has also given a step-up to the prices. Besides, weekly stocks of gasoline has declined by 3.4 million barrels. Gasoline is also trading higher than heating oil since November. Crude oil inventories rose 700,000 barrels, albeit less than expected, in the week ended February 20, according to the Energy Information Administration. But this did not result in the easing of prices because imports into the US have been low and refinery utilisation has been poor.
    Analysts indicated that further cuts in production of up to 1 million barrels could be expected in the OPEC meeting to be held on March 15.

Yellow metal may get too hot to handle

Caution is the word as punters, HNIs & retail investors take fancy to gold

GOLD may be booming as other investment avenues lose their lustre, but getting too close to the hot metal now comes with a serious health warning for investors: you may end up burning your finger.
    As seasoned punters, high net worth individuals (HNIs) and increasingly retail investors flock to grab the yellow metal, the prices of which have jumped 50% since October 2008, as an investment option, analysts caution that there may be a big bubble building in the commodity renowned for its reputation as a safe-haven asset.
    "Waking up to gold today is like waking up to stocks or real estate in 2007. Investors are chasing short-term performance," says Dhirendra Kumar, CEO of Value Research. The domestic retail market for gold, which usually hits a peak during the October-March Indian wedding season, is already showing signs of weakening demand because of sky-rocketing prices.
    Analysts say investors in gold cannot take the long-term prospects of the metal for granted. The graph of the yellow metal almost mirrors the recent surge in crude oil and stocks. Both saw hot money flowing in, but the bubble eventually burst taking down investors with it.
    "Gold will not derive a high value in 10-20 years, which people perceive it to. The younger generation doesn't fancy gold; they are more attracted by diamonds and artificial jewellery. So the demand is going to take a dip in India," says Vikas Vasal, executive director of KPMG, who tracks personal finance trends. Sunil Sinha, senior economist at credit rating agency Crisil, says the yellow metal is meant only for investor with high-risk appetite. "It is very difficult to time such rallies. It is advisable that the common man should stay away from gold. With all the investment options drying up in recession, it is the hot money which is flowing to gold now."
    However, with gold funds outperforming all other asset classes by far, the rush looks here to stay for some time. The Russell Global Gold Fund recently delivered a return of 121% for the four month period since October 2008. Most of the Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) in the commodity are up over 30% in the last three months.
    Vikas Bansal, who runs a stock-broking business in Ramnagar near the Corbett National Park, says even small towns are not immune to this trend of gold as an investment option. "The kind of volumes gold is generating reminds one of the launch of the Reliance Power IPO in January 2008 when the equity markets were at its peak. Those who got there late burnt their fingers as the market tanked within months," he said.
    Industry body Assocham predicts that gold prices are likely to touch Rs 17,000 per 10 grams by August, up from around Rs 15,000 now. Value driven by financial players
INVESTMENT advisers say the value of gold is increasingly driven by pure financial players such as hedge funds and commodity funds trading in paper contracts and has little to do with genuine demand and supply factors in the physical market. It is a financial asset and is clearly subject to the same volatility as other financial assets as investor interest flows in or out, they caution.
    Gold volumes jumped by more than 25% at Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) in January compared with the previous month. Gold saw a turnover of Rs 186,123 cr in January, as against Rs 148,735 cr in December last year. India imports around 60% of its gold requirement, making it particularly vulnerable to global volatility. Investors betting prices will rise further could do well to be mindful of rumours that the US government may part sell its gold reserves to back up its stimulus spending, which could trigger a price slide. A senior commodities exchange official, who asked not to be named, pointed out that ever since Barack Obama took over as US President, gold prices have been on a northbound journey. "The US government may use this tactic as a short-term measure and buyback gold afterwards," he said. US has the highest gold reserves in the world, amounting to around 8,000 tonnes.

India chana, guar fall on weak spot, profit-taking

MUMBAI, Feb 27 (Reuters) - India chana futures fell on Friday afternoon tracking weak spot markets, where arrivals from top producer Madhya Pradesh rose amid subdued demand, analysts said. "Demand was weak in major spot markets," said a senior analyst at SMC Comtrade.

Higher output estimate also put pressure on prices, they added.

The federal farm ministry earlier this month said chana output may rise by 13.7 percent to 6.54 million tonnes in 2008/09 compared with 5.75 million tonnes a year ago.

