Gold Extends Gain On Strong Buying Support

Gold.....

Gold futures edged up towards $1600 an ounce on bargain buying. However gold was unable to breach the psychological $1600 an ounce mark. Gold also benefited from weakness in equity markets, which had been on a record-breaking run up that drew some investors away from gold in recent weeks. Gold is widely considered a safe haven, and demand for it tends to weaken when riskier assets like equities are rallying. This week, gold traders will be closely watching U.S. data on retail sales, industrial production and inflation to determine the strength of the economic recovery. Any improvement in the U.S. economy could scale back expectations for further easing by the Fed, boosting the U.S. dollar and weighing on dollar-denominated commodities. Gold for the April delivery on COMEX quotes higher at $ 1,594, up $2, after hitting high $1598 per ounce. Euro quotes at $1.30, down 0.26% from last close.

MCX Gold April contract quotes higher at Rs 29578, up 0.45% from last close, after trading in the range of Rs 29,585-29,413 level. Technically, the counter is having next resistance at Rs 29,680-29,700 and supports at Rs 29,520-29,460 level. MCX May silver contract quotes at Rs 55056, up 0.21% from last close.

Source by Commodity Insights

International Prices Of Imported Edible Oil As On 12th March, 2013

Source by Commodity Insights

MCX Copper Recovered From Lows On Monday

Copper.....

MCX Copper recovered from days low in what can be said as the bargain hunting of the metal from multi month lows. The metal recouped the losses on the back of lower level demand that was missing till the evening trades and picked up in the last session. The inventories in international exchanges are still quite high. The metal stocks have increased by 60% in 2013.

Chinas copper output in February rose 10.8% from a year earlier to 483000 metric tons, the National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday. Production in the first two months rose 11.9% on year to 975000 tons, it said. January output reached 492000 tonnes.
Chinese production of Lead was up by 4.5% to 325000 tonnes in February. Total production in the first two months was up by 11% to 650000 tonnes. LME lead was seen trading at $ 2199 per tonne, up by $ 10 per tonne.
MCX Copper April expiry settled at Rs 425.6 per kg, up 0.08%. The prices tested a low of Rs 421.6 and a high of Rs 426.6 per kg. The prices could have crashed below Rs 420 per kg had Indian Rupee was more stable against the Dollar. Local currency plunged to 54.39 per Dollar, down 0.21% in a single day and thereby supporting Copper.
Source by Commodity Insights

Gold Jumps Ahead OF Central Bank Meetings

Gold....

Gold futures jumped nearly $10 ahead of two central bank meetings that could see support for policy easing to spur economic growth.

The European Central Bank and the Bank of England are set to announce their monetary policy decisions later today, headlining a busy day for the European economic news.
Ealier in the day, Bank of Japan kicked off by leaving its monetary policy on hold, as widely expected ahead of a leadership handover set to take place later this month. Bank of Japan left its policy interest rate and size of asset-purchase program unchanged by a unanimous vote, as widely expected. The decisions were made at the last meeting of the central bank's monetary policy board before Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa and two of his deputy governors step down later in the month.
Gold for delivery in April rose $8.60 to $1,583.50 an ounce in electronic trading hours on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The ICE dollar index was at 82.484, from 82.490 in late North American trading on Wednesday, providing broad support for the metals complex.
On the data front today, at 6.00 am ET, the Federal Ministry of Economics and technology is set to issue German factory orders for January. Orders are expected to rise 0.6 percent month-on-month in January after increasing 0.8 percent in December.
The Bank of England is slated to announce the results of the monetary policy meeting at 7.00 am ET. The nine-member committee is expected to maintain quantitative easing at GBP 375 billion and the interest rate at a record low 0.50 percent.
The European Central Bank is set to announce its interest rate decision at 7.45 am ET. The central bank is seen holding its key interest rate at 0.75 percent. ECB President Mario Draghi will hold a regular press conference at 8.30 am ET.
MCX April gold futures are trading slightly higher at Rs 29615 per 10 grams. A fall below Rs 29580 may be bearish for the metal today. A surge above Rs 29720 may be bullish.
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Four Month Lows For LME Nickel Still No Bargain Buying

Nickel.....

