India And Pakistan Have Started To Indications - Nov 28, 2008

India and Pakistan have started discussions to reach a consensus over joint registration of basmati rice under the Geographical Indications (GI). Few months back, Pakistan had granted a trademark by to the Basmati Growers Association (BGA), investing it with the claim of exclusivity, even as India and Pakistan had earlier agreed to jointly bid for a GI to the basmati. In the absence of GI, many private companies have been unsuccessfully trying to register their products as ‘basmati.

Basmati, an aromatic long-grain rice variety grown in the Gangetic plains in India and Pakistan commands a premium price over other rice varieties in the international market.

Pepper Exports Have Fallen During Of Financial - Nov 28, 2008

The Black Pepper futures extended their morning losses in afternoon trading on the account of waning export demand coupled with long liquidation in futures market. Pepper futures have been plummeted by Rs 150 per quintal in today's trading.India's black pepper exports have fallen during April-October period of current financial year according to the latest estimates of the Spices Board. A drop of 35.5 per cent had been registered in volume during the period as total export came down to 14,750 tonnes from 22,800 tonnes in the same period of 2007-08.

The export earnings registered a drop of 25.5 per cent at Rs 246.70 crore against Rs 330.37 crore in the same period last year.However, Strong demand by grinding industry and other dealers against non-availability of black pepper has kept the domestic demand at elevated levels.The benchmark December contract has been plunged by Rs 158 per quintal, quoted at Rs 10850 per quintal in today's trading after hitting the low of Rs 11050 per 100 kg and the open interest has pared 0.040%, indicating fresh selling. The volumes traded as of now stood at 620 lots.

Estimate By Tons Cuts 1.33% Committee Reduced - Nov 26, 2008

South Africa reduced its 2008 wheat output estimate by 28,000 metric tons, or 1.33%, to 2.078 million tons from last month's estimate of 2.106 million tons. The survey by the Department of Agriculture's Crop Estimates Committee left the area unchanged at 748,000 hectares. “The committee reduced output because of unfavorable inland production conditions, especially the lack of sufficient rain in the Free State, a CEC member said.

We decided to reduce the wheat yield in the Free State province to 2.1 tons per hectare from a previous 2.2 tons per hectare, another member said. In other winter crops, the committee has decided to leave the malting barley output estimate unchanged at 188,799 tons. The canola estimate was however decreased by 1,700 tons, or 4.76%, to 34,000 tons from the 35,700 tons last month.

Petrobras State Hydro Find In Brazil Jequitinhonha - Nov 26, 2008

Brazil's Petrobras and Norway's StatoilHydro have found indications of oil with their Lua Nova well in the Jequitinhonha Basin offshore Brazil, StatoilHydro said Tuesday. The Lua Nova well is the first to be drilled in deepwater part of the Jequitinhonha Basin, at a water depth of approximately 2,300 meters. The well has confirmed oil-bearing reservoirs in Upper Cretaceous sandstones, but further drilling and analysis will be carried out to determine if the discovery has a positive economic potential, StatoilHydro said in a statement.

The operator Petrobras confirmed the oil find Monday to the National Petroleum Agency in Brazil (ANP), Statoil said.The well, the first of two commitment wells on the block, will continue to drill to greater depths in line with the approved drilling program, Statoil said. It said the well was spudded on October 9 and is expected to be finished in early 2009. Statoil was awarded a 40% stake in license BM-J-3 in Brazil's fourth licensing round of 2002. Petrobras operates with the remaining 60% stake.

Rubber Rose In The Absence Of Paralysed - Nov 26, 2008

Kottayam: The spot prices of rubber rose in the absence of quantity sellers though there were no fresh buying orders from any major consuming industries. Sheet rubber RSS 4 increased to Rs 67 from Rs 66 a kg but latex 60% continued its decline on extremely low demand. Rubber consumption has drastically come down due to economic slowdown. Tata Automobiles have cut down their production. As a follow up action to this, tyre companies also reduced their output. As part of the recession, rubber export has been paralysed.

The consignments for export against the orders of R1 International and Tong Teik have been already supplied and no new orders are coming up.RSS-3 moved down at its December futures to Yen 122.7 (Rs 63.87) from Yen 129, January to Yen 124.5 (Yen 131.5), February to Yen 127.3 (Yen 134.6), March to Yen 128.4(Yen 136.6), April to Yen 131.2 (Yen 138) and May to Yen 132.8 (Yen 148) a kg at TOCOM. The grade slipped by 29 paise to Rs 78.94 (79.23) a kg at Bangkok.The spot rubber rates a kg were: RSS-4: 67 (66); RSS-5: 64 (63); Ungraded: 62 (61); ISNR 20: 63.50 (63.50) and Latex 60 per cent: 51 (52).

Characteristic Feature Of The Metal Activity Built - Nov 25, 2008

LME Aluminium inventories are showing no signs of a let up from the formidable built up that has become a characteristic feature of the metal activity across the major global exchanges. LME Aluminium inventories are up 15% in last one month and currency hover at 1724000 –around its six and half year highs. The metal, used widely in the production of cars and housing, has been under hammer off late and is likely to be under stress in near term as well. The US car industry is reducing output, with General Motors, Chrysler and Ford seeking a $50bn joint bail-out.

Contributes Record 90% Rice To National Pool - Nov 25, 2008

Though Punjab has not been included among the states that are allocated funds under the National Food Security Mission for transplantation of paddy, but the state has contributed record 90% of rice to the Central pool during the current paddy season.While the Union government had included 13 districts of Punjab for improving the farming practices. pertaining to wheat under the mission, it had not included the state in the mission programme meant for rice.

Sources said,CM Parkash Singh Badal would take up the issue with union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar to include Punjab in the mission scheme meant for rice.Enquiries revealed that by far all procurement agencies in Punjab had procured a record 129 lakh tonne of paddy of which more than 92 % had been procured by the government agencies. Agency wise data reveals that PUNGRAIN had procured 35,62,595 tonne of paddy (29.9%), MARKFED 27,40,059 tonne (23.0%), PUNSUP 26,82,091 tonne (22.5 %), the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation 14,84,393 tonne (12.4% and Punjab Agro Corporation had procured 12,52,773 tonne of paddy which was 10.5% of total procurement.

The Food Corporation of India had procured just 2,05,469 tonne of paddy which was a meagre 1.7% of total procurement from the state.The millers had procured 10,04,834 tonne of paddy or 7.8 %. Ludhiana district had maintained its lead in paddy procurement by procuring 16,06,013 tonne, followed by Sangrur(14,73,048 tonne), Ferozepur(12,06,238 tonne), Moga(11,38,671 tonne)and Patiala (11,27,160 tonne.

Lead Prices Batteries Have In A Gain Today Session - Nov 25, 2008

Lead prices have been in a marginal gain in today's session. Lead demand is mostly driven by Car batteries, however with Auto sector severely hit due to recession the prices have seen sharp correction. Supports for the contract in today's session are purely technical and no fundamental impetus has yet affected the markets. On MCX the December expiry contract of Lead is trading at Rs 62.25 per kg levels. The contract touched an intra day high of 62.95 breaking which prices are expected to move towards 63.80. Lead prices were in the range of 140 during March from where they crashed to 57 levels, a fall of 60% in a span of 7 months.

In another news, France and Germany reached an agreement to bolster their auto industry which was hard hit by the global economic crisis, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said here Monday following his meeting with Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel. The two leaders agreed during the talks that coordinated action was important for the EU countries. "We want to react with speed and with force to relaunch the economy" in each country but coordinated, Sarkozy said.

Peru President Pleas Southern To Maria Project - Nov 24, 2008

Peru's President Alan García has made a direct appeal to the president of Mexican miner Southern Copper, demanding the company continue with the development of the Tía María copper project. "Tía María cannot come to a halt, Mr Oscar González," García told roughly 800 business representatives gathered in Lima for the APEC CEO summit on Friday. "If it comes to a halt, we will have to look outside the country to sell it again."

Tía María, in southern Peru, is due to start producing by late 2010 at a rate of 120,000t/y while expansions at the company's Toquepala and Cuajone mines will contribute an additional 150,000t/y. Press reports, however, have suggested Southern Copper may slow down planned investments worth billions of dollars in Peru and Mexico due to the financial volatility rocking global markets.

The company itself said at the end of October it will continue with investments for the expansion projects at its Peruvian operations, having already spent US$78.9mn of the US$580mn committed for Tía María and US$4.8mn of the US$86.9mn tagged for Toquepala.

Southern Copper is also developing the Los Chancas project in Peru, which is expected to produce 80,000t/y of copper by 2012 or 2013. García called on business leaders at the summit to keep investing despite the financial crisis rattling the world. Although he hopes that Peru can achieve economic growth of 6-6.5% in 2009, investment banks place the figure at 4-4.5%. Peru's president put a positive spin on the crisis. "This is a growth crisis," he said, referring to tensions caused by the transition from a "product-based" economy to a digital economy.

Foreign investment is essential to sustaining high growth rates registered in Peru in recent years and the international crisis threatens to weaken the country's momentum, especially in mining as metals prices plummet. Peru is home to a robust inventory of mining projects but most are greenfield or new projects which are seen as being more susceptible to delay. In that aspect, García stressed the importance of companies continuing to invest with an eye to post-crisis opportunities. The president painted Peru as a haven for capital fleeing other countries.

García said that "whether people like it or not," he will open the doors even wider to foreign investors by strengthening public-private partnerships. Making an indirect reference to the nationalization of Argentina's private pension funds, which congress approved on November 20, he repeated his commitment to the country's private pension fund system and invited fund managers to invest in infrastructure. The president said he is looking at the option of calling for bids to build a quality highway to the north of the country - where most of Peru's agricultural exports are concentrated - as a substitute for the current road, "which doesn't deserve to be called a highway.