At 2:06 p.m., the April contract NCHJ9 on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) was down 0.44 percent at 2,262 rupees per 100 kg.

In the Delhi spot market, prices fell by 19 rupees to 2,131 rupees per 100 kg.

GUAR:

Indian guar futures fell on Friday on profit-taking after rising for the last three sessions, analysts said.

Spot prices fell by 14 rupees to 1,574 rupees in Bikaner, a major trading centre.

At 2:06 p.m, most-active March futures contract NGUJ9 fell by 1.29 percent to 1,611 rupees per 100 kg on NCDEX. (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav & Sourav Mishra; Editing by Harish Nambiar)

Low temperature to boost wheat output

Agencies NEW DELHI, SINGAPORE

 THE country's wheat production in 2008-09 may cross last year's record of 78.4 million tonnes if low temperature persists and there are brief spells of rains in the northern region during February-end, says an agricultural scientist. The amount of rainfall in February will be critical for the outcome of the season.
    There are bright chances that wheat production may cross 78.4 million tonnes if there is at least 2 cm rain by February-end or in the first week of March, said directorate of wheat research jag shoran. Following a decline in wheat acreage, the government expects wheat production at 77.7 million tonnes in the current year down by 7,00,000 tonnes from previous year.
    Winter spell helps in lowering temperature providing a perfect climate for the growth of wheat. So far, the northern wheat belt comprising Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan have received two rains due to winter western disturbance, he said adding that one more spell during the month-end would help harvest more wheat. According to the meteorological department, there are good possibilities of few spells during the month-end or the beginning of March. Western disturbance had caused rains during February 9-11 in the region.
    Meanwhile, India — the world's second-biggest wheat producer — is likely to export the grain for the first time in 6 years after bumper harvests boosted stocks, said Singapore-based Agrocorp International MD Vijay Iyengar. The country will harvest about 76.5 million tonnes of wheat this year, just 1.6% below official estimates, he said.
    "They will have to export around 1 million tonnes as they have had very good procurement last year and they need to take care of the new crop," Iyengar added. India last exported wheat in 2003-04 and imported the commodity for two years from 2006.
    The nation's entry into the world wheat market could further depress prices which have fallen nearly 60% to $5.30-, per bushel since peaking on the global benchmark Chicago Board of Trade in March. The wheat market has been pressured by rising global supplies. The government has banned the export of rice and wheat in the past two years because of fears of dwindling stocks and rising prices ahead of general elections due by the middle of this year. India's inflation has fallen to 4.4% from a peak of just under 13% in August, while record harvests of wheat and rice have prodded New Delhi to partially ease some curbs on commodity trade.
    Wheat stocks with procurement agency Food Corporation of India stood at 18.2 million tonnes at end of December against the buffer requirement of 8.2 million tonnes.
    The government has estimated the country's wheat stocks at the time of harvest of new crop on April 1 at 7.2 million tonnes compared with the buffer norms of 4 million tonnes.
    "The stocks are very comfortable and if the procurement is good then the government may take a view to open export," said Atul Chaturvedi, president of Adani Enterprises.

