Groundnut oil firmed up further on better demand coupled with subdued arrivals from the producing centres at the wholesale oils and oilseeds market here yesterday. Other industrial oils ruled easy-to-steady while imported palmolein ruled easy on modest arrivals. In futures section, castor seeds December 97 contract remained untraded, while March98 opened lower and receded towards closing.
Groundnut oil firmed up by Re 1 at Rs 339 per 10 kg on better industrial and consumer demand. Arrivals remained modest from producing centres at around 95 tonnes a day. Castor oil-commercial and BSS qualities eased Re 1 each to Rs 278 and Rs 290 per 10 kg respectively on dull industrial demand. Karanji oil eased Rs 2 to Rs 153 per 10 kg. Sunflower oil expeller improved by Rs 7 at Rs 305 per 10 kg. Imported palmolein eased by Re 1 at Rs 274 per 10 kg on low industrial demand.
In futures section, castor seed March 98 contract opened Rs 4.50 down at Rs 1169.50 and remained at the same level. It dipped to Rs 1166 before closing at Rs 1166.50 on speculative dealings. In oilseeds, kardi seeds and niger seeds improved by Rs 5 each to Rs 1150 and Rs 1365 a quintal. Castor seeds Madras and Maharashtra fell Rs 5 each to Rs 1,238 and Rs 1,232 a quintal.
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Sugar: A downward trend continued in prices on improved arrivals at the sugar market. Both grades ruled weak. The market undertone remained hesitant.
Sugar S-30 declined further to Rs 1480/1501 from the previous Rs 1490/1511 a quintal level on dull consumer demand. The M-30 grade fell to Rs 1500/1541 against the previous level of Rs 1510/1551 a quintal on dull offtake. Sugar for the check post deliveries were quoted low at Rs 1460/1470 a quintal for S-30 and Rs 1480/1490 for M-30.
Non-ferrous metals: An easy-to-steady trend was noticed in the local non-ferrous metals market. Virgin metals ruled easy while scraps metals ruled steady. In virgin metals, nickel cathodes declined by Rs 2 at Rs 317 per kg. Zinc slabs and lead ingots eased by 50 paise each to Rs 75 and Rs 40.50 a kg on dull industrial demand.
All other metals ruled overall steady and were quoted as : copper wirebar Rs 120, aluminium ingots Rs 82.50 and tin slabs Rs 342 a kg. In scraps section, all the metals were nominally quoted as: copper heavy scraps Rs 108.50, copper utensils Rs 96.50, brass utensils Rs 82.50, brass sheetcuttings Rs 89.50 and aluminium utensils Rs 62.50 a kg.
Cotton: Cotton prices bounced back yesterdaybut mill buying was slow as eased supplies and shortage of ready stock pushed prices upward, dealers said. "New arrivals remained at a low ebb due to unseasonal rain in the producing areas in western, central and northern India," said a dealer.
In spot deals Bengal-deshi rose Rs 40-45 to Rs 1,270-1,320 per maund (37.32 kg) while Punjab saw-ginned rose Rs 10 to Rs 1,740-1,885 per maund.