Chilean Iron Steel Reports Stoppage In Blast Furnace - Nov 24, 2008

Chilean integrated iron and steel company CAP reported that one of the blast furnaces at its Huachipato plant has been stopped since November 5 for maintenance, which it aims to complete in January. During the maintenance period pig iron production will be down by the equivalent of 10% of what annual production has been in recent years, the company said in a statement. The company said it chose to push forward the planned.

Maintenance from the previously anticipated date of September 2009 to take advantage of current low steel demand, due to the international credit crisis. CAP is Chile's largest producer of iron and steel. The company sold 672,944t of steel products from Huachipato in H1.

Indian Parity Remained At Competitive Rates Dollar - Nov 24, 2008

Kochi: Pepper futures market ended up with slightly higher at the weekend. November contract grew by Rs 155 a quintal to close at Rs 11,580. December and May stood unchanged at Rs 11,636 and Rs 12,155 a quintal. January, February, March and April grew by Rs 70, Rs 25, Rs 69 and Rs 35 a quintal respectively to Rs 11,754, Rs 11,813, Rs 11,994 and Rs 12,075.Furthermore, total turnover rose by 10,209 tones to 35,051 tones. Total open interest dropped by 643 tones to 12,196 tones.

On the other hand, spot prices also increased by Rs 100 at the weekend to close at Rs 11,300 (un-garbled) and Rs 11,800 (MG 1). Good domestic demand has compelled primary market operators to buy from the exchanges to meet their commitments. Likewise, exporters and others also had to depend on investors who were liquidating validity expired stocks at discounts. Indian parity remained at competitive rates at USD 2,600-2,700 a tone (c&f), despite the rise in futures prices because of the sharp fall in the value of rupee against the dollar.

Lowest Point Since New York Light Crude Prices - Nov 22, 2008

Oil prices have collapsed below $ 50 this week, their lowest levels in almost four years, due to tumbling energy demand. London's Brent North Sea oil on Friday dropped to $ 47.40 a barrel the lowest point since February 2005. New York's light sweet crude fell to $ 48.25 a level last seen in May 2005. Oil prices have plunged two-thirds since striking record highs above $147 dollars in July when fears of supply disruptions had helped to send them into orbit.

Kochi Pepper In The Ended Indicating Short Covering - Nov 22, 2008

The Black Pepper futures erased the last session loss on today's opening trading on short covering. The NCDEX Black Pepper futures benchmark December contract ended the last session with loss of Rs 178 at Rs 11489 per 100 kg. The December futures spurted further nearly Rs 239 or 2.08% to the session high of Rs 11728 per 100 kg with the open interest dropped 0.61% to 6,049 lots from 6,086 lots as on last day, indicating short covering. The volume traded as of now stood at 526 lots. Technically the December contract would face resistance at Rs 11900 and support at Rs 11,400 and Rs 11,350 per 100kg.

The Black Pepper price in the benchmark Kochi mandi ended the last session with loss of Rs 146.60 per 100 at Rs 11799.60 per 100 kg.

Quickly Is Hampered By Pervasive Rigidities Of Pace - Nov 21, 2008

Italy's near-term outlook is bleak, despite some insulating factors and output is projected to fall even further in 2009, the International Monetary Fund or IMF said Thursday. However, the IMF noted that the growth decline is likely to be less severe than in many other advanced economies. The Washington-based IMF cited negative carry-over from the recent worse-than-expected quarterly declines, slowing partner country demand, tight credit conditions and weak confidence for the prolonged fall in output in 2009.

Meanwhile, inflation is expected to fall in line with the growth slowdown and moderation in international commodity prices.Further, the IMF warned that the eventual recovery would likely be slow and weak. The main risks to the outlook are a further slowing of global economic activity, given the economy's reliance on exports, and additional falls in consumer confidence.

Going forward, the economy's ability to rebound quickly is hampered by pervasive rigidities, lack of domestic competition, the likely slower pace of industrial restructuring, and the limited scope for a fiscal response, the IMF said.

Market Strong By Millers And Spurted Physical - Nov 21, 2008

On the heels of bargain buying by traders and millers at lower levels, enabled the guarseed futures to recover from lower levels in today's trading. Prices have been swelled by more than 4% in last two trading days.As per market sources, strong buying by guar gum millers and exporters has spurted the physical market prices more than 1% in today's trading. At Jodhpur mandi, guarseed prices have been trading in the range of Rs 1580-1595 per quintal.However , fresh arrivals of around 65000-80000 bags were reported.

In physical markets such as Hanumangarh and Sriganaganagar. However,arrivals are likely to gain momentum in the coming days due to fresh supply from major mandies of Rajasthan such as Jodhpur, Nagaur and Bikaner at higher levels.In today's trading, Ncdex Guarseed January Benchmark contract has been augmented by Rs 5 per quintal and were quoted at Rs 1658 per quintal.

Euro Gained Of The Eurozone Pmi Data French- Nov 21, 2008

Euro gained ahead of the Eurozone PMI data today and quotes at 1.2527 as the market participants were quick to reverse positions after the single currency dipped to a low of 1.2430 in early Asian trades. Flash Purchasing Managers' Index, or PMI for both manufacturing and service sectors of major Eurozone economies are due.Meanwhile, plenty of other data is also in the pipeline. French consumer spending data is expected from the statistical office INSEE.

Consumer spending is forecast to fall 0.5% month-on-month in October compared with September's 0.6% rise. The release of the Flash Purchasing Managers' Index reports for major Eurozone economies is set to start at 3.00am ET. The first one expected to hit the wires is the Flash French PMI for both manufacturing and service sectors. Thereafter, the Flash German and Eurozone PMI data are also due.

Dutch consumer spending report is due from the Statistics Netherlands. Spending had dropped 1.9% year-on-year in August. Afterwards, the Italian statistical office, ISTAT is set to issue retail sales report at 4.00am ET. Retail sales are predicted to fall 0.2% in September from the previous month. In August, retail sales had declined 0.5%. In the meantime, the Statistics Norway is slated to release international reserves and foreign currency liquidity details for October.

Market Of Maize In Most Of The North Indian Poultry - Nov 20, 2008

Owing to remunerative prices of maize crop coupled with introduction of hybrid quality seed for maize might deliver record maize production in Punjab during the current kharif season.As per market sources, the total production of maize in Punjab is likely to be around 4.5 lakh tones during the kharif season , up almost 21% from last three year's average production. Higher production was mainly on the account of introduction of hybrid seed in almost 80-85% of the total area.

This might enhance the productivity of maize from 32 quintalsl to 35 quintals per hectare. Moreover, lower cost of production as it doesn't requires irrigation has also provoked the framers towards maize crop.Farmers are also benefited from ready market of maize in Punjab as most of the north Indian poultry industries are available in the same state.

Market Sources Most Of The Malting Companies - Nov 20, 2008

Amidst lower offtake by malting companies and exporters against comfortable stock position in physical Market has kept the barley market silent from last one month.As per market sources, most of the malting companies were sidelined from last one month as most of the companies are sitting with hefty inventories. In Rajasthan mandies, the daily arrivals of barley are at around 2000-3000 bags with the price range of Rs 1080-1100 per quintal (exclusive of all taxes).

Moreover, lower prices of other feed items such Jowar ( Rs 880 per quintal ) and Bajra ( Rs 725 per quintal) have kept the feed demand silent.Sturdy sowing progress of barley crop during the current rabi season has also maintained bearish sentiments in spot market . As per latest data released by Department of Agriculture, the total sowing acreage of barley crop was at 1.23 lakh hectares against 0.30 lakh hectares.

Reported last year in same period. Strong sowing has been seen in states such as Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh , swelled by 40% and 33% respectively.Therefore, the prices of barley are likely to remain under check in the coming days.

Saudi Arabia During The Favorable Macro India - Nov 20, 2008

Exports of Cardamom are likely to move up this fiscal on account of softening domestic prices and reports of crop failure in other origins. Domestic prices have come down during the recent auctions due to increased arrivals and reduced demand from north Indian market. According to the figures of the Spices Board, Indian exports fell to 500 tones in 2007-08 as against 650 tones in 2006-07. India has lost traditional markets such as Kuwait, Japan and Oman to Guatemala while retaining Saudi Arabia.

During the current fiscal (April-September), favorable macro situation has facilitated India to increase cardamom exports by 10% in volume and 74% in value, as compared with performance of the same period of last fiscal. The target fixed by the Spices Board for the current fiscal is 550 tones valued around Rs 25 crore. However, the average auction prices have shown a declining trend with some late harvest in the crop bringing in increased volumes to the auctions.

Furthermore Rubber Tokyo Came Red Territory - Nov 20, 2008

Kottayam: Rubber prices in the domestic market have further declined on Nov 19 as the major consuming industries kept their quotes much lower than Tuesday's closing levels. They withdrew from the market during the afternoon session as trend setting global indices finished in red. RSS 4 slipped sharply to Rs 70 from Rs 75.5 a kg while more and more growers and dealers joined the seller's row.

Furthermore, rubber futures on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange came down sharply into red territory on Nov 19 afternoon. The futures were mixed at the opening but sellers dominated the market from late morning to afternoon. The December futures was the only gainer on early trades, but the contract also slipped into negative zone in the afternoon.

RSS 3 declined further at its November contract to Yen149 (Rs 76.77) from Yen 156.2, December to Yen 147.5 (157.3), January to Yen 149.6 (161.5), February to Yen 151.5 (164.9), March to Yen 155.4 (166.6) and April to Yen 157.4 (168.5) a kg at TOCOM. But it (spot) firmed up marginally to Rs 88.81 (88.62) a kg at Bangkok.

World Food Prize Backs Up Cultivation In Jamaica - Nov 19, 2008

Rice could be grown very well in Jamaica on positive rainfall and climate conditions and it is possible to get two crops per season in a given year, according to the acclaimed African agricultural scientist Dr Monty Jones, reports http://www.jamaicaobserver.com. While rice and peas is a famous Jamaican dish, Jamaica remains dependent on importing our staple food rather than local cultivation.

