Page 7 - Commodities

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

Cold snap helps India's wheat crop but warm weather forecasts pose risk

A long cold spell helped wheat during its vegetative growth, but a rise in temperatures, expected in the next few days, could impact the crop during the crucial grain formation stage

Rice export rates hit record highs on dwindling supplies, firm demand

Traders noted that domestic supplies are accumulating, and that harvest has begun partially in the Mekong Delta, which is expected to peak in March

Crude oil rises towards $80 as China announces economic stimulus package

The front-month March contract for Brent crude was up 40 cents to $79.95 a barrel at 1410 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 57 cents to $74.94 a barrel

Gold prices firms on softer dollar as market await US economic data

Spot gold edged up 0.2% to $2,032.88 per ounce by 12:50 GMT. U.S. gold futures rose 0.42% to $2,034.30

Uttarakhand govt raises sugarcane advised price to Rs 375, beats UP's rate

The Uttarakhand government on Wednesday declared the State Advised Price (SAP) of early and common variety of sugarcane for the current crushing season 2023-24 at Rs 375 and Rs 365 per quintal respectively. The decision was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. Compared to the previous crushing season 2022-23, the price of sugarcane has been increased by Rs 20 per quintal, Chief Secretary SS Sandhu told reporters at a media briefing after the cabinet meeting. The price of early variety sugarcane has been fixed at Rs 375 per quintal and Rs 365 per quintal for the normal variety, he added. The Uttar Pradesh government had also recently increased the price of sugarcane by Rs 20 per quintal compared to last year setting the state advised price of the early variety at Rs 370 per quintal. Therefore, the Uttarakhand government felt under pressure to declare higher sugarcane prices than neighbouring state. Apart from this, the state govern

Crude oil edges higher as geopolitics outweighs global demand concerns

The front-month U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures contract for February delivery was up 31 cents at $73.72 a barrel in tepid trade

Zero-duty unrefined gold imports take the shine off local players

Some refineries stayed away from giving an undertaking to govt. for not importing unrefined gold from LDCs

Sugar output declines by 7% to 14.87 MT during Oct 1-Jan 15: Industry body

Maharashtra's sugar production fell to 5.1 million tons from 6.09 million tons, while Karnataka's production dropped 12.7% to 3.1 mn tons, the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories said

Crude oil prices rise 1% to $78.96 a barrel on flaring West Asia tensions

Brent crude futures gained 81 cents, or about 1.04%, to $78.96 a barrel at 1333 GMT. The contract had lost 14 cents on Monday

India, US seek to bolster trade ties, work together on critical minerals

India's trade minister Piyush Goyal and Tai held their annual trade policy talks in New Delhi on Jan. 12. Tai is on a three-day visit to India

Govt holds back $600 million plan to replenish strategic oil reserves

India has limited oil storage capacity, with space for only 39 million barrels of crude - barely enough for eight days of the country's consumption - to use in the event of an emergency

If FPS dealers' strike continues will opt for substitute supply: J'khand

Jharkhand minister Rameshwar Oraon on Thursday said the government would have to go for "alternative arrangements" for ration distribution if fair price shop (FPS) dealers in the state continued with their indefinite 'Ration Bandh'. More than 25,000 FPS dealers in Jharkhand on January 1 joined the nationwide indefinite 'Ration Bandh' call given by the All India Fair Price Shop Dealers' Federation. The strike has impacted over 65 lakh beneficiaries of central and state food security schemes in Jharkhand. Speaking to PTI, Oraon, the state Food and Public Distribution Minister, said, "The state government is holding talks with the FPS dealers for a solution to the matter. Our department secretary Amitabh Kaushal has held a discussion with them on their demands and they are satisfied with the reply of the government. Their demands are already under consideration. So, there is no issue. Since it is a nationwide strike, they might be waiting for a call from their national front, he said.

India exports 8,606 tonnes of raw cane sugar to US under TRQ scheme

Shipments under the TRQ enjoy relatively lesser customs duties. After the quota is reached, a higher tariff applies to additional imports

Sugar production falls again, dips 7.7% to 11.2 mn tonnes in Oct-Dec: NFCSF

Sugar production was 7.7 per cent lower at 112 lakh tonnes in the first three months of the ongoing 2023-24 season, owing to lesser output in two key states, according to cooperative body NFCSF. Sugar production stood at 121.35 lakh tonnes during the October-December period of 2022-23 season. NFCSF has projected the country's total sugar output to be at 305 lakh tonnes in the 2023-24 season, lower than 330.90 lakh tonnes achieved in the 2022-23 season. Sugar season runs from October to September. Releasing the latest data, the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories (NFCSF) said a total of 511 factories had crushed 1,223 lakh tonnes of sugarcane till December 2023 of the ongoing season. Among the top three sugar producing states, the output in Maharashtra and Karnataka remained lower during the October-December period of this season. "Since the central government has limited the production of ethanol from sugarcane juice, the total availability of new sugar in the coun

Differential pricing of iron ore likely to create competition concerns: CCI

The differential pricing of iron ore is likely to create competition concerns and exports of iron ore should also be discouraged, according to a study by fair trade regulator CCI. In its market study on 'Dynamics of Competition in the Mining Sector in India With A Focus On Iron Ore', the watchdog has also flagged possible issues with pricing of iron ore from captive mines. "The allocation of captive mines to some players creates entry barriers in the iron ore and steel sector as entry and successful operation becomes costly for new firms," the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said in a release. As per the study, the differential pricing of iron ore for different end users is likely to create competition concerns. The amendments in mining law in 2021 have allowed the captive mines to sell up to 50 per cent of surplus iron ore in the open market which is likely to boost the supply of iron ore in the market, the study said. However, it noted that when a captive mine sells its ..

Crude oil imports from Russia plunge in December on payment issues

After rising to an all time record of 2.15 million barrels a day in May, oil imports from Russia fluctuated downwards, experiencing a sharp decline between November and December