Gold sets fresh record on weak rupee

Yellow Metal Rises By Rs 475 To Rs 15,230; But Fresh Buying Comes To A Halt

THE depreciation of the Indian rupee and a strong upward movement in international gold prices pushed the yellow metal to a record high of Rs 15,230 per 10 gm in the spot market at Mumbai. Following the record high, fresh buying has come to a standstill with gold imports also taking a hit. Analysts expect the upward movement in gold prices to continue given the uncertainty in the global markets.
    With a fall in the equity prices across the globe and the erosion in value of other financial asset classes, investors are increasingly parking their money in gold. They are also investing more in gold Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), which is providing a key support to international prices. Spot gold moved up by $21 in the London spot market to $962 an ounce level on Tuesday.
    On MCX, the most active April contract at 6.20 pm IST was trading at Rs 15,290 per 10 gm, up Rs 580 from the previous close. The open interest in this contract had gone up almost 10-fold from 2,200 on January 20 to 22,619 levels currently.
    A sharp 83 paise fall in the rupee against the dollar from Rs 48.83 to Rs 49.66 on Tuesday made gold more expensive because a large chunk of India's gold requirements are imported. According to KN Rahaman, deputy research head with Mumbai-based brokerage Way2Wealth, the stimulus packages being announced by governments is not boosting demand and people are liquidating their risky assets and switching to gold. "Active gold contract on MCX may touch the Rs 15,500-mark. If the dollar further strengthens, gold can touch Rs 15,700," he said.
    Naveen Mathur from Angel Commodities also felt that gold could touch the Rs 15,600-15,700-mark within a week. He said that there were unconfirmed reports that Russian and Japanese banks were buying gold, providing a major support to the prices.
    High gold prices has restricted imports and according to Bombay Bullion Association president Suresh Hundia, there is no demand despite the marriage season. "In January, India still imported 1,800 quintals of gold. But in February, so far there has been no imports," he added.
Silver too on a roll in
    tune with gold
MUMBAI: After taking a cue from gold, silver is too glittering never before, reports Our Bureau. On Tuesday, the price of spot silver (.999) breached the psychological mark of Rs 23,000 per kg to touch Rs 23,700 in Chennai. While in Mumbai the metal surged by Rs 705 to Rs 22,315 per kg in Mumbai, it jumped by Rs 500 to Rs 22,000 per kg in Kolkata. Thus the metal had gained more than Rs 4,000 per kg from January 16, when it settled at Rs 18,170 per kg in Mumbai market. A plunge in equity markets and firm global trend also boosted buying sentiment to some extent in domestic markets, dealers said.

Golden lining to a grey day

Futures Rates Touch Rs 14,729 On Weak Rupee & Market

While the Interim Budget failed to generate excitement in the stock markets, considerable interest was seen in gold futures. This, even as physical buying in the precious metal has taken a knocking due to high prices. After the April futures contract touched a record high of Rs 14,824 per 10 gram on the Multi Commodity Exchange on February 12, the prices fell. They, however, rose again on Monday to Rs 14,729.
    Various factors, including weakness in the rupee and depressed stock markets, have contributed to the rise. Although the Interim Budget did not offer any goodies to the precious metal, it had no negative impact on the bullion market unlike the stock market, which had expected sops to counter the economic slowdown.
    Says Anand James, senior analyst at Geojit COM-trade, "While capital market's knee-jerk reaction was surprising, its loss was gold's gain as weak sentiments and a depreciating rupee boosted buying interest in gold. Further, if a rate cut happens before elections, which is likely sooner than later, looking at the huge government borrowings, there could more funds flowing into gold as an investment.''
    Evidently, investors continue to see gold as safe investment. Investment in gold futures has outshone all others in the past three months. Since November 11, gold futures appreciated 27.9%, even as the benchmark equity index, the sensex, showed a negative return of 5.42%.
    Analysts firmly believe that large investors and hedge funds are dumping other investments and diverting funds to the yellow metal over fears that the recession would be deeper than anticipated. "Prices of gold have staged upward as investors in global markets are largely parking their funds in it, just to protect the value of their money,'' said Naveen Mathur, head of commodities at Angel Broking.

It pays to go long on commodities

THE slowdown in the global growth engine has impacted asset classes across the board, and commodities are no exception. Barring gold, both hard (metals, crude oil, etc) and soft (farm) commodities have fallen from record high levels witnessed in the first-half of 2008. For example, crude oil, which soared to an all-time high of $147 a barrel in July last year, is currently traded at $30 levels.
    While the commodities bull run commenced in the early part of this decade, many investors, who put their money into commodity
funds towards the end of 2007, have seen their wealth all but evaporate and now fight shy of viewing commodities as an asset class.
    H o w e v e r, even as some investors lick their wounds, there is another class of buyers that views current prices to be a steal and has therefore put commodities on its shopping list with an eye on the long-term.
    This class, experts say, believe that as the US economy claws its way out of a recession and, in turn, spurs growth in emerging economies, commodity demand will begin to look up. This makes beaten-down commodities an attractive proposition from growth and portfolio diversification points of view over the long-term.
    Unfortunately, in India, except for the gold exchange traded funds (ETFs), there are no other commodity ETFs to invest into. This means that if an investor has a bullish view on crude, the option open for her is to buy a commodity futures that is traded on bourses such as the Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) or the National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) or to invest indirectly into the commodity by purchasing an energy scrip such as ONGC, IOC or BPCL that are listed on stock exchanges. To take a naked long or a short on the commodity bourses involves an expertise not just about demand and supply factors, etc, of the underlier but also of the derivatives contract itself. The positions also are marked-to-market on a daily basis which cap expose an investor to unlimited losses.
    Indian mutual funds do comprise certain products that invest in Indian and global
    c o m m o d i t y stocks. The problem here is that barring SBI Comma Fund, which has a threeyear track record, other funds are relatively new. Reliance Natural R e s o u r c e s Fund, for one, is just a yearold. This leaves investors with little choice to make an informed decision.
    Further, buying into commodity thematic funds exposes an investor to risks that exceed those associated with investing only in the underlier. Buying a commodities company exposes one to company-specific issues related to management, track record, accounting norms, government policy, market sentiment, etc. Hence, while steel prices move in either direction, scrips of, say, Tata Steel and SAIL may not move in the same proportion.
    Last but not the least, the scheme an investor selects should be in a position to sail through troubled waters and pick the right candidates (stocks) to deliver the promised returns.
    nikhil.walavalkar@ 
    timesgroup.com 