Dr Monty Jones has been grappling (since the 1970s) with the challenge of producing new, tougher and more productive rice varieties, helping subsistence farmers grow themselves out of poverty and his continent further away from the threat of famine.The visit of Sierra Leonean Jones, executive director of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), winner of the 2004.

World Food Prize with his New Rice for Africa (NERICA) project and was included by Time magazine in it's list of the worlds 'Most Influential' in 2007, comes at a time when the Government of Jamaica is experimenting with rice growing to help meet its objective of raising agricultural productivity and food security. The government has already enlisted the help of China and Japan (both co-funded the development of NERICA) both have agreed in principle to provide grant funding and technical assistance, among other international partners.

Various rice varieties are being tested by the Ministry of Agriculture at its research facility in Bodles, St Catherine (which is being refurbished to house the planned Centre of Excellence) with lands earmarked for cultivation in that parish and St Elizabeth, should it prove feasible.

World Freight Prices Fall Off A Cliff Baltic Lowest - Nov 19, 2008

Freight shipping prices for transporting dry raw materials collapsed in November slammed by the global financial crisis, slowing economic growth and falling commodity prices, industry experts said. The Baltic Dry Index, an indicator of economic trends which tracks the cost of moving goods such as coal, iron ore and grain across the oceans, has slumped over the past five months.

The index hit a record high of 11,793 points in May but has since fallen back to earth, hitting just 815 points last week -- the lowest level since the end of 1999.

Mustard Seed Futures Swell On Hike In Custom - Nov 19, 2008

Bargain buying seen in mustard seed futures in today's trading on the account of steady movement in other oilseeds. Prices have been augmented by almost 1% in today's trading.In order to stimulate domestic edible oil industry from the steep decline in edible oil prices, finance ministry has levied a 20% custom duty on crude soyabean oil. This has prompted some buoyancy in oilseeds such as Soyabean and Crude palm oil.

Similar trend was also observed in mustard seed market as well. Prices of January Benchmark Furture have been augmented by almost 1% in today's trading and were trading at Rs 435 per 20 kg.However, bearish sentiments are still languishing in mustard market. As per latest sowing acreage released by Directorate of Oilseed, the total sowing acreage of mustard seed was stood at 46.89 lakh hectares against 31.84 hectares reported last year in the same period.

Major sowing acreage spurted in states like Rajasthan,Madhya Pradesh and Haryana as their sowing acreage swelled by 173% , 180% and 131% against the previous year's sowing acreage of the same period. The major rise was primarily on the account of higher prices of mustard seed throughout the year along with strong rainfall received during the kharif season.

On Account Of Heavy Selling Pressure Slipped - Nov 19, 2008

Physical rubber prices slipped further on Nov 18 as major consuming industries withdrew from the market letting the prices to fall freely on an almost panic selling from dealers and growers. Further, sheet rubber RSS 4 closed extremely lower at Rs 75.50 a kg against Rs 79 a kg and the market made all-round declines along with moderate volumes. A sizeable portion of the NR produced in India is consumed by the automobile industry. According to Mr Sibi J Monippally General Secretary, Indian Rubber Growers' Association, any weakness to this industry will have adverse effect to the rubber sector as a whole, said.

The November contract for RSS 3 meltdown to Yen 156.2 (Rs 80.45) from Yen 158, December to Yen 157.3 (162), January to Yen 161.5 (166), February to Yen 164.9 (169.4), March to Yen 166.6 (171.6) and April to Yen 168.5 (174.3) a kg at TOCOM. The grade (spot) closed weak at Rs 88.62 (89.85) a kg at Bangkok.Spot rates were (Rs/kg): RSS-4: 75.50 (79); RSS-5: 73.50 (76); ungraded: 69.50 (72); ISNR 20: 74 (76.50) and latex 60 per cent: 56.50 (57).

Geera Prices Are More To Trigger Importers - Nov 18, 2008

The Jeera futures near month contract slumped further on Tuesday morning trading on long position liquidation ahead of the expiry on weak demand. The NCDEX Jeera near month November contract ended the last session with loss of 0.82% at Rs 10,500 per 100 kg. On Tuesday morning trading, November futures contract slumped Rs 183 or 1.74% to the session low of Rs 10,317 per 100 kg and the open interest dropped 10.67% to 1,581 lots from 1,770 lots as on last day, indicating long liquidation ahead of expiry.

The counter currently trades at Rs 10,365, down Rs 135 or 1.29% from the last close. The volume traded as of now stood at 438 lots. The next support for the contract is at Rs 10300 and Rs 10,220 and resistance at Rs 10,550 per 100 kg.

The benchmark January contract traded in the ranges of Rs 10124-Rs 9900 per 100 kg and the counter currently trades at Rs 10060, up Rs 4 from the last close. The open interest added 2.89% to 6,882 lots from 6,690 lots as on last day.

The Benchmark Unjha mandi price slumped further on yesterday on weak demand. The commodity ended the last week with loss of 3.09% over the previous week. The jeera prices slumped further nearly Rs 56.25 or 0.55% over the last session to Rs 10618.75 per 100 kg on Monday.

The indicative Cumin Seed - Jeera (fob Kandla/Mundra) Prices in US$ PMT FOB port, India stood at Cumin Seed - Jeera (fob Kandla/Mundra) Machine Cleaned 99% - US$ 2275-2350 and Machine Cleaned - US$ 2550-2625. With the falling spot and futures prices of cumin and once again depreciating rupee, the jeera prices are more competitive to trigger the buying interest of overseas importers.

Commodity Should Edge Up From Hereon With A Target - Nov 18, 2008

Crude oil futures neared $56 a barrel today, after falling initially in the early Asian trades. The commodity was getting influenced by bargain hunting and signs that the sharp pullback in the commodity off late might have been overdone. Yesterday, the U.S. Navy confirmed that a Saudi oil tanker was taken by Somali pirates off the coast of Kenya. Pirates also took a Japanese chemical tanker off the coast of Yemen.

OPEC's Monthly Oil Report said yesterday that they expect world oil demand to average 86.2 million barrels per day (mbd) in 2008 and 86.7 mbd in 2009. That is a little more than the U.S. Energy Department's estimate of 85.9 mbd in 2009.

In the commodity market, crude oil settled down $2.09 at $54.95 on Monday, the lowest settlement since late January 2007 as worries about the economic outlook in the United States and Japan stoked concerns about global fuel demand.

The commodity trades at $55.74 a barrel right now, gaining 79 cents from the previous close as the rebounded extended. The commodity had dipped to $55.93 earlier in the day and $56.10 and $56.70 should prove to be tough barriers on the upside.

MCX Oil trades at Rs 2840, down Rs 38 a barrel or 1.32% from the previous closing price. The commodity should edge up from hereon with a target of Rs 2865 –equivalent to its days highs. A break above would bring in Rs 2889 in picture.

Philippines National Food Authority 1 Million Tonnes - Nov 18, 2008

The Philippines National Food Authority, NFA, is planning to procure 1 million MT of palay from local farmers in the year 2009 in order to further boost the country's buffer of the grain.The NFA buys clean and dry palay at P17 a kilo. For this year's main harvest, farmers get a cash incentive of P1,800 for every 50 bags of palay sold to the NFA.

According to the latest data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics showed that the NFA still holds the biggest volume at 933,400 MT, enough to last 28 days. Of the volume stocked in NFA warehouses, imported rice accounted for 90 %.

Rubber Sentiments Were Also Strike By A Closing - Nov 18, 2008

Kottayam: Rubber prices have declined further on 17 Nov'08. The sentiments were also strike by a weak closing in global rubber futures and rumor that sheet rubber may hit Rs 70 a kg level shortly. Meanwhile, the grade declined to Rs 79 from Rs 81 a kg on last Saturday. Sources have informed that, the fresh quote from the tyre sector was even below at Rs 78 a kg for RSS 4. The rubber futures on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange slipped back on long liquidation at the opening amidst declines in oil futures and Yen's strength against dollar.

But covering purchases became active subsequently reflecting Yen's weakness on late trading. However, the market recovered the early losses partially towards the morning close.Prices moved in a narrow range during the afternoon. In futures, RSS 3 weakened at its November contract to Yen 158 (Rs 80.47) from Yen 164.5, December to Yen 162 (165), January to Yen 166 (167.2), February to Yen 169.4 (169.7), March to Yen 171.6 (172.3) and April to Yen 174.3 (174.7) a kg at TOCOM.

The grade finished marginally higher at Rs 89.85 (89.70) a kg at Bangkok.Spot rates were (Rs/kg): RSS-4: 79 (81); RSS-5: 76 (78.50); ungraded: 72 (74); ISNR 20: 76.50 (78) and latex 60 per cent: 57 (57).

Markets Was Still Stained After World Leaders - Nov 17, 2008

NCDEX Sugar futures slipped by about a percent today as the market participants continued to track eh frail global cues and a sense of well entrenched weakness in the global risky assets arena. Oil prices tumbled under $56 a barrel today, providing traders much more impetus to sell the sugar futures. The activity in the global financial markets was still stained after world leaders laid out detailed proposals for restructuring the global financial.

system at an historic summit in Washington on Saturday, but fell short of offering concrete or coordinated fiscal action aimed at pulling the world economy out of its tailspin.The domestic sugar futures, meanwhile, hurtled down to a low of Rs 1772 a quintal – succumbing to selling pressure for a this consecutive session and recording its two week low on an intraday basis.

The counter trades at Rs 1780 per quintal right now, down Rs 13 a quintal or 0.73% with 6% decline in the open interest. The downside supports are around Rs 1770 and 1764 from hereon.

Malaysian Government Has Decided To Lower - Nov 17, 2008

The Malaysian government has decided to lower the ceiling prices of Super Special Tempatan (SST) rice with 5% and 10% broken grains and have the new prices gazetted next week.Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed said several companies had voluntarily offered lower retail prices for the local rice than the ceiling prices of RM2.80 and RM2.70 per kg respectively as announced by the government on June 1.

