Sugar Hardens On Better Demand, Silver Firms Up

Increased consumer demand and fresh retail enquiries pushed sugar prices to a higher close yesterday, traders said. Arrivals of sugar from mills were low due to higher offtake by bulk consumers, said Paresh Dedhiya, a leading dealer.

There was higher demand from wholesalers, particularly soft drink manufacturers due to the increasing summer heat, Dedhiya said.

In ready delivery, sugar S-30 was up Rs 20 to Rs 1,510/1,560 per quintal while M-30 rose Rs 5/20 rupees to Rs 1,545/1,580 per quintal. In mill delivery, sugar S-30 was steady at Rs 1,470/1,480 per quintal and M-30 at Rs 1,490/1,500 per quintal.

Offers by importers were lower than expected and this helped prices remain firm, Dedhiya said.

Non-ferrous metals: Prices of copper and brass improved while tin edged up on the non-ferrous metals market yesterday.

Copper prices of all grades improved by fifty paise and prices of brass scrap and sheets cuttings also rose by fifty paise each on good demand from industrial users coupled with better overseas advices, dealers said.

Prices of zinc and tin also ruled higher due to poor stockists offering.

Following are todays quotations with previous in brackets (all per kg):

Copper scrap heavy Rs 113.50 (Rs 113.00), copper wire bar Rs 129.00 (Rs 128.50), copper utensils Rs 99.00 (Rs 98.50), aluminium ingots Rs 82.00 (Rs 82.00), aluminium scrap Rs 62.00 (Rs 62.00), brass scrap Rs 88.50 (Rs 88.00), brass sheets cutting Rs 91.75 (Rs 91.25), zinc Rs 74.50 (Rs 74.25), lead Rs 42.00 (Rs 42.00), tin Rs 357.00 (Rs 356.00) and nickel Rs 315.00 (Rs 315.00).

Bullion: Silver prices firmed up moderately and gold remained steady on the bullion market yesterday.

Silver prices rose moderately on good industrial demand and were aided by bullish overseas advices while arrivals remained normal, dealers said. Silver ready .999 fineness rose by Rs 20.00 to Rs 8670 from the last close of Rs 8650.

Tenderable silver also firmed up by the same margin of Rs 20.00 to Rs 8675 from Rs 8655. Raw silver .916 fineness moved up by Rs 15.00 to Rs 8540 from the previous close of Rs 8525.

Silver may move up again looking at the uptrend in world prices and firm trend in the dollar value against rupee, said Mahavir Shah, a leading dealer.

Gold prices remained steadier in the absence of local buying interest. Standard gold at Rs 4160, 22-carat gold at Rs 3850 and ten-tola gold bar .999 purity at Rs 48,800 remained unaltered from the previous close.