Groundnut oil weakened further by Rs 5 to Rs 395 per 10 kg on sluggish offtake and brisk arrivals. Rains in south India and Gujarat have hit the market sentiment. Demand was dull while arrivals from upcountry centres easy.
Linseed oil and karanji oil declined by Rs 5 each to Rs 350 and Rs 245 per 10 kg, respectively.
Castor oil commercial and BSS qualities eased further by Rs 6 each to Rs 433 and Rs 445 per 10 kg, respectively.
Ricebran oil and soya oil refined softened by Rs 2 each to Rs 188 and Rs 247 per 10 kg, respectively, on dull industrial enquires.
Imported palmolein held steady at Rs 211 per 10 kg on subdued demand coupled with easy arrivals.
Castorseeds December contract opened Rs 37 down at Rs 1,995 a quintal and held overall steady at the same level. It eased to Rs 1,976 before closing at Rs 1,993 on speculative movements.
Castor oil international contracts _ December 1999 and February 2000 _ opened Rs 2 lower at Rs 426 and Rs 430 per 10 kg, respectively, and held steady at the same level. Castor seeds Madras and Maharashtra declined further by Rs 30 each to Rs 2,015 and Rs 2,009 per quintal, respectively, on dull interest.
Sugar: Prices of sugar grades ruled subdued-to-dull notching up meagre gains. Small-grade sugar (S-30) edged up to Rs 1,385-1,415 a quintal against the previous level of Rs 1,385-1,395 on moderate festive demand. Medium-grade (M-30) firmed up slightly to Rs 1,405-1,470 a quintal to its previous Rs 1,401-1,460.
Sugar for check-post deliveries quoted lower at Rs 1,370-1,380 a quintal for small grade and Rs 1,390-1,430 for medium grade.
Non-ferrous metals: Nickel firmed up while copper scraps eased on dull demand and easy availability of stock. Most of the metals in both the sections ruled overall steady at the local market yesterday.
In virgins, nickel cathodes looked up by Rs 2 to Rs 430 per kg on better industrial offtake.
Meanwhile, all the other metals ruled overall steady and were nominally quoted as follows: copper wirebar Rs 119, aluminium ingots Rs 86, zinc slabs Rs 89, lead ingots Rs 41 and tin slabs Rs 372 a kg, respectively, on narrow movements.
In the scraps, copper heavy scraps eased by 25 paise to Rs 106.75 a kg Meanwhile, all the metals ruled overall steady and were quoted as under: copper utensils Rs 95, brass utensils Rs 85, brass sheetcuttings Rs 90.50 and aluminium utensils Rs 66.50 a kg, respectively, on narrow movements.
Bullion: A firm-to-upward trend continued in the bullion market here yesterday. Silver .999 and .916 flared up by Rs 330 and Rs 270 to Rs 8,600 and Rs 8,415 a kg, respectively.
Standard and 22-carat gold prices shot up further by Rs 190 and Rs 175 to Rs 4,725 and Rs 4,370 per 10 gm, respectively. Gold biscuits, too, advanced by Rs 2,250 to Rs 55,500 per piece.
