Boiling News & Veg Oils ,crude

Oil above $121 amid tension with Russia

Singapore, Aug 22: Oil prices held above USD 121 a barrel on Friday in Asia after jumping more than US$5 overnight as investors mulled the likelihood that tension with Russia would further disrupt crude supplies to the West.

Light, sweet crude for October delivery was up 17 cents at USD 121.35 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Singapore. The contract rose USD 5.62 overnight to settle at USD 121.18 a barrel.

''It's still speculative whether Russia will use oil as a weapon to punish the West,'' said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore. ''But it has certainly focused the market on that geopolitical threat.''

The United States and Poland signed a deal Wednesday to place a US missile defence base just 115 miles (180 kilometers) from Russia's westernmost border _ a move quickly denounced by Moscow.

Russia's Foreign Ministry warned that Moscow's response to further development of the missile defense shield would go beyond diplomacy.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has dismissed any suggestion that the missile defense interceptors to be based in Poland constitute a threat to Russia. Washington says the base is a way to defend the US and Europe from the possible threat of long-distance missiles from Iran.

Russian forces also lingered deep in Georgia on Thursday, digging trenches and setting up mortars a day before Kremlin officials promised to complete a troop withdrawal from the former Soviet republic. A top Russian general said it could be 10 days before the bulk of the troops left.

Western leaders remained adamant that Russia remove its troops and do it quickly.

US Senator Joe Lieberman said Thursday he wants to see Russia kicked out of the Group of Eight ''for a while'' and denied entry into the World Trade Organisation as punishment for its actions in Georgia.

''The Russian-Georgia conflict has disrupted supplies and it looks like it willdrag on and create a lot of uncertainty,'' Shum said.

London-based BP PLC last week shut down its Baku-Supsa oil pipeline _ which runs through the center of Georgia from Baku in Azerbaijan to Supsa on Georgia's Black Sea coast _ because of security concerns.

The line, which has the capacity to pump up to 150,000 barrels a day, had recently been pumping around 90,000 barrels a day, according to a BP spokeswoman.

The British oil company also said that testing was to begin Wednesday on the closed Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline _ which runs through Georgia as _ ahead of a move to restart full operations as early as next week.

That line, owned by a consortium of energy companies led by BP, has been closed for more than two weeks after a fire on its Turkish stretch. Kurdish rebels have taken responsibility for that blaze.

In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures were flat at USD 3.3006 a gallon, while gasoline prices rose 0.03 cent to USD 3.0455 a gallon. Natural gas futures increased 4.8 cents to USD 8.30 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, October Brent crude rose 24 cents to USD 120.40 a barrel.

No proposal to tax edible oil imports: Central Govt
22 Aug 2008 12:30 pm

New Delhi - India has no plans to impose a duty on crude edible oil imports, the Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said Friday.



"There is no proposal to impose a duty on crude edible oil imports as we want more supply in the local markets," Sharad Pawar said.



In April, the Central government had scrapped the import duty on crude edible oils and reduced duties to as low as 7.5% for refined edible oils in a bid to increase supply and cool local prices.



Pawar also said the government would sell 5 million-6 million metric tons of wheat in the local markets in the next 14 months.

Mumbai edible oil prices - Aug 22
22 Aug 2008 10:14 am

Mumbai - Following are the prices of various edible oils at the Mumbai market as on 10.10 a.m. (IST). All prices are in Rs. per 10kg.Excluding Value added Tax (VAT) Variety/Day
21/08/08 22/08/08 Change
Sunflower oil Exp
560 570 +10
oil Ref
630 640 +10
Groundnut oil
725 725 -
RBD Palmolein
471 465 -6
Cottonseed oil ref
590 590 -
Mustard oil
647 648 +1
Ref Soy oil
580 580 -

Bombay HC suggests Ambani brothers to talk it out

Mumbai, Aug 21: Saying that dispute between Mukesh Ambani-led RIL and Anil Ambani-led RNRL over gas supply from Krishna-Godavari basin might "affect the economy", the Bombay High Court on Thursday suggested that the warring brothers go back to their mother Kokilaben and settle the dispute.

