Commodities

The meeting was originally scheduled for December 1, 2024. A handful of Opec members are set to gradually bring 2.2m b/d of supply back onto the market next year

The government on Thursday announced the sale of 25 lakh tonne of FCI wheat till March 2025 to bulk domestic consumers to check the "inflationary trend in the food economy". Wheat will be sold under the government's Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) initiative, managed by the state-owned Food Corporation of India (FCI) to regulate the supply and prices. The nodal Food Ministry, in a statement, said a reserve price for wheat under OMSS is fixed at Rs 2,325 per quintal for fair and average quality (FAQ) grain and Rs 2,300 per quintal for URS (Under Reduced Specifications) grain. Wheat will be sold until March 31, 2025, through e-auction to private parties, including flour mills, manufacturers of wheat products, processors and end users. However, the government did not reveal the date of commencement of the FCI wheat sale to bulk users. Last year, FCI sold more than 10 lakh tonne of wheat to bulk users under the OMSS.

India's sugar production dropped 44 per cent to 7.10 lakh tonnes in the first six weeks of the 2024-25 season compared with 12.70 lakh tonnes a year earlier, as fewer mills started crushing operations, industry body NFCSFL said on Friday. Only 144 sugar mills were operational as of November 15, down from 264 mills in the previous year, the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories Ltd (NFCSFL) said in a statement. Maharashtra, one of India's top three sugar-producing states, has yet to begin crushing operations. Last year, 103 mills were operational in the state during the same period. Sugar recovery rates remained stable at 7.82 per cent, matching last year's levels, the cooperative body said. In Karnataka, production fell to 26.25 lakh tonnes from 53.75 lakh tonnes a year ago, with only 40 mills operating. Uttar Pradesh had 85 operational mills during the period. The industry body estimates total sugar production for the 2024-25 season, which runs from October to Septem

The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) is gearing up to strengthen its commodities segment with plans to roll out new contracts in the next few months, an NSE official said on Friday. The exchange is looking to leverage its expansive reach and financial strength to make a significant mark in commodities trading. NSE Chief Business Development Officer Sriram Krishnan said the exchange is considering rolling out new contracts in the next few months and the focus would be non-agri commodities as there is a lot of certainty in launching these asset classes as compared to agri commodities. These additional contracts would be selected from a wide array of Sebi-approved commodities. Moreover, about 240 members have set up already and live on NSE commodities. These included foreign portfolio investors, algo participants and active market makers. "NSE is convinced that commodities are a very big thing which is about to happen in India. We did a lot of analysis on which contracts come ou

Gold is expected to deliver a stellar 15-18 per cent return in Samvat 2081, driven by positive economic factors and safe-haven demand, analysts said. Samvat 2081 marks an important period for Indian investors as it signals the start of a new financial year in the Hindu calendar, coinciding with the auspicious festival of Diwali. Gold and silver have delivered a robust performance in Samvat 2080, and the outlook remains positive for Samvat 2081, though investors may see moderate gains amid possible shifts in global market factors, they added. "The outlook for gold in Samvat 2081 remains positive. We expect a base performance of 10 per cent with potential for 15-18 per cent gains if the import duty cut continues to drive buying momentum. "However, any hike in import duties could push gold's performance beyond 15 per cent. A stable interest rate environment could also support a gradual upward trend," Jateen Trivedi, Vice President of Research for Commodities and Currency at LKP ...

The precious metal had settled at Rs 78,450 per 10 grams in the previous close on Friday

Spot gold fell 0.2% to $2,653.00 per ounce, as of 0817 GMT, as traders locked in profits following last week's rally. U.S. gold futures rose 0.2% to $2,674.40

In March, Reuters reported on the exchange's plan to bolster transparency as more traders from outside Asia participate in the market

But the curbs failed to bring down prices, which were trading at 28,416 rupees ($339.53) per metric ton in New Delhi, up from 24,000 rupees in April

The Wall Street lender adjusted its gold target of $2,700 to early 2025, versus previous forecast of end-2024, citing a price-sensitive China market

Oil recorded its first back-to-back monthly decline amid signs of sluggish demand in China and the United States raised concerns about future consumption growth.

Raw sugar commands a higher price than refined sugar and could boost revenue in the market

Last year the government started selling wheat from its reserves in June, and between June 2023 and March 2024 it sold a record amount of nearly 10 million metric tons from stocks

This may help check spurt in imports from UAE under CEPA

Spot gold was down 1.9% at $2,399.13 per ounce by 1709 GMT. Bullion hit an all-time high of $2,483.60 on Wednesday

The government has proposed to include moisture meters in the Legal Metrology Rules to measure moisture levels in cereal grains and oilseeds as part of its efforts to bring transparency in agricultural trade practices. The Department of Consumer Affairs organised a meeting with all stakeholders to discuss the draft rules for moisture meters used for measuring moisture levels in cereal grains and oilseeds, an official statement said. Nidhi Khare, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs chaired the meeting. Various manufacturers, users, scientific institutions, laboratories, State Government Legal Metrology Departments and VCOs (voluntary consumer organisations) participated in the meeting. The draft rules pertaining to moisture meters were made available for public feedback on May 30, 2024, inviting comments from all stakeholders, by the end of June 2024. All the comments received on the draft rules were discussed in detail during the meeting. "All the stakeholders supported the

The dollar held steady, while long-dated U.S. bond yields rose, as investors weighed whether the assassination attempt on Trump increased his chances of victory

Global agricultural merchant Louis Dreyfus Company on Wednesday announced the relaunch of its edible oil brand 'Vibhor' in North India's business-to-consumer segment. With this, the company aims to capitalise on India's growing edible oil market. The refreshed product line includes soybean, palmolein, cotton seed, and mustard oils, as well as premium vanaspati, all enriched with vitamins A and D, Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) Country CEO for India Sumeet Mittal said at a press conference. "This re-launch supports our strategy to move further downstream in the value chain and diversify our offering with value-added products," Mittal said. LDC, which has been operating in India since 1997, will initially focus on expanding its distribution network in North Indian states, including Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh, citing logistics convenience from its Kandla processing unit in Gujarat. The company's Kandla facility has an annual edible oil processing capacity of 3,50,000 tonn

Area sown to paddy has increased by 19.35 per cent to 59.99 lakh hectare so far in the ongoing 2024-25 kharif (summer) season, the agriculture ministry said on Monday. In the year-ago period, area under paddy was 50.26 lakh hectare. Sowing of paddy, the main kharif crop, begins with the onset of southwest monsoon from June, and harvesting takes place from September. Additionally, area sown to pulses also increased to 36.81 lakh hectare till July 8 of the ongoing season, from 23.78 lakh hectare in the same period last year, the ministry said in a statement. There was a significant rise in coverage of 'arhar', to 20.82 lakh hectare from 4.09 lakh hectare. Area sown to 'urad' was 5.37 lakh hectare as against 3.67 lakh hectare. However, area under coarse cereals and 'Shree Anna' (millets) decreased to 58.48 lakh hectare from 82.08 lakh hectare in the year-ago period. Among coarse cereals, area under maize rose to 41.09 lakh hectare from 30.22 lakh hectare. Area sown to oilseeds inc

Copper fell as much 1.1 per cent to $9,631 a ton on the London Metal Exchange, heading for its lowest close in two months