Trading In Paper Gold

With gold prices surging, trading in gold ETFs is gaining greater investors' interest. ETIG explains the tax implications of trading in this form

DEVANGI JOSH I ET INTELLIGENCE GROU P

    Indians are fond of the yellow metal and it's not surprising that the country is the biggest buyer of gold in the world. While physical gold has historically been a store of value and universal currency of exchange, in recent years, instruments like gold futures and gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have opened new avenues for investors. Tax authorities, however, treat the new-age gold instruments, or derivatives, differently than the physical metal. Understanding the tax implications is important to maximise your post-tax return on your investment in gold.
    Gold ETFs are open-ended mutual funds that buy standard gold (99.5% purity) and place it with custodian banks for safekeeping. Against this physical metal, units in demat form are issued to investors, which are equivalent in value to about one gram of gold. These units are traded on the stock exchange like shares. The ETFs are taxed as per non-equity MF taxation rules. Being non-equity funds, trading in them doesn't attract any securities transaction tax (STT). The ETF holder just has to pay an annual expense of the scheme, which is out of any tax ambit.
    In contrast, trading in gold futures attracts a combined service tax and education cess at 12.4%, on the standard brokerage fee. Trading in gold futures takes place with the delivery or without delivery. When the delivery takes place, gains or profits is treated as a business income and taxed according to appropriate tax brackets. And, if the contract is settled without the delivery, proceeds are treated as an income from speculation and are taxed under short-term capital gains.
    Unlike holding the physical gold, ETFs don't attract any wealth tax, which is charged at 1% of the amount by which the net wealth of an individual exceeds Rs 15 lakh. Physical gold held in the form of jewellery, bullions or utensils is considered as one of the assets, which add to a person's wealth. But when the yellow metal is held as ETF units, which is a paper, or demat holding, the person is outside the realm of wealth tax.
    The gold ETFs also score over the investment in physical gold considering the capital gains tax provision. The physical gold is considered as a longterm investment, if it is possessed for more than three years, however, the ETFs gain this status in a time period of one year. Thus the physical gold will draw a short-term capital gain tax at 33.9%, if sold within three years of possession, while the gold ETFs attract the tax, if the units are sold in one year.Selling the gold ETFs after possessing for one year will attract long-term capital gain (LTCG) tax, which could be a minimum of either 10% of the LTCG or 20% of the LTCG computed with an indexation benefit.
    The second option takes into account the effect of inflation on the cost of buying, which is done by using the cost inflation index (CCI). Hence the capital gain is not just the difference between selling price and buying price, but the difference adjusted with an effect of CCI. None of the gold ETF schemes in India have declared a dividend, so far. However, in case they do declare, the same will attract a dividend distribution tax (DDT) at 14.16% in the hand of the investor. This is because the gold ETFs are non-equity schemes and, hence, get a treatment equivalent to a debt MF.
    devangi.joshi@timesgroup.com 

