Page 6 - Commodities

Govt proposes national iron ore exchange to tackle price anomalies: Report

The proposed exchange would record real-time transactions and physical delivery of iron ore, the document said

India's March gold imports likely to plunge more than 90% as prices surge

Lower imports by India, the world's second biggest consumer of the precious metal, could limit a rally in global prices that hit a record high earlier this month

Wheat inventories hit 7-year low at 9.7 MT after record state sale

Wheat reserves in state stores totalled 9.7 million tons at the start of this month, down from 11.7 million tons in March 2022, the state-run Food Corporation of India said

Parboiled rice exports slow on confusion over duty calculations: Dealers

The 20% duty slowed India's parboiled rice exports, but still traders ship around 500,000 metric tons per month as prices jumped in competing countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, and Myanmar

Sugar output declines by 1.19% to 25.53 MT so far this marketing year: ISMA

The country's sugar production declined 1.19 per cent to 25.53 million tonne so far in the ongoing 2023-24 marketing year, industry body ISMA said on Monday. Sugar production stood at 25.84 MT till February in the year-ago period. Sugar marketing year runs from October to September. In its second estimate, the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) has projected sugar output to decline by 10 per cent to 33.05 MT in the current 2023-24 marketing year as against 36.62 MT in the previous year. According to ISMA, sugar production in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu remained lower till February of the ongoing marketing year. However, sugar output in Uttar Pradesh -- the country's second largest producer of the sweetener -- was higher at 7.81 MT as against 7 MT in the period under review. The production in Maharashtra -- the country's largest producer of sugar -- was down at 9.09 MT till February of this marketing year, compared with 9.51 MT in the year-ago period. Simil

5,000 Farmer Producer Organizations onboarded on ONDC Portal, says Govt

The government on Friday said almost 5,000 out of 8,000 registered Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) have been onboarded on the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) portal for selling the produce online to consumers across the country. Around 8,000 FPOs have been registered against the government's target of 10,000 under a central scheme launched in 2020 with a budgetary provision of Rs 6,865 crore. FPOs facilitate farmers with access to improved technology, credit, better input and more markets to incentivise them to produce better quality commodities. "Almost 5,000 out of 8,000 registered FPOs have been registered on the ONDC portal...," the agriculture ministry said in a statement. The onboarding of FPOs on ONDC to reach out to their buyers in any part of the country is in line with the Central government's objective of providing growers with better market access, it said. The move aims to empower FPOs with direct access to digital marketing, online payment, ...

Crude oil falls 1% as Fed caution, stocks build offset Opec+ expectations

Brent crude futures fell 90 cents, or 1.08%, to $82.75 a barrel by 0902 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures (WTI) were down 92 cents, or 1.17%, at $77.95

'Single manager for commodity, overseas funds to cut costs for MFs'

Markets regulator Sebi's proposal of allowing mutual fund houses to have a single fund manager to oversee commodity and foreign investments is aimed at reducing the cost of managing the fund, a top official of Anand Rathi Wealth said on Tuesday. Sebi, on Friday, came out with a consultation paper proposing measures to support ease of doing business for Mutual Funds (MFs). In the draft paper, the regulator suggested appointing a single fund manager for domestic and overseas/commodity funds, relaxation of nomination requirement for joint holders and streamlining of prudential norms for passive schemes with respect to exposure to a single issuer within the AMC's group companies. This came after the Finance Minister in the FY24 Budget made an announcement to simplify, ease and reduce cost of compliance for participants in the financial sector through a consultative approach. "The appointment of a single fund manager for domestic and overseas/commodity funds is intended to reduce the co

Crude oil steadies as demand jitters counter conflict in West Asia

The March contract for U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, which expires on Tuesday, was up 7 cents at $79.26 in tepid trade while the WTI April contract slipped 13 cents to $78.33

Silver futures decline to Rs 71,543 per kg as traders reduce bets

Silver prices on Monday fell Rs 569 to Rs 71,543 per kilogram as participants reduced their bets. On the Multi Commodity Exchange, silver contracts for March delivery declined Rs 569 or 0.79 per cent to Rs 71,543 per kg in a business turnover of 21,616 lots. Globally, silver was trading 1.28 per cent lower at USD 23.18 per ounce in New York.

