Groundnut oil continued to rule firm on better demand at the oil and oilseeds market here yesterday. The market was stagnant. It is hopeful the Centre will find a solution to the transport strike. Imported palmolein ruled easy on subdued demand.
In futures, Castorseeds June97 contract opened higher and advanced further towards closing. Groundnut oil further firmed up by Rs 2 at Rs 356 per 10 kg on improved demand against limited availability. In other oils, kardi and sesame firmed up by Rs 3 and Rs 5 to Rs 333 and Rs 305 per 10 kg respectively on improved industrial demand. Karanji oil lost Rs 5 to Rs 190 per 10 kg on reduced industrial demand. Copra oil (white) improved further by Rs 15 to Rs 565 per 10 kg on better industrial demand coupled with zero arrivals. Imported palmolein eased by Re 1 at Rs 285 per 10 kg on subdued arrivals.
The majority of other oils ruled overall steady on narrow movements. In futures, castorseeds June97 contract opened Rs 6.50 higher at Rs 1182.50 and improved to Rs 1,187 a quintal. However, it declined to Rs 1,181 before closing at Rs 1184 a quintal on short-covering. In oilseeds, castorseeds Madras and Maharashtra firmed up further by Rs 5 each to Rs 1,128 and Rs 1,122 a quintal respectively on better offtake. Kardiseed bold declined by Rs 15 at Rs 1,100 a quintal on reduced industrial demand. All other oilseeds ruled overall steady on narrow movements.
Sugar: A steady-to-subdued trend continued on the wholesale sugar market yesterday. Market activities were very marginal.
Both small and medium sugar ruled almost steady. Market undertone was shaky. Sugar S-30 grade ruled steady at the previous level of Rs 1290/1350 a quintal on narrow movements.. Sugar M-30 too ruled steady at previous level of Rs 1340/1380 a quintal.
Non-ferrous metals: An easy-to-steady trend was noticed on the local non-ferrous market yesterday. Industrial demand remained subduedand traded volume small. The market undertone remained firm. In the scraps section, copper heavy scraps eased by 50 paise at Rs 122 a kg on dull industrial demand. Copper and brass utensils and brass sheetcuttings eased by 25 paise each to Rs 109.75, Rs 92.75 and Rs 96.75 a kg respectively on reduced industrial offtake. Aluminium utensils ruled overall steady and was quoted at Rs 59.50 a kg on narrow movements. In the virgin section, copper wirebars eased by 50 paise at Rs 135 a kg on dull industrial demand. All other metals ruled overall steady. Aluminium ingots was quoted at Rs 74.50, zinc slabs Rs 78.50, lead ingots Rs 45.50, tin slabs Rs 316 and nickel cathodes Rs 368 a kg.
Bullion: Divergent trend continued on the local bullion market. Silver declined further while gold ruled overall steady. Demand remained weak-to-subdued. The undertone was not firm.
In white metals, silver.999 and .916 declined further by Rs 100 each to Rs 7,030 and Rs 6,930 per kg respectively on weak overseas advices coupled with reduced industrial offtake and improved arrivals. In yellow metal, standard gold and 22 carat ruled overall steady at the previous levels of Rs 4,750 and Rs 4,395 per 10gms respectively on subdued offtake. Gold biscuits too improved further by Rs 50 to Rs 55,600 per 10 totals on better demand.