Edible oil falls on higher imports, increased supplies

THE wholesale prices of select edible oils fell in the national capital during the past week on increased supplies, triggered by record imports last month. However, palmolein (RBD) and rice bran (physical) oils strengthened on the back of pick up in demand. Selling pressure picked up after reports of record imports of vegetable oils in January and record output of mustard.
    India, the second largest vegetable oil buyer in the world, made a record import of over nine lakh tonnes of the commodity last month, taking advantage of a sharp drop in global prices and on anticipation of imposition of import duty.
    Import of vegetable oils, including edible and non-edible, rose by 78 per cent to 9,12,342 tonnes in January from 5,13,235 in a year-ago period. Soyabean refined mill delivery and soyabean degum (Delhi) oils came under some pressure and lost Rs 30 each at Rs 4,850 and Rs 4,650 per quintal respectively. Sesame mill delivery oil after remaining steady at the outset of the week on some support,met with some selling and ended the week Rs 30 down at Rs 4,650 per quintal.
    Cottonseed mill delivery oil in tandem with weak trend also turned subdued and shed Rs 20 at Rs 4,150 per quintal. However, crude palm oil (exkandla) traded Rs 60 higher at Rs 2,860 per quintal, while rice bran (physical) shot up by Rs100 at Rs 3,500 per quintal. Palmolein (rbd) oil remained firm and gained Rs 50 at Rs 3,650 per quintal.
    Mustard pakki and kachi ghani oils gained Rs 10 each at Rs 685-840 and Rs 840-925 per tin of 15 litre respectively on pick up in demand from local parties. Groundnut mill delivery and mustard expeller oils remained flat at Rs 5,100 and Rs 5,400 per quintal after moving in a tight range on subdued demand.
    Towards the non-edible section, neem oil turned weak due to reduced demand from soap units and other consuming industries and lost Rs 50 at Rs 4,050-4,150 per quintal. Rice bran oil which remained flat at Rs 3,850-3,950 per quintal for the better part of the week, lacked necessary support and slipped by Rs 50 to close at Rs 3,800-3,900 per quintal.
KIRANA
Most of the spice prices fell on the wholesale kirana market in the national capital during the week under review on reduced off-take against adequate stocks positions. Increased arrivals from producing belts and subdued export demand due to global economic recession also put pressure on the prices.
    Marketmen said apart from comfortable stocks position in the wholesale markets following increased supplies from producing belts, subdued export demand also attributed fall in the prices. Black pepper tumbled by Rs 400 to settle at Rs 12,800-13,000 per quintal on poor domestic and export demand.
    Cardamom brown (Jhundiwali and Kanchicut) dropped by Rs 500 each to Rs 13,500-13,600 and Rs 15,500-18,500 per quintal on weak advises from Siliguri-a major producing centre of brown cardamom, while cardamom small varieties such as chitridar, colour robin and bold fell in the range of Rs 5-10 to Rs 450-510, Rs 490-500 and Rs 510-520 per kg respectively.
    Cloves and mace-yellow declined up to Rs 15 to settle at Rs 265-315 and Rs 500-550 per kg respectively. Dhania and chilli lacked necessary buying support and declined up to Rs 500 to Rs 5,300-10,000 and Rs 5,200-7,600 per quintal respectively.
    Poppyseed (Turkey, MP-RAJ and UP) prices fell by Rs 20 each to conclude at Rs 360, Rs 370-420 and Rs 320-330 per kg respectively on reports of internal sentiments in poppyseed remain weak following reports of higher acreage in India and other producing countries. Turmeric prices declined by Rs 300 to Rs 5,100-7,600 per quintal on reduce offtake. Watermelon kernel prices slipped by Rs 200 to Rs 11,500-11,800 per quintal on profit booking.
    Jeera common and jeera best quality also drifted between Rs 300 to Rs 400 to conclude at Rs 10,800-11,200 and Rs 13,500-14,000 per quintal following expectation of arrivals of new crop from producing regions in Gujarat and Rajasthan. On the other hand, soanf prices spurted by Rs 300/500 to finish at Rs 5,500-8,500 per quintal on tight supply.
DRYFRUITS
The wholesale dry fruit prices closed sharply higher in the national capital during the week largely on the back of marriage season demand amid tight stocks following restricted arrivals from producing centres.
    Almond (california) prices were up by Rs 200 to Rs 8,900 per 40 kg. Its kernel, too strengthened by Rs 5 to Rs 310-315 from previous week's close of Rs 305-310 per kg. Almond (gurbandi and girdhi) moved up by Rs 100 each to Rs 4,900 and Rs 3,000-3,100 per 40 kg bags respectively.
    Chilgoza raw and roasted increased by Rs 10 each to conclude at Rs 530 and Rs 820 per kg respectively. Cashew kernel (No 180,210,240 and 320) surged up to Rs 5-10 to settle at Rs 460-465, Rs 405-430, Rs 360-365 and Rs 320-340 per kg respectively.
    Cashew kernel broken (2, 4 and 8 pieces) rose by Rs 5 each to settle at Rs 235-275, Rs 225-270 and Rs 205-255 per kg respectively on higher export demand. Trading sentiments were strong mostly on marriage season demand against restricted arrivals. Kishmish Indian yellow and green rose by Rs 100 each to finish at Rs 2,500-3,500 and Rs 3,200-5,500 per 40 kg bags respectively on marriage season demand.

