A substantial rise in edible oils and a sharp spurt in linseed oil characterised trading on the oilseeds market during the week under review.
At the outset, groundnut oil dragged down owing to poor local buying interest. Later, prices recovered gradually till mid-week and spurted up sharply on the last three days of the week on brisk seasonal demand from refiners and retailers as against slackening arrivals from the producing regions.
Higher upcountry advices coupled with a sharp rise in imported palm oil prices helped the uptrend. Imported palm oil shot up sharply on hectic local buying interest in the absence of arrivals and acute shortage of stocks.
Activity in the industrial sector was spread around linseed oil which gradually spurted up on sustained inquiries from the paint industry. Linseeds ruled quiet. Castor oil commercial moved erratically either way on alternate bouts of demand and supply while castorseeds ruled steady in unison.
The forward section also witnessed poor activity. Castorseeds June contract resumed at Rs 1261, rose to a high of Rs 1282.50 but reacted again gradually to settle at Rs 1263.50, showing a loss of Rs 4.00 from the last week end close of Rs 1267.50. Trading in September contract resumed on Friday at Rs 1330.25 while it remained untraded on Saturday.
Groundnut oil flared up to Rs 431 from Rs 425. Groundnuts ready was steady at Rs 1970. Palm oil shot up to Rs 392 from Rs 374. Linseed oil peaked to Rs 390 from Rs 360 last week.
Linseeds ready at Rs 1400, castor oil commercial at Rs 279 and castorseeds ready Madras at Rs 1243 were unaltered from the last weekend close.
Bullion: Both the precious metals nosedived on the Mumbai bullion market during the week under review.
The Bombay Bullion Association and all jewellery dealers in Mumbai remained closed on Saturday in support of the indefinite bandh observed by the Ghatkopar jewellers associations to protest the police inaction in the recent looting and stealing of the jewellery shops and establishments in the area.
Initially, silver moved up on good industrial demand and inadvertantly helped by bullish overseas advices. Midweek, prices tumbled under reactionary trends in the international markets and heavy offerings.
Gold edged up initially but moved erratically due to poor offtake even during the peak marriage season. Prices dropped sharply on weekend due to increased supplies and aided by weak international advices. A sharp fall in the price of gold biscuits by Rs 600 per ten tolas depressed sentiment.
Silver ready .999 fineness fell by Rs 220 to Rs 8420 and tenderable silver also dropped Rs 220 to Rs 8425 from the previous week's close of Rs 8640 and Rs 8645 respectively. Raw silver .916 fineness dipped Rs 225 to Rs 8315 against the previous week close of Rs 8540.
Standard gold declined by Rs 55 to Rs 4100 from Rs 4155 last week. 22-carat gold stood lower at Rs 3790 from Rs 3845 last week. Ten-tola gold bar .999 purity fell Rs 600 to Rs 48,100 from the previous close of Rs 48,700.
Sugar: Prices of sugar showed a mixed trend on the local market this week as prices of some select groups lost ground on slackened demand and a few others improved on fresh deals.
Imposition of a 4 per cent sales tax duty on imported sugar by the government of Maharashtra had no impact on the sugar market with imported Pakistan sugar easily available, dealers said.
Sugar mill delivery (excluded duty) mill gate Khatoli and Modi Nagar slipped from Rs 1,416 each to settled at Rs 1,412 each, respectively.
Titabi and Mawana faded Rs 5 each to finish at Rs 1,420 and Rs 1,440 a quintal. Baghpat sugar slipped by Rs 15 to close at Rs 1,395 a quintal.
Rubber: Natural rubber prices declined to a five-year low this week but managed to rally marginally after some stock lifting by state-owned agencies, dealers said.
Earlier in the week, RSS four grade prices slid to Rs 2,525 a quintal, lower than 1993 price of Rs 2,541 and lot rubber prices slid to Rs 2,375 against Rs 2,416 then.
Pepper: Black pepper lost some steam on the international commodity market here this week on restricted demand for futures contract from exporters despite a drop in the arrivals, dealers said.
Cardamom: Cardamom continued to fetch higher prices at various auctions in the country on low arrivals at the end of the season and increased demand.
Prices realised during the 2nd and 3rd week of April last were higher than prices fetched last year, though the overall average price for the season was lower.
