Hindustan Zinc ups prices by Rs 14,000 rupee/tn

NEWS DIGEST

Hindustan Zinc has hiked prices of high-grade primary zinc products by Rs 14,000 per tonne to Rs 196,000 with immediate effect, a senior official said on Thursday.

Lead prices have also been increased by Rs 2,700 per tonne to Rs 78,100. The prices have been increased in line with global prices, the official said.

Hindustan Zinc had last hiked zinc prices by Rs 1,300 per tonne. However, zinc prices have increased $200 per tonne on London Metal Exchange since then.

The benchmark 3-month zinc contract on London Metal Exchange Wednesday closed at $3,790 per 1 tonne, up $105 from a day earlier.

Tokyo rubber futures rise after 3-week low

Tokyo rubber futures rebounded from a near three-week low on Thursday, supported by supply concerns and technical buying.The benchmark March 2007 contract rose 3.7 per cent to settle at 224.8 yen ($1.88) per kg after hitting a low of 214.6 yen on Wednesday.

"It seems that raw material in Thailand is getting scarce again so maybe that's why TOCOM is up today," said a Tokyo-based trader. Traders said the rise in TOCOM prices was supported by short covering by speculators.

"I think it was the mix of fresh buying and short covering from speculators," another dealer said. A third said prices were supported by funds' short-covering.

But easing oil prices would limit gains, traders said. Rubber usually benefits from higher oil prices as expensive oil encourages tyre-makers to shift to natural rubber from synthetic rubber, a petroleum product.

Malaysian crude palm oil futures up

Malaysian crude palm oil futures rose by midday on Thursday, boosted by strong exports and stable crude oil prices.

The benchmark third-month December contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives was up 8 ringgit at 1,561 ringgit $423) a tonne at the end of the morning session.

"All the bearish news on stocks has been factored in, now the market is moving on exports and stability in crude oil," a dealer said.

Cardamom prices mostly steady at Kumily auction

Cardamom prices, except that of high quality bold grades, were steady at the weekly auction held on Wednesday by Cardamom Marketing and Processing Co. at Kumily in Kerala, dealers said on Thursday.

Firm demand, when compared with the auction held a week ago, has helped to check the weak trend in prices, dealers said.Average prices stayed flat at Rs 335 per kg, a dealer said.(CMW)

Regulator defers decision on GM soyoil imports

Genetic Engineering Approval Committee has postponed its decision to grant blanket clearance for import of genetically modified soyoil due to lack of adequate documentation from importers, a government official said.

"The importers did not submit the data, so no decision was taken at Thursday's meeting," he said.

GEAC asked importers to submit reports of the products,food safety tests and commercial production approval certificates from the country of origin as well as documents on the method of disposal of by-products and their analytical reports to gain clearance for imports.