Yellow metal shines bright

GOLD, has found favour once again with most investors leading to the price rising by nearly 4% during the week in the international market. In the Mumbai spot market, the price has risen to Rs 14,675 per 10gm from Rs 14,200 per 10 gm last week. The MCX gold contract expiring on April 4, closed the week at Rs 14,638 per 10 gm, from Rs 14,217. Through the week, it made a high of Rs 14,825.
    According to Subodh Gupta from Anand Rathi Commodities the announcement by the US government to bail out the banking system with a $2,000 billion package is expected to erode the currencies' values. This gives immense step-up to gold as far as investment demand is concerned, he indicated.
    "The influx of so much liquidity will further weaken people's faith in currencies," he said. Besides, there is a strong possibility that European Central Bank would cut interest rates that would bring down interest rates record low levels, he said.
    He expects that all these would help gold rise to $1,050 per ounce in the international market.
    As far as the Indian market is concerned, Si Kannan of Kotak Commodities believes that a weak rupee and the Indian physical demand that should pick up on price correction would avert any sharp falls. "One should hold gold," he said. Gold is also currently in the seasonal best quarter.
    According to Angel Commodities, this week market is expected to find very good support at Rs 14,420-14,440 levels. And strong support is seen at Rs 14,235-14,255 levels. "Trading below Rs 14,235 would lead to lower prices initially towards Rs 14,080 and then finally towards the major support at Rs 13,900," the report said.
    Resistance is observed in the range of Rs 14,730-14,750. And strong resistance is seen at Rs 15,000. Trading above Rs 15,000 would lead to higher prices finally towards Rs 15,370 for the coming week.

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Yen hits high vs European majors MCX April Gold has support at 14440/14235 whereas resistance is seen at 14965/15040 levels whereas MCX March Silver shall find support at 21005/20650 whereas resistance is seen at 21600/21750 levels. Flashback Base Metals 12th Feb, 09 ... Commodity Online Forex Reports - http://www.commodityonline.com/

Gold Seeker Closing Report: Gold and Silver End Mixed While Stocks ... Gold. $947.70. +$5.25. Silver. $13.50. -$0.02. XAU. 132.93. +0.60%. HUI. 316.93. -0.17%. GDM. 1003.65. +0.27%. JSE Gold. 2732.43. +91.66. USD. 86.19. +0.34. Euro. 128.59. -0.48. Yen .... Once again gold scored brand new record all time highs when priced in both Euro terms and British Pound terms at the PM Fix. Euro gold was fixed at €740.094 while BP gold was set at 663.746. Canadian Dollar priced gold notched another all time high yesterday over 1170 and is on course to ... GoldSeek.com - http://www.goldseek.com/

Trader Planet::Commentary - View By Darrell JobmanEditor-in-Chief, TraderPlanet.com With confidence remaining fragile, the dollar tested support levels below the 90 level against the yen. Wall Street attempted to rally following the US data and this curbed yen demand with the US dollar recovering back to near 90.50 later in New York. Sterling ... He served with the 82nd Airborne Division and as an infantry platoon leader with the Manchus in the 25th Infantry Division, including nine months in Vietnam in 1967-68, earning the Silver Star and Bronze Star. ... TraderPlanet.com Commentary Feed - http://www.traderplanet.com/