To cover losses incurred by rice millers, the government provides a subsidy of RM800 PMT to them with the expectation that they collectively increase ST15% production by 94,000 MT a month.

Chilli Prices Spurt In Guntur Mandi On Weak Position - Nov 17, 2008

Receding stocks pf chilli in spot market coupled with decline in sowing acreage in Andhra Pradesh during the current season added some buoyancy in all the major mandies.As per market sources, the total stock position of chilli in Guntur mandi of Andhra Pradesh was at around 17-18 lakh bags against 20-21 lakh bags reported last year in the same period . And from the total availability, around 20-25% stock is useful for processors.

Lower stocks position was also reported in M.P ( Madhya Pradesh ) as the total output of chilli in M..P was at 28 lakh bags against average ouput of 32-33 lakh bags.Moreover, decline of around 15-20% in sowing acreage has been reported in Guntur and Warangal districts of Andhra Pradesh .

Therefore, the spot prices of Teja quality and 334 quality have been spurted by almost Rs 200-300 per quintal, quoted at Rs 6800-7500 and 5200-5500 per quintal at Guntur mandi.

Crude Oil Continued To Remain Under Check As The Pressure - Nov 17, 2008

Crude oil continued to remain under check as the pressure on the global economic front left the major asset classes reeling and lack of risk appetite ensured the late gains in the oil prices last week were quickly let off.The global equity markets started the proceedings in the new week on an unenthusiastic note witnessing a poor performance in the last week.US light, sweet crude for December delivery fell to a low of $55.60 as news that Japan fell into recession highlighted investor fears of a global economic slowdown that will hurt crude demand.

The inventories of the commodity are seen at a comfortable level in the major developed economies and the demand destruction in the face of the severe pain in the equity and credit markets is expected to keep the possibilities of any major rebound in the oil prices quite limited.We expect the floor of $55 to hold in today' trade and MCX Crude oil for December would find support around Rs 2805.

Black Pepper Futures More Than 3% Over Last Week - Nov 15, 2008

The Black Pepper prices spurted both in the futures and in the local markets during the current week on improved domestic demand.The approaching winter season demand from the north Indian buyers and the shortage of the commodity are supporting the firm trading in pepper.The NCDEX benchmark December Pepper contract spurted nearly 3.17% over the last week to Rs 11730 per 100 kg today.

The counter currently trades at Rs 11630, up 0.16% over the last session and the open interest added 2.37% to 6802 lots from 6,653 lots as on last day. The volume traded as of now stood at 1,021 lots.The Black Pepper prices gained nearly Rs 237.85 or 2.07% over the last week to Rs 11693.65 per 100 kg yesterday in the Kochi mandi. The commodity surged Rs 100 over the previous session.

Commodity Remains Instrumental In The Futures Market - Nov 15, 2008

NCDEX Soybeans extended their recent flurry of losses as the general weakness in the global commodities complex, slide in oil prices and steady arrivals in the local mandies ensured that the impetus to sell the commodity remains instrumental in the futures market.

According to the latest data release from the Agriculture Ministry, the rabi oilseeds sowing has started on a firm foot and the crucial break below Rs 1600 has made the bears hold sway in the edible oils and oilseeds complex in last few days.

The normal rabi/summer oilseed area is about 95.16 lakh ha. The total oilseed sowing so far has been completed in about 60.59 lakh ha compared to 43.49 lakh ha at this time last year. It indicates that about 17.10 lakh ha more area has been covered under oilseeds.

NCDEX December Soybeans plummeted to a low of Rs 1560 per quintal. The counter currently trades at Rs 1573, down Rs 14.50 or 0.91% with 2.17% slide in the open interest. The near month futures have lost Rs 12.50 or 0.80% with a massive 8% decline in the open interest.

Both the futures are trading at the same level now and the premium at which February 2009 contract is trading is also coming down off late. We expect that the counter is unlikely to gain much from hereon and a breakout above Rs 1600 is what the bulls would direly need to come back into contention.

Turmeric Prices In The Nizamabad Mandi Rallied - Nov 15, 2008

The Turmeric futures extended the last week gain during the current week on improved demand from the domestic buyers. However, some profit taking noted in the today's trading session and the futures contract slumped slightly from the previous session high. The NCDEX Turmeric futures ended the last week with profit of 4.31% at Rs 3677 per 100 kg and spurted further during the week on strong demand. The December futures contract surged to Rs 3824 per 100 as on yesterday, up nearly 4% over the last week.

Traders liquidated the long position on weekend trading session. The contract slumped nearly 2.03% to the session low of Rs 3726 per 100 kg during the today's opening trading session and the open interest dropped 1.01% to 20,570 lots from 20,750 lots as on yesterday, indicating profit taking.

The Turmeric prices in the Nizamabad mandi rallied nearly 3.50% during the week over the last week to Rs 3834.70 per 100 kg as on yesterday.

Ncdex Soybeans Down 1% Sluggish Activity In Spot - Nov 14, 2008

NCDEX Soybeans drifted lower by more than 1% in the early moves today, recording their third consecutive loss and broke below the Rs 1600 barrier for NCDEX December as traders continued to cover positions in the near month contract in a feverish manner. The NCDEX December futures hit a low of Rs 1592 per quintal and currently trade at Rs 1600, down Rs 14 per quintal or 0.90%.

The current setback has come on the back of a severe downturn in the spot market, which tumbled by Rs 30 in a single day to Rs 1600 earlier in the week. The markets in Indore and Alwar have opened on a sluggish note today as well. Spot quotes are hovering just a tad below Rs 1600 – the lowest level in 13 months for the commodity and futures are unlikely to rally much in intraday moves. NCDEX December contract would be tantalizingly eying Rs 1600 and if the prices mange to stay above the same level, the counter is expected to hit a high of Rs 1610 followed by Rs 1618 in the course of the day.

Market Sources The Total Guarseed Production Of India - Nov 14, 2008

Speculators have liquidated their long position in today's trading in the wake of hefty stocks position coupled with favourable crop position in major growing states. Prices of guarseed have been plunged by Rs 15per quintal in both spot and futures market in today's trading after hitting the high of Rs 1725 quintal.

As per market sources, the total guarseed production of India is likely to be around 98-100 lakh bags , where Haryana will contribute 30 lakh bags, Rajasthan 62 lakh bags and other ( Punjab and Gujarat )around 6-7 lakh bags. While the opening stock for the current year was at 25-26 lakh bags.

Around 90000-100000 bags ( Haryana 55,000-60,000 bags , Hanumangarh and Sriganganagar around 120000-14000 bags )of arrivals are already seen in the market , which is likely to be exceed to 1.20 lakh bags in the coming days at higher levels.In today's trading, Guarseed January Benchmark Future has been slumped by almost 1% and quoted at Rs 1715 per quintal .

Fiscal Revenue Of China Drops 0.3 Percent From Last Year - Nov 14, 2008

China's Ministry of Finance (MOF) on Thursday reported the country's fiscal revenue last month had dropped by 0.3 percent from October last year to 532.9 billion yuan (78.04 billion U.S. dollars). The ministry attributed the decline to the slow-down in economic growth and declining enterprise profits. China's gross domestic product (GDP) growth eased to 9.9 percent in the first three quarters of this year, down 2.3 percentage points from the same period last year.

However, the country still saw fiscal revenue top 5.4 trillion yuan in the first 10 months, up 22.6 percent. The MOF said government expenditure also increased in the first ten months, reaching about 4.06 trillion yuan, up 24.5 percent. The State Council, or Cabinet, on Sunday unveiled a 4-trillion-yuan stimulus package to spur economic growth. The government also announced a nationwide reform of the value-added tax (VAT) regime, which would cut fiscal revenue and ease business burdens by more than 120 billion yuan, from the start of next year.

Rubber Squeezes On Global Trend Dealers And Growers - Nov 14, 2008

Kottayam: Physical rubber prices slipped on Nov 13 due to decline in the global rubber futures and moderate selling from dealers and growers. RSS 4 declined to Rs 82.50 from Rs 84 a kg as major manufacturers kept their quotes even below at Rs 82 a kg during the session.Rubber futures on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange remained lower with the decline in oil and precious metals futures. The futures were weighed down by heavy long liquidation at the opening.

Further, the sentiments continued to be bearish and the most distant April contract went below ¥170 during the early trades, but recovered later towards the morning close, attracting fresh buying and short covering at lower levels. But selling became dominant again during the afternoon. The November contract for RSS 3 nosedived to ¥162 (Rs 82.47) from ¥172.6, December to ¥161 (172.4), January to ¥164.9 (174.5), February to ¥166.2 (175.6), March to ¥169 (179) and April to ¥171.3 (181.4) a kg at TOCOM. Meanwhile RSS 3 spot improved to Rs 89.59 (Rs 88.55) a kg at Bangkok. Spot rates were (Rs/kg): RSS-4: 82.50 (84); RSS-5: 79.50 (80); ungraded: 75.75 (78); ISNR 20: 80 (81) and latex 60 per cent: 57.50 (58).

China's Coke Output Fell 21% On Month In October - Nov 13, 2008

China's coke output fell 21% on month in October, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Thursday.

China produced 21.94 million metric tons of coke, a raw material for making steel, in October. Coke output for the January-October period totaled 279.29 million tons, up 4.9% on year.

Spot Rubber Fall Owing To Buyer Resistance - Nov 13, 2008

Kottayam: Rubber prices fell once again on November 12. RSS 4 slipped to Rs 84 from Rs 84.50 per kg on buyer resistance amidst selling from growers and dealers. Major manufacturers were buyers on the grade at the quoted level though the international futures were partially bearish.