"Why can't the two brothers go back to the mother and discuss?" said Justice J N Patel. While Anil's lawyer welcomed the idea, RIL lawyers said they will get instructions from Mukesh's side.

A division bench of Justices J N Patel and K K Tated is hearing case between RIL and RNRL over Gas Supply Master Agreement (GSMA) pertaining to supply of natural gas from RIL's Krishna Godavari reserves to RNRL's power plants.

Earlier, a single judge of High Court has asked the parties to renegotiate the disputed GSMA but it did not work out.

However, Justice Patel today said "no amount of litigation would put an end to the dispute" and suggested that perhaps both the brothers can sit together with their mother and find a solution.

"If these two big industries keep fighting, it may affect the economy," the judge said.

RNRL's lawyer Mukesh Rohatgi said "he (Anil) is ready to meet Mukesh anytime, any place."

RIL lawyer Milind Sathe said he would seek instruction but said that despite the earlier judge's direction to sit together and renegotiate GSMA, it did not happen. "That was the end of the matter".

GSMA was drafted following demerger of RIL following which whereby Anil Ambani got control of Reliance Natural Resources Ltd.

Oilseeds plunge on late selling
22 Aug 2008 5:33 pm

Mumbai, August 22 – Indian vegetable oilseed futures closed down erasing early gains pressurized by the weakness in the spot markets and expectation for a bumper crop of soybean. The losses increased on account of the late weakness in US soy oil and crude oil towards closing in the Indian markets.



The Malaysian palm oil futures closed higher settling above MYR 2,700 a tonne for the first time in 11-days, supported by gains in other markets. The soy complex was quoting down in electronic trading as profit-booking of overnight sharp gains was seen with December soy oil and November soybean quoting down by 28 points and 6.00 cents on e-CBOT when the Indian markets closed.



Energy markets moved down as the session progressed with October contract at New York Mercantile Exchange quoting down by $ 0.86 a barrel at 17.00 hours IST. It had rallied sharply on Thursday to settle up by $ 5.62 at $ 121.18 a barrel.



The Indian oilseed futures closed sharply down with heavy selling seen from late noon as US soy complex and crude oil increased losses. The Indian oilseed futures had opened positively, but later moved down pressurized by weakness in the cash markets and hopes of a record soy output. However, the early losses were minimal on account of the strong overnight gains in US soy oil, crude oil and today’s gains in Malaysian palm oil futures.



The current high selling pressure and fear of prices crashing further when the peak new arrivals season commences were pressurizing the cash markets. The Government also clarified that it had no plans to impose import duty on crude edible oil imports. A section of the industry was pressurizing the Government to re-introduce import duty on account of the sharp fall in global prices to ensure better prices to farmers, when new crops arrive.



The Crop Progress Report released by the Ministry of Agriculture today indicated only a slight increase in acreage as sowing of almost all oilseeds was complete. Planting of soybean as on August 22nd was reported to be carried out on 9.41 million hectares, up by 8.4% from 8.68 million hectares a year earlier. Last week sowing was reported on 9.28 million hectares.



Groundnut was sown on 4.95 million hectares as on August 22nd, just a tad down from 5.1 million hectares in the previous year. Last week sowing was completed on 4.81 million hectares.



The September soybean contract at National Commodity Derivatives Exchange [NCDEX] closed lower at Rs. 2,470.00 [- 27.00] per 100 kg with 98,760 tonnes traded. The September contract at National Board of Trade [NBOT] ended down at Rs. 2,467.00 [- 27.00] per 100 kg.



September CPO at Multi Commodity Exchange of India closed higher at Rs. 383.00 [+ 5.80] per 10 kg with 17,690 tonnes traded.



Crude Palm Oil [CPO] at the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives [BMD] closed higher supported by the strong overnight rally in US soy oil and crude oil. The fundamentals were also supportive on account of the resumption of demand in cash market.

The benchmark November contract at BMD closed higher at MYR 2,715.00 [+ 62.00] a tonne with 15,925 lots traded. [MYR=Malaysian Ringitt][1 lot=25 tonnes]



The US soy complex closed sharply up on Thursday with soy oil settling limit up driven by the rally in crude oil and weakness in US Dollar. Technical buying was seen with contracts crossing critical levels. Crop related uncertainty and expectation of good upcoming export demand were also supportive.