Farmers will discuss Centre's 5-year MSP proposal, says Sarwan Pandher

The Centre's proposal of buying pulses, maize and cotton by government agencies at MSP will be discussed by farmers, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said on Monday but asserted that they will not back out of their demand for a legal guarantee for minimum support price for crops. His remarks came after a meeting between farmer leaders and a panel of three Union ministers on Sunday and amid thousands of protesting farmers camping at the Punjab-Haryana border as part of their 'Delhi Chalo' march. Talking to reporters at the Shambhu border point, Pandher said farmers will hold a discussion on the proposal given by the Centre. Farmers have not backed out of their demand for a law guaranteeing minimum support price (MSP) and never will, he said while replying to a question. Pandher said farmer leaders are going to the Khanauri border point where a farmer died. On Sunday, a 72-year-old farmer, who was part of the protest there, died of cardiac arrest. Earlier, a 63-year-old farmer had

Govt making efforts to attain self-sufficiency in pulses output: Munda

A substantial progress has already been made in the domestic pulses production which has increased from 17 million tonnes in 2014 and now a target of 29.5 mn tonnes has been set for this year, he said

Falling US Fed rate cut bets keep gold below $2,000 level, palladium up 7%

Spot gold was down 0.2% to $1,988.08 per ounce as of 9:53 a.m. EST (1453 GMT) - its lowest price since Dec. 13. Bullion fell about 1.4% on Tuesday

Hindustan Copper Q3 results: Profit falls 21% to Rs 63 cr on lower revenue

State-owned Hindustan Copper on Tuesday reported 21.44 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 63 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2023 due to lower revenue from operations. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 80.20 crore for the year-ago period, Hindustan Copper said in a filing to BSE. Revenue from operations in the quarter dropped to Rs 399.29 crore from Rs 557.04 crore in the year-ago period. Hindustan Copper is under the administrative control of Ministry of Mines.

Crude oil prices drift up with focus on tensions in West Asian region

Brent futures rose 30 cents to $82.30 a barrel as of 0924 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 31 cents to $77.23 a barrel

Oil rises 0.72% to $79 a barrel on Gaza ceasefire rejection, US stock data

Brent crude futures rose 57 cents, or 0.72%, to $79.78 a barrel by 1043 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 47 cents, or 0.64%, at $74.33

Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal outlines $4 bn plan to double oil production

Mining conglomerate Vedanta Ltd will invest USD 4 billion over the next three years to double oil production, its chairman Anil Agarwal said on Tuesday as he pushed ahead with an aggressive oil and gas expansion programme. Vedanta, which more than a decade back acquired Scottish explorer Cairn Energy's (now Capricorn Energy) India assets, is targeting 300,000 barrels per day (15 million tonnes a year) oil output in 3 years from aggressive exploration campaign, he said on the sidelines of the India Energy Week (IEW) here. The company is pushing ahead with the investment undeterred by concerns around debt levels at parent Vedanta Resources. "India is the best place to be in right now. It has the resources as well as the market," he said. "But unfortunately we (as a country) produce just 15 per cent of our need and the rest is imported." Agarwal said his company currently produces around 140,000 barrels per day of oil and oil equivalent gas and has a promising acreage in northeast and

Crude oil up on tensions in West Asia, China economy worries limit gains

March Brent crude futures, which are due to expire on Wednesday, rose 8 cents, or 0.1%, to $82.48 a barrel by 1059 GMT

Sky Gold Q3 results: Net profit soars 41% to Rs 6 cr, income at Rs 460 cr

Jewellery firm Sky Gold Ltd has posted a 41 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit to Rs 8.93 crore for the quarter ended December 2023. Its net profit stood at Rs 6.34 crore in the year-ago period. Total income also rose to Rs 460.90 crore in the third quarter of the current fiscal from Rs 267.56 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year, the company said in a statement on Monday. Established in 2008, the Mumbai-based company is engaged in the business of designing, manufacturing and marketing of gold jewellery. It works on a B2B model with leading jewellery retailers and large wholesalers.

Crude oil edges lower on China worries as tensions fester in West Asia

Brent crude futures dipped 23 cents to $83.32 a barrel by 0937 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures edged down by 27 cents to $77.74