The slippage in Nickel has extended to a four month low as bargain buying is still absent from the markets. The news of Chinese restrictions on new home purchases has really thrashed the sentiments for metals in the country. The production of steel in China has been continuing to move upwards in last few years and the oversupply situation is not letting the demand blossom.

Nickel is consumed majorly by 300 series steel also known as austenitic steel. Situation in US is stabilizing somewhat but it is not so much strong that it will cater the needs of demand drawdown in Europe and China. Indian steel makers have suffered in the hands of imports from China, Korea and Japan over past so many months. The dumping is adversely affecting local producers.
LME Nickel three month forwards were trading at $ 16590 per tonne, down $ 34 per tonne from last night. These levels were last seen in October 2012. The prices are looking turning down towards $ 16000 per tonne in coming months.
MCX Nickel was last seen trading at Rs 909 per kg, down 0.13%. The prices are looking to derail towards Rs 898 per kg in the coming few sessions. Resistance for the contract is at Rs 915 per kg.
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Markets Speak: LME Zinc Inventories Are Moving Down

Zinc....


Zinc inventories have started coming down on account of tightness of supplies in spot markets. The markets of Zinc have been in surplus since 2006 but the closure of some of the major mines in North America and Peru in 2013 is expected to squeeze the surplus from the markets. Zinc is majorly used in galvanization of steel and as an alloying metal. ILZSG report last month showed that the global zinc markets were in surplus of 265000 tonnes in 2012.

LME Zinc inventories have already started to come down in London exchanges and it is expected that the trend will continue in coming days. LME inventories have declined by 2% this year to 1198300 tonnes till 4 March 2013. The recent projections of 7.5% growth in China are a welcome sign for the metal.
Having said that, China is reducing its reliance on zinc concentrate imports and is banking on Zinc production within the country. The treatment and refining charges are expected to double to $ 110 per tonne from $ 45 per tonne on 2012, if market sources are to be believed. The rise in treatment charges indicates oversupply in the markets.
LME Zinc three month forwards were down by $ 4 per tonne at $ 2004 per tonne. MCX Zinc futures were trading at Rs 109 per kg, down 0.6%. The prices have slipped from Rs 119 per kg down 8.4% from 13 Feb 2013.
Source  by Commodity Insights

“Some investors who want precious metal exposure are looking to silver as a cheaper substitute for gold”

LONDON (Commodity Online): The scenario of silver coin demand outstripping gold coin demand cannot be ruled out as there exists "considerable interest in Silver Eagles in Europe as well as North America," according to Robin Bhar, head of metals research, Societe Generale.
He also said that the investor appetite for silver on all fronts, institutional and retail, is sufficient to absorb the metal's surplus. “Some investors who want precious metal exposure are looking to silver as a cheaper substitute for gold” he said to Kitco as demand for coins and ETPs climb.
Net investment into ETPs of silver is continuing and now stands at $650 million, with a daily average of $15.7 million; up 32% from a year ago.
He, however cautioned that "the market remains volatile and vulnerable to profit taking, however, and is unlikely to tighten, suggesting that profit taking into strength would be the preferred course of action."
Meanwhile stable US Dollar Index coupled with low crude oil prices have offset the advantage posed by short covering and some mild bargain hunting.
Silver for delivery on May 13 was seen trading at $28.708 a gain of $0.212 or 0.74% as of 10.54 AM IST.
Obama has signed into law a spate of spending cut measures in US, popularly known as sequestration. This brings into effect some $1.2 trillion in cuts over a decade; $85 billion this year itself.
This has made the economic ambience a bit uncertain supporting gold and silver. Meanwhile Cyprus having sought bail out is also being closely observed.
On India's MCX, silver for delivery on May 04 was seen trading at Rs.54853, a gain of 0.04%.

Markets Speak: Shanghai Copper Has Shredded 1370 Yuan In A Month

Copper......