September soybeans settled 47 1/4 cents higher at $13.41 a bushel. The most actively traded November soybean contract ended 48 cents higher at $13.48 after briefly touching the exchange-imposed 70-cent maximum trading limit. December soymeal settled $5.00 higher at $358.70 per short ton. December soy oil finished limit up, 250 points higher, at 56.35 cents per pound.



MUSTARD SEED



Mustard seed futures closed sharply down with heavy selling seen towards closing on account of the late weakness in US soy oil and crude oil. The trend was down from earlier itself on account of the bearish domestic fundamentals of a record soybean output, sharp rise in inflation, selling pressure in cash markets and dull demand despite festival season being in full swing. However, the early losses were limited by the gains in the global reference markets.



Most active mustard seed November futures on NCDEX closed lower at Rs. 587.45 [- 12.60] per 20 kg with 1,67,150 tonnes traded. The regional markets ended down with November contract at Hapur settling at Rs. 643.50 [- 1.10] per 100 kg.



CASTOR SEED



Castor seed futures closed tad down erasing all the early gains with profit-booking at high levels being seen on account of the quick pace of sowing. The Crop Progress Report released by Ministry of Agriculture reported castor seed sowing to be completed on 5.81 lakh hectares as on 22nd August against 6.49 lakh hectares covered at the same time last year.



Most active castor seed September futures on NCDEX closed down at Rs. 605.00 [- 0.90] per 20 kg with 3,420 tonnes traded.



The regional markets closed mixed with September futures at Rajkot settling tad up at Rs. 3,030.00 [+ 5.00] per 100 kg.

Oil falls 5.4% in biggest drop since `04

New York, Aug 23: Crude oil prices fell more than 5.4 percent on Friday in the biggest one-day slide since 2004 as dealers turned their focus to rising supply levels and weakening global demand.

A rebound in the US dollar encouraged the sell-off, applying downward pressure across the commodities markets by weakening the purchasing power of buyers using other currencies, dealers said.

The slide adds to a more than 20 percent fall in the price of crude since mid-July and could increase the chance oil cartel OPEC will cut official production limits when the group meets in Vienna on September 9.

US crude fell USD 6.59, or 5.4 percent, to settle at USD 114.59 a barrel -- the biggest fall in percentage terms since December 27, 2004. London Brent crude fell USD 6.24 to USD 113.92 a barrel.

"People who were buying yesterday are taking profits today," said Peter Beutel, analyst at consultancy Cameron Hanover. "There is also renewed technical selling and talk again of demand destruction. The dollar is strong again too."

The declines on Friday were encouraged by two reports -- one showing an uptick in OPEC crude oil output and another showing an expected decline in US travel over the September 1 Labor Day holiday weekend as high fuel prices hit consumers.

Industry consultant Petrologistics said on Friday OPEC oil output was expected to rise in August by 450,000 barrels per day, to 32.95 million bpd, a factor that could further beef up inventory levels in consumer nations.

Meanwhile, the US auto and travel group AAA said that Labor Day holiday travel was expected to fall this year by the largest amount in at least eight years as consumers struggle with higher gasoline prices and airfares.

Concerns high energy costs are taking a toll on global fuel demand have played a big role in oil's sharp descent from peaks above USD 147 a barrel in mid-July. But oil prices remain up about 15 percent so far this year.

Friday's losses came after a big climb in prices earlier in the week that had been supported by rising tension between the United States and Russia, the world's second biggest oil producer.

Russia said this week it would respond with more than just a diplomatic protest to a US deal with Poland to station parts of a US missile defense shield on Polish soil.

Relations between Russia and the West had already been strained by Moscow's military intervention in Georgia, a conflict that has already disrupted rail shipments of Azeri oil through the region.

Meanwhile, operations on the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline were ramping up with a cargo of Azeri crude scheduled to be loaded in Turkey early next week -- the first cargo since an explosion on the line in Turkey August 5.

Centre increases MSP for all kharif crops, except rice
23 Aug 2008 1:09 pm

New Delhi - The Central government has hiked the minimum support price (MSP) for all kharif crops, except rice. The government has kept the MSP of rice steady at Rs 850/quintal for 2008-2009. Though, the government has promised to give bonus if the need arises.