Rubber futures on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange were weak despite a late morning rally. The market extended losses at the opening as profit booking became dominant on early trades amidst Yen's strength against dollar and declines in oil and precious metals futures. But covering purchases became active later, reflecting yen's decline against dollar. RSS 3 weakened at its November contract to ¥172.6 (Rs 87.40) from ¥175.9, February to ¥175.6 (176.5), March to ¥179 (179.5) and April to ¥181.4 (181.8) while its December futures recovered marginally to ¥172.4 (171.8) and January to ¥174.5 (174.2) a kg at TOCOM. Spot rates were (Rs/kg): RSS-4: 84 (84.50); RSS-5: 80 (82) ungraded: 78 (80); ISNR 20: 81 (81) and latex 60 per cent: 58 (58).

China's Crude Steel Output Fell 17% On Year - Nov 13, 2008

China's crude steel output fell 17% on year to 35.9 million metric tons in October, the National Bureau of Statistics said Thursday.

The total crude steel production in the January-October period reached 427.29 million tons, up 3.9% on year.

Meanwhile, October pig iron production declined 16.8% on year to 34.13 million tons, while the January-October output totaled 399.48 million tons, up 2.5% on year.

Statistics provided by the bureau also indicate October iron ore output rose 12.5% on year to 67.85 million tons, while the total production from January to October rose 18.8% on year to 654.18 million tons.

Collahausi Aims To Continue Expansion Despite Falling Prices - Nov 13, 2008

Despite falling prices, Chile's third largest copper mine Collahausi aims to continue with expansions, which include an approved debottlenecking project to add 30,000t/y to its output, company spokesperson Bernardita Fernández confirmed. The mine will carry out a US$64mn concentrator debottlenecking project to iron out kinks related to a SAG mill failure this year and in the process add 30,000t/y to output, Fernández said.

Afterwards, Collahuasi aims to propose to its owners in the first quarter of 2009 a US$750mn expansion to up output to 650,000t/y in 2010, she added. At a later stage the company has said it also intends to propose a further expansion to 1Mt/y by roughly 2014. "Our projects obviously will continue with the same strategies," Collahuasi CEO Jon Evans was quoted as saying by newspaper Diario Financiero.

"The mid and long-term plans are the same, therefore our expansion plans are also the same. Obviously we need to revise our options in the short term but there is no change because the efficiency plans in the plant are undergoing feasibility studies," he added. Collahuasi, which produces roughly 440,000t/y of copper, is jointly controlled by Anglo American and Xstrata, each with 44%. Japan's Mitsui owns the remainder.

South African Mining Sector Facing Heavy Retrenchment - Nov 12, 2008

Thousands of workers on South African mines may face retrenchment as mining houses serve notice to lay them off in the face of falling commodity prices and rising operational costs, according to an update by the local news agency sabcnews.

The updates stated that South Africa's Trade union Solidarity says Dominion uranium mine outside Klerksdorp in the North West Province has served it with a notice to retrench 1 013 out of the 1 175 employees under the union. Solidarity says Dominion will retain a skeleton staff of 162 workers to maintain the mine's facilities in case it needs to resume operations in the future.

The mine expects to complete the retrenchment exercise by the first week of January next year.

Solidarity spokesperson Jaco Kleynhans is reported to have said that the main drivers of the decision to halt operations and retrench workers at Dominion and at many other South Africans mines were the free falling commodity prices on world markets driven by a severely depressed global demand.

Solidarity has also said that up to 16 000 workers at Lonmin, the world's third largest producer of platinum faced retrenchments before the end of this year, as the company suffered production losses due to safety stoppages, Eskom power outages and high levels of absenteeism.

While Lonmin declined to comment on the pending retrenchments, it has revised its initial production forecast for the year from an initial 900 000 ounces to less than 725 000 ounces.

Indonesia's Tin Export Drops About 60% - Nov 12, 2008

Indonesia's tin export in October slid by 59.64 percent to 4,439 tons from that of the previous month, due to a fall of global commodity prices following the weakening demand.

Director of the mining products export of the Trade Ministry Agus Tjahyono was quoted by Bisnis Indonesia daily as saying that the prices of most of mining products had declined.

Tin price has decreased to 18,000 U.S. dollars per metric ton from previous price of 23,000 dollars per metric ton, according to Hutomo Dharmo Sutomo, the secretary of the Indonesian tin association.

Indonesia is the world's second-biggest tin producer after China.

Guyana Celebrates 100 Years of Rice Exports - Nov 12, 2008

At an event to celebrate Guyana's 100 years of rice exports, the country's President, Bharrat Jagdeo, said that in the light of climate change farmers should move into aquaculture, which would bring in more income than rice.

Speaking at a ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of rice export, Jagdeo spoke about climate change, which he said could have a serious affect on the country's rice production, and advised farmers to focus on aquaculture.

India Government To Allocate 2 Mil MT Rice For Strategic Reserves - Nov 12, 2008

After the record rice purchases in 2007-08 season, the Indian Food and Agricultural Ministry is likely to allocate 2 million MT of rice for strategic reserves, created to meet exigencies.

The higher procurement of rice so far in the ongoing 2008-09 marketing season, expected to cross 10 million MT in a day or two, would also help in creating the strategic reserve of rice, if it decides so.

In 2007-08 season, rice procurement was at a record 285.02 lakh MT against the target of 276 lakh MT. Initially, there were concerns that government might not be able to achieve its target.

Keep Aluminium Prices On The Knees Was The Since - Nov 11, 2008

Prices of Aluminium have plummeted by 33% since July and are now nearing November 2007 levels. The fundamentals are still bearish for this base metal. Global recession, Shortage of liquidity for working capital and rising Inventories across exchanges will all pressurize the prices further to test lower levels.In domestic markets the Aluminium contract for November expiry is trading at Rs 93 per kg unchanged in the mid-session.

LME three month aluminum prices rose by a meager $ 5 to close at $ 2023 per metric ton (92 cents/lb). Delivering additional bearish pressure to aluminum pries is huge buildup in LME aluminum inventories of 11125 tons to 1548475 tons.

The collapse in global car sales in the US and now the EU will shrink demand this year and in 2009 as well to keep Aluminium prices on the knees. September was the worst month since 1993 in US with Auto sales dragging down below a million. A plethora of bad economic news drove a sales decline for every major automaker as total light-vehicle sales tumbled to 964873, down 26.6% compared with September 2007, sales.

U.S. auto sales for October are expected to tumble about 29% to their lowest level in nearly 17 years. October sales are expected to drop 9.4% from September. This is an expectation of one of the renowned online resource for automobile Edmunds. In European Union the car sales fell for the fifth consecutive month in September, the longest stretch since 2005, as higher fuel prices and financial-market turmoil reduced demand. India Auto Sales showed a dip of 6.6% in domestic sales in October. Domestic sales were at 98900 units as against 105877 units in the corresponding period last year.

Drought Prompts Reduced Grain Forecasts For Australia - Nov 11, 2008

With much of southeastern Australia returning to drought conditions, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) recently lowered the country's total wheat production forecast for 2008-09 to 20.15 million tonnes, down from the previously forecast 21.6 million tonnes. The FAS also lowered the total barley production forecast for 2008-09 to 7.013 million tonnes, down from the previous forecast of 7.875 million tonnes. The FAS said there remains significant scope for further reductions in forecast production for both wheat and barley.

Despite very low or no rainfall for the month of August in southeastern Australia, many winter cereal producers in these regions had hoped for at least average or above average rainfall during the crucial period of late September and early October, the FAS said. This did not occur however, and the winter cereal producing regions in Western Victoria, Australia and Southern New South Wales, Australia are expecting a very poor harvest with many crops cut for hay or abandoned altogether. The FAS believes the conditions faced in these areas are so severe that they will significantly constrain Australia's overall production of wheat and barley and thus have provided the basis for the downward revision in both area and yield. In revising production downwards, the FAS has cut area by 500,000 hectares and has also trimmed yield.

Recent FAS investigations have revealed the local production credit conditions for Australian growers (in the context of ongoing drought) remain of greatest importance, at least for the foreseeable future. Many growers believe that without widespread rainfall prior to planting next year's (2009-10) crop, credit required to "dry sow" crops may be constrained. On the positive side, growers believe that falling oil, fertilizer and the weaker Australian currency will likely provide some economic relief going forward.

Normalcy Returns In Copper Boost In The Last - Nov 11, 2008

Copper prices got the necessary boost in the last night trading after China announced its hefty stimulus package for the economy. However the today's session has started normally after the traders have discounted the news from China. Last night, Copper managed to cope up with the rise in inventories as well which jumped by as much as 6050 tonnes yesterday to 260850 tonnes. At the start of the year the inventories were at 198925 tonnes.

Copper contract for November expiry closed the trades at Rs 188 per kg up Rs 2, the same now trades at Rs 186.30 per kg down Rs 2. Today Copper will try to cross its Resistance at 191 and 194 levels. Supports for the contract are at 184 levels.

Shanghai Inventories data for the day showed a fall of 100 to 10272 tonnes. China has seen lack of intensity on buying front. India is already suffering from low liquidity, thanks to RBI campaign of sucking liquidity in the early half of the year. Developed markets are finding tough to fight against the Sub prime monster.

The Chinese government cleared a 4 trillion-yuan ($586 billion) investment package till 2010 to spur domestic demand and boost the slowing economy. A State Council meeting, presided by Premier Wen Jiabao, has resolved that it is necessary to adopt "proactive" fiscal and "moderately loose" monetary policies now. The Nov 5 statement marks an end to the previous "prudent" fiscal and "tightening" monetary policies because the economy now faces an increasing risk of slowing down further.

Trade Volume Between China And To Surpass Dollar - Nov 11, 2008

The trade volume between China and Germany is to surpass 100 billion U.S. dollar this year, it was revealed by Ministry Of Commerce on Monday. Germany is China's biggest trading partner and technology exporter in Europe, and the amount of German investment in China ranks second among European countries. In the meantime, China is Germany's second largest trading partner outside of the European Union.

