Downtrend Persists In Sugar, Bullion Remains Steady

Groundnut oil eased on subdued demand and modest arrivals while industrial oils indicated steady to subdued trend at the wholesale oils and oilseeds market in Turbhe, Navi Mumbai yesterday. Imported palmolein eased further on reduced demand. In the futures section, the March 97 contract opened higher but declined towards closing.

Groundnut oil eased by Rs 2 to Rs 342 per 10 kg. on reduced demand coupled with moderate arrivals. Arrivals were put about 100-110 tonnes a day. Meanwhile, sesame oil improved further by Rs 2 to Rs 315 per 10 kg on better industrial demand. Mowra oil declined by Rs 10 at Rs 260 per 10 kg. on dull offtake. Copra oil white improved by Rs 10 to Rs 660 per 10 kg on firm demand. Sunflower oil expeller declined by Rs 8 to Rs.285 on reduced demand. Imported palmolein eased further by Re 1 to Rs 283 per 10 kg Other oils ruled overall steady on narrow movements. In futures section, the March 97 contract opened Re 1 higher at Rs 1177 a quintal. It declined and closed at Rs 1172 on selling pressure. All oilseeds ruled over all steady on narrow movements yesterday. Prices remained unchanged.

Sugar: An easy to downward trend continued at the wholesale sugar market. The demand overall remained dull. The market undertone was seen to be weak.

Sugar small grade eased to Rs 1245/1280 a quintal from the previous level of Rs 1255/1290, while medium grade dipped to Rs 1285/1370 as against the previous level of Rs 1290/1375 on narrow tradings.

Sugar prices for the check-post were quoted lower at Rs 1220/1240 a quintal for S-30 grade and for the M-30 grade it was Rs 1250/1315 a quintal.

Non-ferrous Metals: In virgin metals, nickel, tin and zinc ruled firm while scrap metals ruled overall steady on narrow movements in the local non-ferrous market.

Nickel cathodes recovered by Rs 2 to Rs 369 per kg on improved industrial demand, while tin slabs firmed up further by Re 1 to Rs.346 per kg on better industrial offtake. Zinc slabs improved further by 50 paise to Rs Rs.67.50 a kg on better offtake. Meanwhile, copper wire bar, aluminium ingots and lead ingots ruled over all steady on narrow movements and were nominally quoted at Rs 126.50, Rs 72 and Rs 45.25 a kg respectively on moderate offtake. In the scraps section, all scraps ruled overall steady on narrow movements. Prices remained unchanged and were nominally quoted per kg were; copper heavy scraps Rs 117.50, copper utensils Rs 104.50, brass utensils Rs 87.25, brass utensils Rs 91 and aluminium utensils Rs 58.

Bullion: An easy to steady trend was noticed in the local bullion market yesterday. Both the precious metals declined. The undertone of the market remained weak. In white metals, silver.999 and .916 declined by Rs.25 to Rs.6750 and Rs 6650 per kg. respectively on reduced industrial demand coupled with brisk arrivals.

In yellow metals, standard gold and 22 carat gold eased by Rs.15 and Rs 10 to Rs 4885 and Rs 4520 per kg respectively on subdued consumer demand, coupled with weak overseas advices. The arrivals remained modest.