Most active and highest Copper contract in Shanghai has lost 1370 yuan per tonne in last one month. Shanghai Copper for June expiry settled at 56310 yuan per tonne on Monday. Interesting to note is the fact that the Open interest in the contract has jumped by 29876 lots to 233918 lots in total since last month. The fall in metals across globe has been a impact of the slowdown in Chinese buying and lower demand in spot markets. China refrained from buying metals before the lunar New Year and the traders remained waiting for lower prices after coming back before entering the markets. The slowdown in spot demand continues even now as the curbs on property purchases is acting as a bane for the metal. China consumes more than 40% of the total metal produced in the world. The curbs in property markets mean that the consumption rate will be affected in coming months. Calls of increase in world supplies are also concerning traders. The copper markets can transform itself into surplus after world major production units will start functioning in 2013-14. Refined Copper stocks in Shanghai Futures Exchange hit a one year high at 226201 tonnes last week. Even in LME the stocks have moved up by 44% since the start of the year to 462400 tonnes. Source by Commodity Insights

New Day New Week Can Bring Respite From Selling In MCX Copper

Copper.....

Metal traders will be hoping that the new session of the new week will bring some respite from selling in Monday. Copper can expect some bounce in todays session as the LME forwards are trading in green. LME three month forwards were trading at $ 7697 per tonne, up $ 32 per tonne. Inventories maintained by LME warehouses have appreciated sharply. LME warehouse inventories have increased by 43% to 458775 tonnes by 1 March 2013 from the beginning of this year. Markets are gyrating on the fact that Bank of Japan governor nominee Haruhiko Kuroda has said that he would do whatever it takes to bring the country back from deflation. China on the contrary is expected to resort to tighter monetary policy to curb property values. Dollar remained moving ahead of the Euro last week and settled at 1.3019 against 1.3062 at the beginning of the week. Managed money funds reportedly cut their long positions in Copper for week ending 26 Feb 2013. COMEX Copper contracts, Commitment of traders report showed that fund managers slashed 12340 long contracts taking the total towards 25839 contracts, on 26 February 2013. Meanwhile, short positions were increased by 6238 contracts to 33004. Total net long positions therefore moved down by 37% to 7165 contracts. Inventories maintained by LME warehouses have appreciated sharply. MCX Copper closed at Rs 431 per kg on Saturday last week. A move above Rs 432 per kg will bring some buying back in the metal. So far, supports of Rs 428 and Rs 426 are active for the metal. Any breach of these levels on the lower side will bring further bleeding. Source by Commodity Insights

Gold Starts Week On Steady Note

Gold.......

Gold futures started the week on a steady note after ending the week with modestly lower on speculation that the Federal Reserve might end its bond-buying program sooner-than-expected continued to dampen the appeal of the precious metal. Gold futures for April delivery is trading up nearly $6 at $ 1578.2 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Friday, it eased down 0.15% to settle the week at $1,575.50 an ounce. Earlier Friday, prices slumped to a daily low of $1,564.20 a troy ounce, the weakest level since February 21, when futures slid to a seven-month low of $1,554.80. On the week, gold futures prices lost a modest 0.2%, the third consecutive weekly decline. Gold prices were likely to find support at $1,554.80 a troy ounce, the low from February 21 and resistance at $1,619.40, the high from February 26. Gold’s losses came after data on Friday showed that the U.S. manufacturing sector expanded at its fastest pace since June 2011 last month, while a separate report showed that U.S. consumer confidence rose in February. The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to 54.2 from 53.1 in January, while the final reading of the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index came in at 77.6, from a preliminary reading of 76.3. The upbeat data fuelled speculation the Federal Reserve could end its bond-buying program this year, boosting the U.S. dollar and weighing on dollar-denominated commodities. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, ended the week at 82.33, the strongest level since August 20. President Barack Obama warned Friday that federal spending cuts will cause “ripple effects” through the U.S. economy. Obama called on Congress to pass an alternative budget plan that closes tax loopholes and cuts spending, including entitlements. MCX April delivery gold futures may open today’s session near Rs 29800 levels with support around Rs 29740-700 levels. In the week ahead, gold traders will be focusing on interest rate decisions by the European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan. In addition, Friday’s data on U.S. nonfarm payrolls will be closely watched as investors attempt to gauge the strength of the economic recovery. Powered by Commodity Insights