According to Chinese diplomats, the trade volume between the two world exporting giants stood at 86.7 billion U.S. dollars in the first nine months of this year, up 29 percent over the same period of last year. By the end of September 2008, Germany's actual investment in China hit 15 billion U.S. dollars and the contracts of technology transfer from Germany to China valued at 42.8 billion U.S. dollars.

World Raw Sugar Prices Advanced On ICE Futures - Nov 10, 2008

World raw sugar prices advanced on ICE Futures U.S. Friday and retraced some of the previous day's losses, encouraged by a rise in the Dow Industrials and other commodities while the dollar eased for a while. ICE futures and options volume was moderate.ICE March 2009 world sugar ended 14 points higher at 12.01 cents a pound, with May 2009 up 15 points at 12.34. July 2009 gained 19 points to 12.56 cents.

The U.S. non-farm payrolls fell a greater-than-expected 240,000 in October, and a huge downward revision left September's job loss at 284,000.

Brazilian officials are considering new financing to help the nation's cane industry, with an announcement possible next week. Brazil's sugar-ethanol producers need more credit to run operations, export, and store inventories in the inter-harvest period, the head of cane-group Unica said.

Brazil, the top cane-ethanol exporter, is preparing to fight environmental barriers that might be imposed on ethanol imports by the European Union. Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Mozambique and other African nations plan to send a letter to the E.U. and will complain to the World Trade Organization if the E.U. introduces barriers to ethanol entry. European environmentalists are worried in part that expanding Brazilian cane-ethanol output will encroach on the Amazon rainforest.

Scattered showers and thunderstorms forecast for Brazil's center-south through Tuesday should cause some cane-cutting delays, before the harvest wraps up in mid-December.

Russia imported 1.86 million tons of raws from January to September, down 27% on the year, the nation's customs service said.

Modest Losses In Trade Before Report Recession - Nov 10, 2008

US corn futures posted slight losses, falling under the influence of the outside markets and ahead of a crop report Monday. Crude oil traded on both sides of unchanged during the day and a late dip into negative territory likely tugged on corn prices. Corn opened higher on the coattails of a rally on Wall Street and higher crude oil, but traders quickly pared gains as a choppy trade developed. Also, some traders took profits on the opening gains after two days of losses.

The grain market, as with most commodities, continues to be pressured by fears of weakening demand as world economies slip into recession. Recent export sales have confirmed this weak demand trend.Dec corn lost 2 1/2 cents to settle at $3.75 1/2 a bushel, and Mar gave up 2 cents to settle at $3.93 1/2.

Weather is a concern in the western and central corn belt, with much corn left to harvest and wet, cold conditions setting in. The favorable harvest weather the region has enjoyed until this week has abruptly come to an end, and producers are expected to struggle to get the remaining crops out of the fields.

Financial Turmoil Worries Metal Sector Various Companies - Nov 10, 2008

With global financial crisis upsetting several industrial sectors all over the world, profit making steel units in public as well as private sectors likely to be kicked badly. Various companies in the domestic market have initiated steps to deal with the situation. In this regard, country's major steel producer Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), has started taking several measures as the demand for steel has been considerably reduced in the world market.

On the other hand, Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP), a giant unit and the first steel plant in the country has been obliged to reduce its normal production. Its sale position of saleable steel has started declining from October, 2008, thus piling up its stock position.

RSP had sold about 9 lakh tones of salebale steel (average 1 lakh forty thousand tones per month) during first half of the current fiscal year as against its annual target of about 17 lakh tones and gained net profit of Rs 800 crore till the ende of September 2008.

But due to slashing demand of steel in the global market, RSP could manage to sell only about 90 thousand tones of saleable steel during October 2008. Addition to this, for November 2008, the order received by the plant was only 40,000 tones against its average of 140,000 tones.

Major Manufacturers Maintained Their Market Always - Nov 10, 2008

Spot rubber showed a mixed trend on 8th Nov. The market behavior was almost neutral and sheet rubber closed flat at Rs 85 a kg amidst narrow volumes. Meanwhile, RSS 5 and ISNR 20 lost 50 paise on scattered transactions in a rather dull trading session. Major manufacturers maintained their quotes always at the lower side during the week as the market seemed to be under pressure.

Against An Inflow Of The Corresponding Period - Nov 08, 2008

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 414 crore on Thursday, 6 November 2008, as against their inflow of Rs 339.50 crore on Wednesday, 5 November 2008.FII outflow of Rs 414 crore on 6 November 2008 was a result of gross purchases Rs 1522.90 crore and gross sales Rs 1936.90 crore. The BSE Sensex fell 385.79 points or 3.81% to 9,734.22 on that day.

FII inflow in November 2008 totaled Rs 1777.40 crore (till 6 November 2008). FII outflow reached Rs 50,361.60 crore in calendar 2008, so far, till 6 November 2008, as against an inflow of a huge Rs 70,752.50 crore in the corresponding period last year.There are a total of 1543 foreign funds registered with the Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

Roman Tarmat Builds On New Order Win Quarter - Nov 08, 2008

The company made this announcement during trading hours today, 7 November 2008.eanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 229.70 points, or 2.36%, to 9,963.92.on BSE, 9,819 shares were traded in the counter. The stock had an average daily volume of 20,065 shares in the past one quarter.The stock hit a high of Rs 25.65 and a low of Rs 23.05 so far during the day. The stock has a 52-week high of Rs 229.90 on 12 December 2007 and a 52-week low of Rs 22.05 on 28 October 2008.

The small-cap stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 6 November 2008, declining 23.82% as compared to the Sensex�s decline of 17.52%. It had also underperformed the market in the past one quarter, declining 52.24% as compared to the Sensex�s decline of 35.42%.The company�s current equity is Rs 10.96 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.The current price of Rs 25.50 discounts the company�s Q2 September 2008 annualized EPS of Rs 3.28, by a PE multiple of 7.77.

Roman Tarmat has bagged orders worth Rs 44.20 crore from Cochin International Airport for up gradation of runways at Cochin International Airport, Nedumbassery in Cochin.

Roman Tarmat reported a net profit of Rs 0.90 crore in Q2 September 2008 as compared to net loss of Rs 0.55 crore in Q2 September 2007. Net sales rose 4.3% to Rs 18.72 crore in Q2 September 2008 over Q2 September 2007.

The company provides engineering, procurement and construction services for infrastructure projects. The services include construction of airside works, highways, roads and other civil work.

Alembic Spurts On Buyback Plan To The Sensex - Nov 08, 2008

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 73.50 points, or 0.76%, to 9,807.72.On BSE, 1.08 lakh shares were traded in the counter. The stock had an average daily volume of 87,677 shares in the past one quarter.The stock hit a high of Rs 36 and a low of Rs 29.50 so far during the day. The stock has a 52-week high of Rs 107.30 on 17 December 2007 and a 52-week low of Rs 24.75 on 24 October 2008.

The small-cap stock had outperformed the market over the past one month till 6 November 2008, declining 16.49% as compared to the Sensex's decline of 17.52%. It had underperformed the market in the past one quarter, declining 32.75% as compared to the Sensex's decline of 35.42%.

The company's current equity is Rs 27.69 crore. Face value per share is Rs 2.

The current price of Rs 33.65 discounts the company's Q2 September 2008 annualized EPS of Rs 4.35, by a PE multiple of 7.74.

Alembic's board will meet on 14 November 2008 to consider buyback of own shares. The company made this announcement during trading hours today, 7 November 2008.

Alembic's net profit fell 67% to Rs 15.04 crore on 13.1% increase in net sales to Rs 344.68 crore in Q2 September 2008 over Q2 September 2007.

The company is engaged in manufacturing and selling bulk drugs and pharmaceutical formulations in human and animal healthcare. It manufactures and markets antibiotics and antibacterial, cough and cold remedies, analgesic and anti-inflammatory medications, nutraceuticals and anti-diabetics.

State Run Marketing Stocks In Demand Petroleum - Nov 08, 2008

PSU oil OMCs, Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation rose by 5.12% to 7.33%.US crude oil futures fell to a 1-1/2-year low below $60 a barrel on expectations for a drastic pullback in energy demand.Meanwhile, the Petroleum Secretary, R S Pandey said on Thursday (6 November 2008), the Government is not considering any fuel price cut at the moment as public sector. oil marketing companies are still incurring revenue loss on sale of various petroleum products.

While margins on sale of petrol have turned positive, but there were under-recoveries on sales of other products such as diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene. Besides, the rupee-dollar parity is also to be taken into account, he pointed out.

The public sector oil marketing companies — Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation — may reportedly lose Rs 1,28,135 crore on fuel sales during the current fiscal. The Indian crude basket hit its low of current fiscal on 28 October 2008 at $56.72 a barrel.

The basket on Wednesday, 5 November 2008 stood at $60.10, a barrel up from previous day’s $58.62. The basket for April till November 2008 has averaged $108.74 a barrel. The October 2008 average stood at $69.12 a barrel.

The Indian rupee weakened today as expectations of further foreign investor outflows from the stock market weighed on sentiment. It stood at 47.73/74 per dollar in opening deals, just 0.1% weaker than 47.66/69 at close on Thursday (6 November 2008). A weak rupee increases the cost of oil imports.

Singapore Official Foreign Reserves To Lowest - Nov 07, 208

Singapore’s official foreign reserves declined 0.76% in September compared to the previous month, falling to the lowest level since February 2008. The foreign reserves amounted US $168,802.1 million in September compared to US $170,100.0 million in August. However on an annual basis the foreign reserves showed an increase of 10.7% in September.

Taiwan Imported Barrels Of Crude Maintenance - Nov 07, 2008

Taiwan imported 15.86 million barrels of crude oil in September, down 36.2% on year and also down 54.1% on month on weak demand and maintenance at local refineries, the country's Bureau of Energy said in a report Friday. September's crude oil imports were the lowest since December 2002's 15.64 million barrels, according to data from the bureau.

