Page 8 - Commodities

Gold set to mark best week in 7 months as markets price in end of Fed hikes

Spot gold rose nearly 1% to $1,886.40 per ounce by 0932 GMT. U.S. gold futures added 0.9% to $1,899.20

Gold rises more than 1% as Middle East conflict spurs safe-haven demand

Israel pounded the Palestinian enclave of Gaza on Sunday, killing hundreds of people in retaliation for one of the bloodiest attacks in its history when gunmen from Hamas rampaged through Israeli town

Indian steel companies plan price rises as coking coal costs surge

Steel mills are likely to raise rates by $25 to $50 a metric ton by December, said the officials, who did not wish to be named as they are not authorised to speak to media

Palm oil futures ends higher after 2 losing sessions as soyoil jumps

Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market

Gold prices decline for a sixth straight day, hits seven-month low

Treasury yields climbed on Monday after a US government shutdown was averted over the weekend, pushing gold down to the lowest since March

Tight supply, inflation concerns keep crude oil investors on fence

By 1111 GMT, Brent crude futures were down 37 cents to $96.18 a barrel after rising to their highest level since last November earlier in the session. The November contract expires on Friday

Paddy area up 2.71% so far in kharif season, pulse acreage down slightly

Area sown to paddy rose 2.71 per cent to 409.41 lakh hectare so far in the current kharif season, while sowing is underway in a few places, according to agriculture ministry data released on Friday. Paddy-sowing area was 398.58 lakh hectare in the year-ago period. In the kharif season of the 2022-23 crop year (July-June), sowing begins with the onset of southwest monsoon from June and harvesting from October. According to the data, area coverage of paddy, coarse cereals, and sugarcane remained higher as so far this kharif season from the year-ago period. Acreage of pulses, oilseeds, jute and mesta and cotton lagged behind, it showed. Coarse cereals acreage rose marginally to 183.11 lakh hectare as on September 15 as against 181.48 lakh hectare in the year-ago period. However, area sown to pulses remained lower at 121 lakh hectare so far this season, as against 127.57 lakh hectares in the year-ago period. Area under oilseeds, too, remained marginally lower at 192.20 lakh hectare

JCI expected to procure at least 50% more raw fibre in the FY'24: Offical

The Jute Corporation of India (JCI) is expected to procure at least 50 per cent more raw fibre in the current jute year (2023-24) than the previous year, in the wake of a bumper season of the crop, a senior official said on Wednesday. The JCI is mandated by the government to carry out Minimum Support Price (MSP) operations for raw jute from farmers. This year, the average MSP price is Rs 5,050 per quintal. "In the current jute crop year of 2023-24, which began on July 1, raw jute procurement is very high. As of mid-September, we have already procured 2.30 lakh quintals. We expect the operation to run for the entire year and the total procurement to be over 50 per cent, or 6-7 lakh quintals over the previous year," JCI General Manager K Mazumdar told PTI. In the last fiscal jute season, the JCI procured a record 4.34 lakh quintals of jute. "This year is a bumper jute crop and production is expected to be 91 lakh bales," Mazumdar said. He said that 110 direct JCI procurement centres

Gold, silver prices unchanged, precious metal trading at Rs 73.500 /kg

The price of 22-carat gold remained unchanged, with the yellow metal selling at Rs 54,850.

Govt rolls out 3rd phase of mandatory gold hallmarking in 55 new districts

The government on Friday said the third phase of mandatory hallmarking of gold jewellery and artefacts has come into force in 55 new districts in 16 states and one Union territory. Gold hallmarking is a purity certification of the precious metal and was voluntary in nature till June 16, 2021, when the government decided to implement mandatory gold hallmarking in a phased manner. Currently, a total of 343 districts are covered under mandatory hallmarking. In the first phase, launched on June 23, 2021, 256 districts were covered, while the second phase from April 4, 2022, included 32 more districts. According to the Consumer Affairs Ministry, an order for implementation of the third phase of the mandatory hallmarking of gold jewellery and gold artefacts was notified on September 8. The third phase of the mandatory hallmarking will cover an additional 55 new districts in 16 states and one Union territory, it said in a statement. Eight districts, including East Champaran, will be cove

Top palm oil buyers expects 26% increase in imports to record 10 MT

Higher purchases by the world's biggest importer of palm oil could help to lower inventories in top producing Indonesia and Malaysia and support benchmark futures

Rice prices in Asia hit 15-yr high after India's 6-week campaign of curbs

Rice is vital to the diets of billions and contributes as much as 60% of the total calorie intake for people in parts of Southeast Asia and Africa

