Indian gold and silver futures inched up on Friday with a rise in world spot prices, while soyabean and soyaoil slipped on sluggish domestic demand and weakness in Chicago soya futures. Sugar eased but market talk that the sugar quota for sale in the domestic market during the quarter ending September would be lower than the previous three months would keep prices ranged, traders said.
August gold at the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) rose 8 rupees to 6,283 per 10 grams. Silver at the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) was up 17 rupees 10,767 a kg. "Gold is looking bullish as oil prices are soaring and people are speculating that the Chinese currency may be revalue," said a bullion dealer in South India.
Spot gold maintained a bullish trend in Asia, holding around three-month highs as surging oil prices encouraged funds to shift into gold, often used as an inflation hedge. The benchmark US oil futures hit a record $60 a barrel on Thursday.
Spot gold was quoted at $441.90/$442.60 per ounce, compared with $440.85/$441.60 in New York on Thursday. Domestic soya futures fell on poor physical demand and a drop in global futures. July refined soyaoil at the MCX fell 1.50 rupees to 378.20 per 10 kg, while July soyabeans was down 38 rupees at 1,255 per 100 kg.
"Local demand is subdued and the Chicago market was also down," said Rajesh Agrawal, chairman of the Soyabean Processors Association of India, from the central city of Indoor, adding people were waiting for the rains.
Traders said soyabean sowing had not begun in Madly Prudish, which accounts for about 60 percent of India's output, because rains have been delayed by more than a week in the region. "If soyabean sowing is over by the second week of July, there should not be a significant loss in yields," Agrawal said.
Chicago Board of Trade soyabean futures plummeted on Thursday on outlook for beneficial rains moving through the parched eastern US Midwest crop states next week, traders said.
NCDEX's sugar futures eased, with July down 5 rupees at 1,785 per 100 kg. September declined 4 rupees to 1,827. "Sugar futures are seen rangebound with more rains in growing areas putting a downward pressure, while expectation of a lower quota making some people bullish," said Nissin Bandar, a manager with Sheri Renuka Sugars Ltd, in charge of futures trading.
The government controls sugar distribution in the market by allocating fixed quantities that can be sold by producers every month in India, the world's biggest sugar consumer.
The government is expected to announce the quota for the July-September quarter next week. It had released 3.8 million tonnes for sale in the current quarter.
Comments
Comments are closed.