The country's two refiners - CPC Corp. and Formosa Petrochemical Corp. (6505.TW) - refined a combined 3.73 million kiloliters of oil in September, down 17.9% from 4.54 million kiloliters in the same month a year earlier, the bureau said. Their refinery utilization rate fell to 62.04% in September from 72.64%, it said.

Vietnam Car Sales Fell By 37 Percent From The Month - Nov 07, 2008

Vietnam's October car sales fell by 37 percent from the same month last year to 5,679 units due to higher taxes and registration fees, an industry report said on Friday. However, sales by the 16 cars makers operating in Vietnam in the first 10 months still jumped 64 percent from the same period in 2007 to a record 95,736 units, the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association said in its monthly report.

Dealers have said demand would slow for the rest of the year after the government tripled registration fees to 15 percent of the car's purchase price from August. Toyota Motor Corp retained its pole position among the manufacturers with Jan-Oct sales surging more than 30 percent from a year earlier to 20,351 vehicles.

Sales by Ford Motor Co revved up nearly 40 percent in the period to 5,613 units. Honda, Mitsubishi Motors Corp, Mitsubishi Co and Proton, Suzuki Motor Corp and Nissho Iwai, part of Sojitz Holdings Corp are among the car makers with assembly plants in Vietnam.

South Africa Net Gold And Exchange Reserves - N0v 07, 2008

South Africa's net gold and foreign exchange reserves fell 4.5 percent to $32.111 billion in October, as the rand weakened and the price of gold dropped, official data showed on Friday. The Reserve Bank said the net liquidity position dipped from $33.638 billion in September, while gross reserves decreased to $32.908 billion from $34.424 billion.

The central bank has been steadily building up its reserves over the past four years but a sharp fall in the value of the rand last month removed the opportunity to buy dollars and a big drop in the price of gold cut the value of its stocks. Analysts said the fall was likely mostly related to currency revaluations given the drop in the value of the bank's euro reserves as the European currency softened against the dollar.

Gold reserves slid by $616 million to $2.943 billion as the price of the precious metal tumbled to $734.45 an ounce at the end of last month. The central bank brought a long-standing negative position in reserves into balance early in 2004 with the elimination of its loss-making forward foreign exchange book, historically the Achilles heel of the currency.

While net reserves -- known as the net liquidity position -- have risen significantly over the past four years, they still lag holdings in other emerging economies.

Cambodia Rice Prices Drop Amid Slower Demand - Nov 06, 2008

Rice prices in Cambodia have dropped nearly 30 % from its peak in March due to falling demand and the slowing global economy as rice farmers may see their incomes drop amid a worsening global economic crisis.

According to Yang Saing Koma, president of agricultural research organization CEDAC, the lost profits were having a marked impact on rural living standards as the high price of foods and the decrease in global oil prices caused the cost of rice to fall, forcing farmers to sell their rice at a lower price.

India Jeera Futures Up On Weak Arrivals, Low Stocks - Nov 06, 2008

Indian jeera futures ended higher on Tuesday due to the weak arrivals in the physical market and declining stocks in the warehouses, according to the analyst. Arrivals in the physical market were about 1,000 bags of 70 kg each, as compared to around 1,500-2,000 bags last week, said a Unjha-based trader.

Total stocks in the NCDEX warehouses stood at 663 tonnes. However, the outlook is bearish on expectations of a rise in area under production, said an analyst with a Mumbai-based commodity brokerage. Open interest for January contract rose to 6,048 tonnes from 5,787 tonnes the previous session. Spot jeera was trading steady at 10,978 rupees per 100 kg, a major trading hub in Gujarat.

India Pepper Pares Losses On Tight Supply, Weak Arrivals - Nov 06, 2008

Indian pepper, lost in early trade on Tuesday on sluggish export demand and hopes of higher production, pared most of the losses on tight supplies, analysts said. Export demand is weak due to the global financial crisis as U.S imports most of India's pepper, said Faiyaz Hudani, an analyst with Kotak Commodity Services Ltd.

India shipped 12,750 tonnes of pepper in April-September, with a fall of 33 percent, due to higher Indian prices. Output in Karnataka, the country's second largest producer, may rise by 10-20 percent due to conducive weather, which was also weighing on the sentiment, analysts said. However, a tight supply situation and weak arrivals capped some of the losses, said Mehul Agrawal, an analyst with Sharekhan Commodities Pvt Ltd.Supplies are expected to remain tight till early December when the arrivals of the new crop start. December pepper contract is likely to get support at 10,700 rupees and face resistance at 11,700 rupees. Spot pepper fell 0.9 percent to 11,489 rupees per 100 kg in spices hub of Kochi in Kerala.

India Soybean Futures Lower On Weak Malaysia Market - Nov 06, 2008

Indian soybean futures opened lower on Nov 4 tracking a weak Malaysian market, according to analysts. Malaysian crude palm oil futures tumbled 4.7 percent on November 4, slipping off a near two-week high, as crude oil prices fell. Soybean and rapeseed are crushed to produce edible oil, which competes with palm oil. Their prices often move in tandem.

However, hopes of an import duty hike may cap the losses. Indian ministers will consider on Tuesday whether to raise import taxes on edible oils and allow exports as a slide in global prices threatens local producers.

Philippines Inflation Continue To Decelerate Slowing - Nov 05, 2008

Philippines year-on-year headline inflation rate continued to decelerate at 11.2 % in October from 11.8 % in September brought about by the continued slowing down in the annual price increases of the heavily weighted food, beverages and tobacco (FBT) and services items. Inflation a year ago was 2.7 %. Excluding selected food and energy items, core inflation continued to go up at a rate of 7.8 % in October from 7.5 % in September.

Decreases in the prices of food items such as rice, corn, pork and chicken along with the series of reductions in the prices of kerosene, gasoline and diesel pushed down the overall consumer prices by -0.4 % in October, the same rate posted in September.

Annual rates of price increases in FBT and services items correspondingly improved to 15.0 % and 10.2 % in October from their respective September rates of 16.1 % and 12.1 %. Annual inflation for the clothing index was however higher at 4.9 % from 4.8 %; housing and repairs (H&R) index, 5.3 % from 5.2 %; FLW index, 10.7 % from 8.5 %; and miscellaneous items index, 3.7 % from 3.5 %.

The national annual inflation rate for food alone further decelerated to 15.6 % in October from 17.0 % in September.

Annual price hike in rice was slower at 32.4 % in October from 37.2 % in September; corn, 26.3 % from 26.8 %; dairy products 13.4 % from 14.2 %; eggs, 5.5 % from 6.1 %; fruits and vegetables, 14.1 % from 15.9 %; meat, 10.1 % from 11.0 %; and miscellaneous foods, 9.1 % from 9.3 %. The corresponding annual rates of price increments in cereal preparations and fish at 20.3 % and 10.1 % were however higher than their respective last month’s rates of 20.0 % and 10.0 %.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices at the national level dropped by -0.4 % in October, the same rate posted September. This was brought about by the continued decreases in the prices of FBT items at -0.4 % from -0.2 % and services items, -1.2 %, the same rate in September. Slower monthly price increments correspondingly observed in clothing and H&R items at 0.2 % and 0.1 % from their respective last month’s rates of 0.3 % and 0.2 % also contributed to the downtrend. Price add-ons in FLW items were however higher at 0.5 % from -1.4 % while that for miscellaneous items remained at 0.2 %.

Tokyo Exchange Remained Closed On National - Nov 05, 2008

Kottayam: Physical prices of rubber remained unchanged as on Nov 3. Sheet rubber RSS 4 ended flat at Rs 87.25 a kg as on Nov 1. RSS 3 (spot) dropped to Rs 91.08 from Rs 92.56 a kg at Bangkok. The Tokyo Commodity Exchange remained closed on account of National Culture Day. Spot rates were: RSS-4: 87.25 (87.25); RSS-5: 85 (85); ungraded: 81.50 (81.50); ISNR 20: 83 (83) and latex 60 per cent: 60.50 (60.50).

Production Likely To Fall On Untimely Rains By Around - Nov 05, 2008

Coffee production in India may be dropped by around 20 to 22 per cent as against the post blossom (April 2008) estimate of 293,000 tonnes for the crop year October 2007 - September 2008. The reason for the fall in production is untimely rain in the coffee growing regions with interspersed drought. This is likely to see coffee production between 220,000 tonnes and 230,000 tonnes.

India Coffee Export Has Increased In The First Months - Nov 05, 2008

India's coffee export has increased in the first 10 months of this year by 3 per cent to 196,000 tonnes. The growth of coffee export was 6 per cent in August. The provisional exports of coffee from January 1 and October 30, including re-exports, was 196,000 tonnes, against 190,000 tonnes in the year-ago period. Re-exports refer to the imported coffee components. which get exported after value addition in the country.

Though provisional coffee re-export increased to 19,761 tonnes against 12,182 tonnes during the same period a year ago, the rise is not as dramatic as in the first eight months of the year. Re-export almost doubled to 16,238 tonnes in the first eight months, from 8,722 tonnes in the year-ago period.

Geera Futures In Hefty Gains In Afternoon - Nov 04, 2008

The Jeera futures traded with hefty gains in the afternoon trading session on fresh buying support. The NCDEX Jeera futures benchmark January contract rallied 2.55% to the session high of Rs 10679 per 100 kg and the open interest in the contract added 3.10% to 5,967 lots from 5787 lots as on last day, indicating fresh buying. The counter currently trades near the session high and the volume traded as of now stood at 2,838 lots as against 2,828 lots as on last day.

The NCDEX accredited warehouse is having the Jeera stocks of 664 MT as on 03-11-08 as almost same as 663 MT as on 01-11-08.The Jeera ended the session with steady note at Rs 10,978.55 per 100 kg in the Unjha mandi today. The commodity ended the last session marginally down nearly Rs 57.15 per 100kg.