The Cabinet in its meeting held on August 21 approved the support price for various kharif crops, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said on Friday.



The MSP for Maize, Jowar and Bajra will be Rs 840/quintal.



The support price for medium staple length cotton has been raised by Rs 700 to Rs 2,500 per quintal, while the same for long staple has been increased by Rs 970 at Rs 3,000 for the October-September cotton year, a government official said.



The support price approved for medium staple length relates to F-414, H-77 and J-34 and long staple relates to H-4 and H-6 varieties of kapas.



Similarly, the MSP for Arhar Dal has been increased to Rs 2000/quintal; for Urad and Moong to Rs 2520/quintal; Soybean Yellow to Rs 1390/quintal and Soybean Black to RS 1350/quintal.



The MSP for groundnut will be Rs 2100/quintal; Sunflower RS 2215/quintal and Sesame Seed Rs 2750/quintal.

Oilseeds end up on short covering
23 Aug 2008 2:19 pm

Mumbai – Indian vegetable oilseed futures closed higher with short covering of the huge losses made in the previous two sessions being seen. The cash markets were largely closed today, which was supporting the recovery in the futures. However, the gains were limited to some extent by the huge overnight losses in crude oil.



The US soy complex closed down overnight on account of the huge losses in crude oil and strength in US Dollar. Crude oil for October delivery fell $6.59, or 5.4% to settle at $114.59 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the biggest drop on a percentage basis since Dec. 27, 2004. In dollar terms, it was the biggest decline since 1991.



The Indian oilseed futures closed higher with short-covering of huge losses made in the previous two sessions being seen. The cash markets across the country were closed today on account of ‘Janmashtami’, which was helping the recovery in the futures markets. However, the strong overnight losses in US soy oil and crude oil were limiting the gains.



The hopes of a record soy output, improvement in khariff oilseed acreage had kept the selling pressure high in the cash markets during this week. This led to the futures markets moving down with soybean losing around 2% in the previous two sessions, despite the global edible oil markets moving up.



Meanwhile, the revival of rains in August helped the sowing of oilseeds to marginally exceed previous year’s acreage for the first time this season. Crop Progress Report released by the Ministry of Agriculture yesterday reported that planting of khariff oilseeds was carried out on 16.87 million hectares as on August 21 against previous year’s 16.75 million hectares. Planting of soybean was completed on 9.41 million hectares, up by 8.4% from 8.68 million hectares a year earlier. Groundnut was sown on 4.95 million hectares just a tad down from 5.1 million hectares in the previous year.



The September soybean contract at National Commodity Derivatives Exchange [NCDEX] closed higher at Rs. 2,486.00 [+ 18.00] per 100 kg with 87,210 tonnes traded. The September contract at National Board of Trade [NBOT] ended up at Rs. 2,489.50 [+ 20.00] per 100 kg.



September CPO at Multi Commodity Exchange of India closed lower at Rs. 379.10 [- 4.30] per 10 kg with 8,260 tonnes traded with profit-booking of yesterday’s gains seen on account of the losses in US soy oil, crude oil.



The US soy complex closed down on Friday driven by gains in US Dollar, huge losses in crude oil and profit-booking. While, losses were quite significant in soy oil, soybean managed to recover from lows on account of crop related uncertainty and expectation of good upcoming export demand.



September soybeans settled 20 cents lower at $13.21 a bushel. The most actively traded November soybean contract ended 21 cents lower at $13.21. December soymeal settled $1.30 higher at $360.30 per short ton. December soy oil lost 142 points to 54.93 cents per pound.



Crude Palm Oil [CPO] at the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives [BMD] closed higher on Friday with benchmark November contract settling at MYR 2,715.00 [+ 62.00] a tonne with 15,925 lots traded. [MYR=Malaysian Ringitt][1 lot=25 tonnes]



MUSTARD SEED



Mustard seed futures closed higher with short covering of the losses made in the previous two sessions being seen. Rapeseed futures had lost around 3% in the previous two sessions on account of heavy selling pressure in the cash market and anticipation of a record soybean output. Today the cash markets were largely closed on account of ‘Janmashtami’ celebrations, which helped in today’s recovery.