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Gold crosses Rs 14,700-mark

Mumbai: Making history for the second straight day, gold prices sparkled on Thursday to cross Rs 14,700- level on the bullion market on consistent safe-haven buying in view of uncertain equity markets amid higher global cues.
    Silver prices also jumped in line with gold along with sustained industrial demand.
    Investors preferred to park their fund in gold rather than equities, influencing the metal prices, a dealer said.
    In New York, gold futures extended its gain, climbing above $940 an ounce to their highest level in nearly seven months, as investors continued to buy the metal amid doubts on new economic rescue plans unveiled in the US by president Barack Obama.
Gold for February ended up by $30.10 at $943.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. March silver also rose to $13.52 an ounce.
    Holdings of the largest exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust, backed by gold hit a new record high of 894.72 tonnes on Tuesday, according to the latest data from the fund.
    In the domestic market, standard gold (99.5 purity) rose by Rs 315 per 10gm to Rs 14,705 from Rs 14,390 on Wednesday.
    Pure gold (99.9 purity) also shot up to Rs 14,770 from Rs 14,450 previously.
    Silver ready (.999 fineness) flared up by Rs 445 per kilo to Rs 21,370 from Rs 20,925 previously. AGENCIES

Copper rises on increased demand expectation

COPPER prices moved up by 16% this week due to expectation of Chinese demand for this quarter and positive sentiments triggered by the economic stimulus package announced by the US government. Analysts expect price to move up in short-term though the medium term outlook remains weak.
    Copper on LME closed at $3,590 per tonne levels after making a high of $3,600. On MCX the February contract moved up by 14% compared to the previous week and made a high of Rs 174.7 per kg. Since the beginning of this year copper prices have moved up by 20% from their low levels of $2950 per tonne.
    According to Amar Singh, the research head at Angel Commodities, in the short-term market has potential to go up to Rs 182- Rs 190 per kg with a downside at Rs 160 levels. But in the medium-term price is likely to witness profit-booking and selling pressure at high levels between Rs 190-Rs 200 for the MCX February contract.
    Even Kunal Shah from Nirmal Bang Commodities feels that MCX February contract can touch Rs 180-Rs 185 per kg levels backed by improvement in manufacturing activity in China.
    Initially in the last month the price movement was due to January index re-weighting and speculation of Chinese demand. Even this week despite the weak fundamentals fresh buying came in anticipation of demand recovery from China. It was also the $900 billion economic stimulus package announced by the US that generated interest in commodities.
    Overall the fundamentals remain dull for copper following poor demand and growing inventory levels. The global refined copper market surplus is expected at 9.20 lakh tonne which is three times more than last year levels at 3.7 lakh tonne.
    Even the LME inventory is at five lakh tonne which is the new high since November 2003 and is still expected to rise in the coming months.
    The copper stocks in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange also rose 72% from two weeks ago. China consumes around 13,000 tonnes of copper a day, and the rise in Shanghai inventories above 28,000 tonnes puts stocks at their highest since November 2008.
    nidhi.sharma1@timesgroup.com 

India needs 320 mt of grains by 2025: Pawar

• NEW DELHI: India needs to raise its food grain production by almost 40% by 2025 from the present level to feed its huge population, which is likely to grow to 1.3 billion by then, food minister Sharad Pawar said. "The demand for food is growing rapidly due to increasing population and rising income levels and we need to produce about 320 million tonnes of food grains by 2025," he said at a conference. India produced a record 230.67 million tonnes of grains in '07-08.
Wheat output seen stagnant

• NEW DELHI: India hopes to produce record quantity of oilseeds this year on higher acreage, breaching last year's level of 28.82 million tonnes, while wheat output may just about touch previous year's level of 78.4 million tonnes. "Areas under different oilseeds have increased by 15 lakh hectares in both kharif and rabi seasons," agriculture commissioner NB Singh said here on Wednesday. The prospects of wheat crops, however, are not as rosy in the world's second-largest producing country.
IOC to buy crude from Cairn

• BARMER: IndianOil Corporation on Wednesday said it can buy up to 1.5 million tonnes of crude oil a year from Cairn India from its Rajasthan fields. "Subject to commercial terms, we can take up to 1.5 million tonnes of Rajasthan crude," IOC director for refineries BN Bankapur said. IOC's Koyali refinery in Gujarat can take 0.5-0.6 million tonnes of crude oil while its Panipat refinery in Haryana can take 0.9-1 million tonnes, he said.
India, France to boost ties

• NEW DELHI: In a bid to strengthen economic relationship, India and France have agreed for enhanced bilateral cooperation in areas like IT, telecommunications, energy, roads, urban development, railways and agriculture. "Indo-French trade was $8.85 billion during 2007-08... there is a need to work together to create balance in bilateral trade," commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath said on Tuesday evening after meeting French minister of state for foreign trade Anne Marie Idrac.
NPCIL, Areva sign nuke pact

• NEW DELHI: India has signed the first commercial pact to build nuclear power plants with French power equipment and technology company Areva on Wednesday. An MoU was signed by Nuclear Power Corporation of India and Areva.
Essar bags order from ONGC

• MUMBAI: Essar Offshore Subsea, a division of Essar Projects, on Wednesday said it has bagged a Rs 1,000-crore order from ONGC. Essar would modify, revamp platforms of ONGC and install new equipment and facilities in the process complexes of Neelam and Heera at the western offshore fields of India. The project is to be completed by May 2011.

