Groundnut oil continued to rule steady at Rs 365 per 10 kg on moderate arrivals coupled with subdued consumer demand. The trading volume was quite thin and arrivals were moderate.
Copra oil white and sunflower oil expeller declined by Rs 5 each to Rs 490 and Rs 240 per 10 kg, respectively. Cottonseed oil refined and soy oil refined eased by Re 1 each to Rs 230 and Rs 218 per 10 kg, respectively. Imported palmolein declined further by Rs 4 at 190 per 10 kg.
Castorseeds contract March-2000 opened Rs 4 down at Rs 1,664 a quintal and ruled overall steady at the same level. It declined to Rs 1,658 before closing at Rs 1,662 a quintal.
Castor oil international contract Feb-2000 remained untraded yesterday, while April-2000 opened Rs 3 up Rs 372 per 10 kg yesterday and ruled steady at the same level.
Castorseeds Madras and Maharashtra qualities rued overall steady at Rs 1,635 and Rs 1,629 a quintal, respectively. Nigerseeds eased by Rs 25 to Rs 2,275 a quintal. All other oilseeds ruled steady.
Sugar: A subdued-to-easy trend witnessed at the Turbhe wholesale sugar market at Navi Mumbai. A modest demand led fair trend in sugar prices.
Small-grade sugar (S-30) eased further to Rs 1,340-1,380 a quintal from Rs 1,345-1,380. Medium-grade (M-30) softened further to Rs 1,410-1,490 from Rs 1,385-1,495 a quintal. Consumer demand was modest. Sugar prices for check-post were also quoted low at Rs 1,325-1,342 a quintal for the small grade and Rs 1,370-1,470 for the medium grade.
Non-ferrous metals: An easy-to-steady mixed trend was witnessed yesterday in non-ferrous metals at the local market yesterday. The demand was easy. Scraps metals ruled weaker than virgins.
In scraps, copper utensils and brass utensils eased by 75 paise each to Rs 98.75 and Rs 86.75 a kg, respectively, while brass sheet-cuttings declined by Re 1 at Rs 93.50 a kg. Other metals ruled steady and were nominally quoted as under: copper heavy scraps Rs 115.00 and aluminium utensils Rs 68.75 a kg, respectively.
In virgins, nickel cathodes improved further by Rs 9 to Rs 565 a kg. Meanwhile, other metals ruled overall steady and were nominally quoted as under: copper wire-bar Rs 127.50, aluminium ingots Rs 90.00, zinc slabs Rs 88.50, lead ingots Rs 37.00 and tin slabs Rs 381 a kg, respectively.
Bullion: A divergent trend was noticed in precious metals prices at the local bullion market yesterday. Silver ruled weak, while gold ruled firm.
Silver .999 and .916 eased further by Rs 10 each to Rs 8,190 and Rs 8,075 a kg, respectively.
Standard gold and 22 carat gold prices improved by Rs 15 each to Rs 4,785 and Rs 4,425 per 10 gm, respectively. Gold biscuits prices also ruled firm and gained Rs 200 at Rs 56,200 per piece.