Tea production increases by 6.2% to 165 million kg during July 2023

Tea production in the country increased marginally by 6.2 per cent at 165.01 million kilogramme during July 2023 as compared to 155.29 million kilogramme in previous similar period. As per the latest Tea Board data, North India tea production during July this year stood at 143.05 million kilogramme, as against 135.77 million kilogramme in the corresponding previous period. Production in South India in July 2023 was also marginally higher at 21.95 million kilogramme as against 19.52 million kilogramme in the previous similar period. The percentage of production by small tea growers (STGs) as a proportion of overall volumes increased to 50.9 per cent in July 2023. Thus was 50.2 per cent in the previous similar month of 2022. In North India, both Assam and West Bengal registered higher production volumes during July 2023. The premium Darjeeling variety crop was lower at one million kilogramme during July 2023, as against 1.04 million kilogramme in the previous similar period, accordi

Silver remains unchanged, gold falls by Rs 50, trading at Rs 59,400/10g

The price of 22-carat gold fell by Rs 50, with the yellow metal selling at Rs 54,450

Govt set to ban sugar exports from October for first time in 7 years

India allowed mills to export only 6.1 million tonnes of sugar during the current season to Sept. 30, after letting them sell a record 11.1 million tonnes last season

Enough stock available to meet any sudden increase in demand: Coal India

Coal India Limited (CIL) Chairman and Managing Director P M Prasad on Wednesday said that sufficient coal stock is available in the country and the company is ready to meet any sudden increase in demand. Prasad told shareholders at the 49th AGM that the company is working on a number of initiatives to increase its production capacity, including the development of new mines and the expansion of existing ones. CIL is committed to meeting the country's growing demand for coal and is ready to address any sudden surge in demand, he said. On Tuesday, the coal ministry reviewed the dry fuel's production and offtake in a meeting with senior officials due to the surge in power demand across the country. The country has sufficient coal stocks, with almost 80 million tonnes of coal available with thermal power plants and Coal India, Coal Minister Prahlad Joshi had said. Speaking about FY23 performance, Prasad said that CIL produced a record 703.2 million tonnes (MT) of coal in the fiscal yea

How China's faltering growth threatens to derail commodities markets

Commodities have so far held up better than other assets as the economy has worsened. Freed from the constraints of the pandemic, fuel consumption has risen

NCCF to sell onion at subsidised rate of Rs 25/kg in Delhi from tomorrow

Cooperative NCCF will commence retail sale of onion from the government buffer stock at a subsidised rate of Rs 25 per kg in the national capital from Monday to give relief to consumers from high prices of the kitchen staple, its top official said on Sunday. The National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India (NCCF) is already selling tomatoes on behalf of the central government at a subsidised rate and it has now been mandated to retail buffer onion. The government has created a buffer stock of 3 lakh tonne of onion for 2023-24 fiscal. It has also decided to procure additional 2 lakh tonne onion for the buffer this year. "To begin with, we will start retailing buffer onions in Delhi. We will sell at a subsidised rate of Rs 25 per kg through our mobile vans and two retail outlets," NCCF Managing Director Anice Joseph Chandra told PTI. Around 10 mobile vans will be dispatched on Monday in the national capital and more areas will be covered gradually. NCCF will also sell the ...

Govt to procure 200,000 tn of onion to create total 500,000 tn buffer stock

The government on Sunday announced it will procure an additional 2 lakh tonnes of onion in order to maintain a total buffer stock of 5 lakh tonnes this year and use that for retail intervention. The announcement has come a day after the government imposed a 40 per cent duty on the export of onions to improve local supplies and check its prices. For the current 2023-24 fiscal, the target for onion buffer was kept at 3 lakh tonnes, which has already been procured. Currently, the same buffer stock is being disposed of in the targeted markets in select states to improve the local availability and check price rise. According to the official data, all-India average retail price of onion was ruling 19 per cent higher at Rs 29.73 per kg on Sunday compared to Rs 25 per kg in the year-ago period. In Delhi, retail price of onion has increased to Rs 37 per kg from Rs 28 per kg in the said period. "In an unprecedented move the government raised the quantum of onion buffer to 5 lakh tonne this .

Wheat markets shrug off Black Sea flashpoints as exports flow: Report

Ukraine said the vessel stopped - the Sukru Okan - was Turkish. A person familiar with the matter said the ship was empty and had unloaded a corn cargo the previous day in Greece