Where does India stand on agri commodities?

MUMBAI: India is the largest producer and consumer of several agri commodities in the world. Check out a fact sheet on where India stands in cotton, castorseed, chilli, pepper, jeera, soybean and mentha oil.

CASTORSEED:
• India is the biggest producer of castor seed in the world
• India is the only country which meets majority of the industrial demand of the castor seed oil Internationally
• Gujarat and Rajasthan are the major producing states (contributing ~90% of total production)

CHILLI:
• India is the biggest producer, consumer and exporter of chilli in the world
• Andhra Pradesh is the biggest producer in India

COTTON:
• India has emerged as the world's second largest cotton producer in 2006-07, edging past the US, which held the second rank until recently. China's is the world's leading cotton producer.
• Gujarat, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh are the major producers in India.

GUARSEED:
• India is the largest producer of Guarseed in the world accounting for ~80% of total production.
• In India, Rajasthan alone produces 65-70% of total production.

JEERA:
• India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of Jeera in the world.
• Gujarat and Rajasthan account for ~90% of total Indian production.

MENTHA OIL:
• India is the largest producer and exporter of menthe oil in the world
• In India, UP is the major producing state.

RMSEED:
• Mustard/Rapeseed oil is the third largest edible oil produced in the world after Soy oil and Palm oil.

PEPPER:
• Vietnam dominates global pepper trade by producing nearly 34% of global pepper production
• Kerala alone accounts for 94 percent of the total area and 96 percent of the total production of pepper in India.

SUGAR:
• India the largest consumer and second largest producer of sugar in the world
• The state of Uttar Pradesh stands first in the sugarcane and sugar production in India. It alone accounts for nearly 42 % of the total sugarcane and around 30 % of the total sugar production of the country.

SOYBEAN:
• US, Brazil and Argentina account for ~80% of total production
• MP and Maharashtra account for more than 60% of soybean production in India.

TURMERIC:
• India is considered the largest producer, consumer and exporter of turmeric in the world
• India accounts for ~78% of total world production.     

Gold on record setting spree, gain another peak at Rs 14,400

NEW DELHI: Gold prices today surged to a new peak at Rs 14,400 per ten gram in the national capital on Saturday on aggressive buying by jewellery

Investing in gold a safe bet Gold emerges as safe option Tips for good quality gold Investors' favourite choice

fabricators for marriages amid a firming global trend.

The precious metal, which surged by Rs 320 in previous day's trading, shot up further by Rs 230 at Rs 14,400 per ten gram on rising demand for marriages on Basant Panchami today.

In Hindu mythology, the 'Basant Panchami' is considered to be an auspicious day for marriages without consultation of religious books. Even in an off-season, there are record number of marriages today.

The precious metal gained on reports that gold rose to a three-month high in London as firming crude oil increased the demand of gold considered as a hedge against inflation.

A similar firming trend was noticed in silver on the back of a rising trend in global markets. The white metal in overseas markets advanced 2.3 per cent to 12.65 dollar an ounce, the highest since October one, ahead of the US economy growth report.

Also Read

→ Gold touches to an all-time intra-day high of Rs 14,230

→ Gold at all time high, but physical buyers missing

→ Gold scales a new peak of Rs 14,280 in Mumbai

→ Gold prices soar as investors flee Wall Street

Silver ready rose further by Rs 150 at Rs 19,550 per kg and weekly-based delivery by Rs 300 at Rs 19,900 per kg. Silver coins remained unchanged at Rs 27,800 for buying and Rs 27,900 for selling of 100 pieces.

Standard gold and ornaments shot up by Rs 230 each at Rs 14,400 and Rs 14,250 per ten gram respectively. Sovereign held unchanged at Rs 11,050 per piece of eight gram.