Groundnut Oil Easy, Sugar Subdued, Bullion Dull

Groundnut oil continued to rule easy on subdued demand coupled with better arrivals from upcountry centres. Industrial oils ruled easy to steady at the wholesale oils and oilseeds market, Turbhe, Navi Mumbai yesterday. Imported palmolein ruled steady on modest arrivals.

In the futures section, castorseeds March97 contract remained untraded yesterday, while June97 contract opened lower but improved towards closing. Groundnut oil eased further by Re 1 at Rs 340 per 10 kg on subdued consumer offtake coupled with modest arrivals. Arrivals were put at about 100 tonnes a day.

Linseed and kardi oil eased by Rs 2 and Rs 3 to Rs 291 and Rs 337 per 10 kg respectively on reduced industrial demand and improved inflows. Cottonseed oil washed and refined qualities declined by Rs 4 each to Rs 268 and Rs 272 per 10 kg respectively on sluggish industrial demand. Copra oil white declined by Rs 15 to Rs 660 per 10 kg on reduced industrial demand.

Sunflower oil expeller firmed up by Rs 2 to Rs 265 per 10 kg on better demand. Imported palmolein ruled steady at Rs 277 per 10 kg on subdued offtake. A majority of the other oils ruled steady on the whole due to narrow movements.

In futures, castorseeds June97 contract opened Rs 3 lower at Rs 1183 and firmed up to Rs 1191 per quintal. It declined to Rs 1182 before closing at Rs 1190.50 a quintal on speculative shortcoverings.

In oilseeds, castorseeds Madras and Maharashtra qualities eased by Rs 5 each to Rs 1104 and Rs 1098 a quintal respectively on easy industrial offtake. All other oilseeds ruled steady on the whole due to narrow movements.

Sugar: An easy to subdued trend was witnessed in sugar prices at the wholesale sugar market. The demand remained sluggish against better inflows. The undertone of the market was hesitant. Sugar S-30 grade declined to Rs 1245/1300 a quintal as against the previous level of Rs 1270/1320 a quintal on reduced demand and moderate arrivals. Sugar M-30 grade eased to Rs 1290/1360 from the previous level of 1295/1380 a quintal on better offtake. Sugar for the check post deliveries was quoted at Rs 1215/1240 a quintal for S-30 grade and Rs 1260/1290 for the M-30 grade.

Non-ferrous metals: A firm to upward trend was noticed in the local non-ferrous market yesterday. Industrial demand remained slack, while trade volume remained small.

In the virgin section, copper wire bars and zinc slabs improved by 50 paise each to Rs 134.50 and Rs 77 per kg on improved industrial demand coupled with reduced supply. Tin slabs firmed up by Rs 3 at Rs 315 per 10 kg on better industrial demand and restricted supplies. Aluminium ingots, lead ingots and nickel cathodes ruled steady on the whole due to narrow movements and were quoted at Rs 74, Rs 45.50 and Rs 373 a kg respectively.

Bullion: A dull to downward trend was noticed in the local bullion market yesterday. Both the precious metals declined on weak overseas market.

In white metals, silver .999 and .916 declined by Rs 50 each to Rs 7305 and Rs 7205 a kg on dull advices from the London bullion market coupled with reduced demand and modest arrivals. The industrial offtake remained sluggish in the local market. Delhi advices also indicated a weak trend.

In yellow metals, standard gold and 22-carat gold firmed up by Rs 40 and Rs 35 to Rs 4730 and Rs 4375 per 10 grams respectively on dull overseas advices coupled with reduced consumer demand. Gold biscuit prices also declined by Rs 500 at Rs 55,300 per piece of 10 tolas on dull demand.