Bullion Divergent, Sugar Up, Groundnut Oil Steady

Groundnut oil continued to remain steady, while other industrial oils ruled easy-to-subdued at the wholesale oils and oilseeds market at Turbhe, Navi Mumbai, yesterday. Imported palmolein also ruled easy on dull demand. In futures section, castorseed June '97 contract opened lower but firmed up towards the fag end. The September contract, on the other hand, did not see any deals yesterday.

Groundnut oil ruled overall steady at Rs 355 per 10 kg on subdued demand, coupled with modest arrivals. Arrivals were put at around 100 tonnes a day.

In other oils, copra oil white and linseed oil slipped by Rs 10 and Rs 5 to Rs 540 and Rs 290 per 10 kg respectively on dull industrial offtake. Cottonseed oil washed and refined qualities eased further by Rs 3 and Rs 4 to Rs 282 and Rs 286 per 10 kg respectively on subdued industrial demand coupled with better inflows. Imported palmolein declined by Re 1 at Rs 280 per 10 kg.

In the futures section, castorseeds June 97 contract opened Rs 4 lower at Rs 1,084 and firmed up to Rs 1,086 a quintal. It declined to Rs 1,084 before closing at Rs 1,086 a quintal on short-coverings. In oilseeds, nigerseeds Madras firmed up by Rs 20 at Rs 1,450 a quintal

Sugar: A better-to-firm trend was witnessed at the wholesale sugar market at Turbhe yesterday. Sugar S-30 grade edged up to Rs 1,420/1,430 as against of the previous level of Rs 1,390/1,440 a quintal on reduced demand and moderate arrivals. While sugar M-30 grade improved to Rs 1,455/1,490 from the previous level of 1,450/1,480 a quintal on reduced offtake, sugar for check-post deliveries were quoted easy at Rs 1,388/1,410 a quintal for S-30 grade and Rs 1,430/1,452 for the M-30 grade.

Non-ferrous Metals: A firm-to-better trend was noticed in the local non-ferrous market yesterday. Industrial demand was moderate, while trading volumes remained small.

In virgin section, aluminium ingots and nickel cathodes improved by 25 paise and Re 1 to Rs 76 and Rs 369 per kg. The other metals ruled overall steady, and were quoted as under: copper wirebars Rs 136, zinc slabs Rs 79.50, lead ingots Rs 41.50 and tin slabs Rs 312 a kg respectively.

In the scraps section, a better-to-upward trend was observed in metal prices. Copper heavy scraps, copper utensils, brass utensils, brass sheetcuttings and aluminium utensils firmed up by 25 paise each to Rs 122.75, Rs 110.75, Rs 94, Rs 98.50 and Rs 59.25 a kg respectively.

Bullion: The local bullion market witnessed a divergent trend yesterday. In white metals, silver.999 and .916 firmed up by Rs 5 each to Rs 6,875 and Rs 6,775 a kg respectively on improved industrial demand, coupled with modest arrivals. Delhi advices also indicated a weak trend.

In yellow metals, standard gold and 22 carat gold eased by Rs 15 and Rs 10 to Rs 4,765 and Rs 4,410 per 10 grams respectively on reduced demand. besides better arrivals. Gold biscuit prices also eased by Rs 200 at Rs 55,700 per piece of 10 tolas on reduced demand.