Sugar Firms Up, Groundnut Oil Easy, Metals Steady

Groundnut oil ruled easy due to modest demand coupled with restricted arrivals at the wholesale oils and oilseeds market, Turbhe, Navi Mumbai yesterday.

Imported palmolein was weak on dull demand as against better arrivals. Industrial oils ruled steady on the whole. In the futures section, castorseeds September contract opened higher but eased towards the closing.

Groundnut oil eased by Rs 2 at Rs 373 per 10 kg on subdued demand and modest arrivals from producing centres. Arrivals were put at around 85/90 tonnes a day.

Imported palmolein declined by Rs 3 at Rs 259 per 10 kg on dull industrial demand and brisk arrivals.

All other oils ruled steady on the whole and were quoted as under: cottonseed oil washed and refined Rs 290 and Rs 292 per 10 kg; linseed oil and karanji oil Rs 295 and Rs 145 per 10 kg; ricebran oil and neem oil Rs 175 and Rs 170 per 10 kg respectively.

In futures section, castorseeds September contract opened Rs 1.50 higher at Rs 1,171 and firmed up to Rs 1,172 a quintal. It declined to Rs 1,163 before closing at Rs 1,168. December contract opened steady at Rs 1,180 a quintal and ruled at the same level throughout the trading session.

Sugar: A divergent trend was witnessed at the wholesale sugar market. Both the grades of sugar moved in opposite directions. The undertone of the market was firm. Sugar S-30 grade improved further to Rs 1,490/1,560 as against the previous level of Rs 1,490/1,520 a quintal on better consumer offtake while sugar M-30 ruled subdued at Rs 1,510/1,545 as against the previous level of Rs 1,510/1550 a quintal on low demand.

Non-ferrous metals: Zinc and nickel ruled easy while all the other metals ruled steady at the local non-ferrous market yesterday. The demand remained dull as against better arrivals. In the virgin section, nickel cathodes and tin slabs eased by Rs 3 and Re 1 to Rs 335 and Rs 289 per kg respectively on reduced industrial demand coupled with improved arrivals.

In the scraps section, the market was surprisingly quiet. All the metals ruled steady and were quoted as under: copper heavy scraps Rs 122.50, copper utensils Rs 111.50, brass utensils Rs 96.50, brass sheetcuttings Rs 101.50 and aluminium utensils Rs 60 a kg respectively on narrow movements.

Bullion: The Bombay Bullion Association remained closed yesterday in protest against the widespread raids in the market by Income-Tax authorities.