Demand For Nickel Hit Severely As Stainless Steel - Nov 04, 2008

Demand for Nickel has taken a hit as the stainless steel sector is facing trouble on account of slowing demand in the domestic as well as international markets. Nickel is mostly used to produce Austenitic Steel which is corrosion resistant. The problems of domestic steel makers are that the prices have fallen in international and domestic markets. India is witnessing rise in imports of steel from China, Taiwan and Korea, as it is costing less. On the other hand Indian steel makers have entered into long term agreements for the supply of coal.

Steel makers have slashed the prices every now and then and the situation is likely to continue in the medium term.Nickel prices in the futures markets are now at Rs 586 per kg up Rs 3. The peak was attained during the month of March, when the prices were hovering in the range of 2250 per kg. Supports for the contract are at 570 levels with Resistances at Rs 628.

Nickel miners have cut production by just under 140,000 metric tons so far this year because of a poor demand outlook as well as unplanned disruptions, but there is still the potential for a market surplus next year, Macquarie Bank said in a note. The problem for the nickel market in 2009 is that there is still the potential for a 200,000-ton supply rise in production from the restart of lost 2008 production and the ramp-up of existing and new production capacity.

Expectations for nickel demand growth for 2009 are less than 60,000 tons, "so the potential surplus without further action to adjust production is enormous," the bank said, expecting a surplus of 20,000 tons in spite of existing production cuts and another 100,000 tons in expected cutbacks and disruptions.

Soybeans Ended In Red After Recording Some Gains - Nov 04, 2008

NCDEX Soybeans ended in red after recording some gains earlier in the day as profit booking emerged in the commodity after day’s highs. The commodity eased in the spot markets today as the demand thinned after last few days’ highs. The spot prices eased to Rs 1673 in today’s trade, down Rs 7 per quintal from the last session. The spot prices in Indore rose after falling to Rs 1633 per quintal in the middle of October as good demand in the festive season and lean arrivals supported the prices.

The commodity hit a two-week high of Rs 1680 per quintal yesterday. However, the movement in today’s session has been a let down so far. Not much of a demand is emerging in the spot markets at the prevailing rates. After hitting a high of Rs 1710 in intraday moves, the NCDEX December futures ended at Rs 1688 per quintal, down Rs 11 or 0.65% from the previous close.

Physical Market Tumbles Further Black Pepper - Nov 04, 2008

The Black pepper futures settled with nominal loss today. The NCDEX Black Pepper futures benchmark December contract traded in the ranges of Rs 11360-Rs10891 per 100 kg. The contract ended the day with loss of Rs 9 at Rs 11173 per 100 kg. The open interest dropped 2.28% to 6,556 lots from 6709 lots as on last day. The volume traded in the contract dropped to 4,080 lots from 4,468 lots as on last day.

The Black Pepper stocks in the NCDEX accredited warehouse as on 03-11-08 stood at 2803 MT (2988 MT)and 10 MT(20 MT)of dematted and quantity in the process respectively.The Black Pepper tumbled further today in the local cash market. The Malabar Garbled Grade-1 Pepper slumped nearly Rs 100 to Rs 11489.25 per 100 kg.

Ukraine Harvested Over 50 Mln Tonnes Of Grain - Nov 03, 2008

Ukraine has finished harvesting campaign and complex of autumn field works, declared the media-department of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy on October 29.

As of October 29, Ukraine harvested 50.6 mln tonnes of grain and legumes with an average yield of 35.2 c/ha, according to the announcement,

Particularly, farmers harvested 290.900 tonnes of buckwheat, 100.100 tonnes of rice and 233.800 tonnes of millet.

The agrarians harvested 6.26 mln tonnes of sunflower throughout 94% of planned areas with an average yield of 15.8 c/ha.

Ukraine also finishes soybean harvesting. To date, 651.500 tonnes of soybeans with an average yield of 15.7 c/ha were harvested.

As of October 29, Ukraine sowed 7.8 mln ha of winter wheat and triticale, 449.200 ha of winter rye, 1.08 mln ha of winter barley.

Domestic Sentiments Under Even Pressure - Nov 03, 2008

Kottayam: Rubber prices ended weak on Nov 1. The falls in TOCOM rubber futures in the weekend session kept the domestic sentiments under pressure even after a day and sheet rubber RSS 4 declined slightly to Rs 88.25 from Rs 87.50 a kg on Oct 31. Spot rates were: RSS-4: 87.25 (87.50); RSS-5: 85 (86); ungraded: 81.50 (81.50); ISNR 20: 83 (84.50) and latex 60 per cent: 60.50 (61.50).

CTC Leaf Teas At North India Sales With Less Demand - Nov 03, 2008

Kolkata: Last week, CTC leaf teas at North India sales met with less demand and eased in value. Selected liquoring dust teas were around last while the remainder also tended easier. Whole leaf grades in the Darjeeling tea auction were barely firm while the remainder tended easier. Traditional exporters and packeteers operated. In the Orthodox auction, selected well made whole leaf and brokens were irregularly easier while the remainder tended lower. Fannings were steady on last levels.

Yemen, other West Asian countries and Pakistan packers showed more support at lower levels while Egyptian packers were active with Afghanistan operating at lower levels. The Egyptian Government sector re-entered the market and was fairly active. The Colombo auction saw less demand at easier rates for all sorts.

Indian Pepper Has Become Competitive In The Futures Prices - Nov 03, 2008

Kochi: Indian pepper has become competitive, with the fall in the futures prices and the continuous decrease of the rupee against the dollar. Last week, the November and December contracts increased by Rs 128 and Rs 3 a quintal to close at Rs 11,500 and Rs 11,465 respectively. All the other contracts fell by Rs 2-316 a quintal on NCDEX. Fall in prices on NMCE ranged from Rs 146 to 325 a quintal. Total volume increased by 4,266 tonnes to 36,923 tonnes.

Total open interest fell by 292 tonnes to 14,538 tonnes. November open interest fell by 1,209 tonnes. Spot prices declined by Rs 300 a quintal during the week to close at Rs 11,100 and Rs 11,700 (MG 1) a quintal at Nov 1 close.

Copper Aluminium Also Pares Early Losses - Nov 1, 2008

MCX Copper futures have gained marginally as traders resorted to short covering in the shortened session ahead of the weekend. The MCX November futures drifted lower to Rs 207.50 per kg and rebounded to quote at Rs 208.50, up Rs 1.50 per kg or 0.75% from the previous close. The Aluminium futures also edged up from the initial lows, rebounding from a low of Rs 97.65 per kg to trade at Rs 99.50 per kg, up Rs 0.50 or 0.50% from the previous closing price. The counter has added nearly 2 rupees in the intraday moves so far, quite intriguing provided that it is a Saturday. The open interest is down 1%.

Water Storage Of Important Reservoirs Country - Nov 1, 2008

The present water storage in the major reservoirs of the country is about 10% than last year, according to a latest update from the Ministry of Water Resources. The Central Water Commission (CWC) under Ministry of Water Resources has monitoring storage position of 81 important reservoirs spread all over the country and declared that the combined live storage in these 81 reservoirs at the beginning of monsoon i.e. 1st June, 2008 was 19 % of their designed capacity.

The current storage stands at 71 % per cent of the designed capacity as on 30th October 2008. The present storage is 90 % of last year’s storage and 106% of last 10 years average storage during the same period. Out of these 81 reservoirs there are presently 17 reservoirs where this year’s storage is 80 % or less than the average of previous 10 years and in remaining 64 reservoirs the storage is more than 80 % of the average of previous 10 years.

The storage position in 6 basins namely, Ganga, Indus, Narmada, River of Kutch, Krishna, Cauvery & Neighboring East Flowing Rivers are better than average of previous 10 years. Tapi, Mahi, Godavari, Mahanadi and Neighbouring East Flowing Rivers and West Flowing Rivers of South basins are flowing close to normal and Sabarmati is flowing deficient.

Slowdown Likely To Affect Guar Gum Export - Nov 1, 2008

Chennai: Guar gum exports are likely to be affected, while domestic consumption may also fall in view of the global economic slowdown. Demand from countries such as the US and Europe is likely to be hit in view of the slowdown and crash in the commodities market, especially crude. Guar gum exports were initially pegged to reach 2.25 lakh tonnes this fiscal, but now the industry expects it to be 1.75 lakh tonnes only. On the other hand, domestic consumption was hoped to be around 50,000 tonnes but could now be lower at 40,000 tonnes. Global recession and slowdown in demand is very much evident. Guar or cluster beans is a legume crop that grows best in the semi-arid regions in the country. In India, guar is grown primarily in Rajasthan.

It is also grown in Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. India is the major producer of guar seed and gum, making up 80-85 per cent of the total world supply. Crude prices have declined to below $70 a barrel and exploration activity could slow down. Due to lack of demand, guarseed rates have currently fell to Rs 1,450 a quintal from over Rs 1,790 quoted during August-end

Rice Procurement By Government Agencies - Nov 1, 2008

New Delhi: Rice procurement by Government agencies has picked up following the Centre's declaration of a bonus Rs 50 per quintal over and above the minimum support price (MSP) for the current 2008-09 marketing season (October-September). As on Oct 30, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and various State agencies had cumulatively purchased 78.37 lakh tonnes (lt) of rice, as against 72.42 lt procured during the corresponding period of the 2007-08 season. The step-up in procurement comes as a relief for the Centre, which was concerned over the initial lag that was mainly attributed to the delay in declaration of the bonus.

The decision to grant the Rs 50 per quintal bonus over and above the MSP of Rs 850 for common paddy and Rs 880 for grade 'A' varieties was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Oct 16. However, overall arrivals in the mandis remain to be lower compared to last year. As on OCt 30, total paddy arrivals of 132.1 lt were below the corresponding last year level of 135.83 lt. Both Punjab (105.73 lt versus 110.78 lt) and Haryana (19.24 lt versus 22.52 lt) have reported lower cumulative flows of grain into their markets.