Most active mustard seed November futures on NCDEX closed higher at Rs. 593.00 [+ 5.20] per 20 kg with 87,210 tonnes traded. The regional markets ended up with November contract at Hapur settling at Rs. 643.60 [+ 0.10] per 100 kg.



CASTOR SEED



Castor seed futures closed up with short covering of recent losses being seen as the cash markets are closed till Monday. The recovery in the edible oilseed markets was also supportive. However, the gains were limited by the overall weak sentiments on account of the current quick pace of sowing.



The Crop Progress Report released by Ministry of Agriculture yesterday reported castor seed sowing to be completed on 5.81 lakh hectares as on 21st August against 6.49 lakh hectares covered at the same time last year.



Most active castor seed September futures on NCDEX closed higher at Rs. 607.50 [+ 1.90] per 20 kg with 1,040 tonnes traded.



The regional markets were closed today and will be closed on Monday too.

Oilseeds end mixed, erase early gains
25 Aug 2008 5:23 pm

Mumbai, August 25 – Indian vegetable oilseed futures erased early gains and closed mixed with sentiments affected by the huge losses in Malaysian palm oil futures. However, rapeseed and near-month soybean managed to close positively supported by the firm demand in the cash market, hike in MSP and the possible delay in new-crop arrivals.



Malaysian palm oil futures closed sharply down on account of less impressive exports amid expectation of production remaining strong till end-October. The US complex was quoting higher in electronic trading with December soy oil and November soybean quoting up by 64 points and 38.75 cents on e-CBOT when the Indian markets closed.



The energy markets were trading tad up in electronic trading currently with October crude oil at New York Mercantile Exchange quoting up by $ 0.85 at $ 115.44 a barrel.



The Indian oilseed futures closed mixed with all the strong gains seen in the morning erased on account of the heavy losses in Malaysian palm oil futures and anticipation of a bumper khariff output. While, all the far-month soybean contracts were making strong losses, the near-month September contract settled up supported by the firm spot market, hike in Minimum Support Price [MSP] and gains in US soy complex.



The supply tightness in the Indian markets is expected to remain till mid-October amid strong festival demand as the new crop arrivals would be slightly delayed due to the late sowing.



The Government of India sharply raised the Minimum Support Price [MSP] of all edible oilseeds. MSP for soybean yellow was increased to Rs. 1390 per 100 kg, soybean black to Rs. 1350 per 100 kg from Rs. 910 and Rs. 1050 per 100 kg respectively. The MSP for groundnut would be Rs. 2100 [1550] per 100 kg, sunflower Rs. 2215 [1510] per 100 kg and sesame seed Rs. 2750 [1580] per 100 kg. [2007-08 MSP in brackets]



Mr. Davish Jain of Central Organisation of Oil Industry and Trade in an interview with Reuters said that India would be buying around 900,000 tonnes of vegetable oil in September and October to meet surging festival demand before the winter soybean crop gets harvested.



He is expecting India’s soybean crop, due for harvesting in mid-October to exceed 10 million tonnes, if monsoon revives strongly. He also added that strong soybean production, overall weakness in global vegetable oil prices and high stocks might lead to India contemplating to impose some duties on edible oil imports at the time of the soybean harvest.



Mr. Dorab Mistry addressing a conference organized by the Malaysian Palm Oil Council said that crude palm oil futures might not fall below MYR 2,200 a tonne for the next few weeks if crude oil prices stabilized around $100 a barrel with a 10 percentage points range.



The September soybean contract at National Commodity Derivatives Exchange [NCDEX] closed higher at Rs. 2,495.00 [+ 10.00] per 100 kg with 66,750 tonnes traded. Other contracts settled down. The September contract at National Board of Trade [NBOT] ended up at Rs. 2,499.00 [+ 11.50] per 100 kg.



September CPO at Multi Commodity Exchange of India closed lower at Rs. 378.50 [- 0.60] per 10 kg with 9,450 tonnes traded.



Crude Palm Oil [CPO] at the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives [BMD] closed down on account of less impressive August 1-25 exports amid expectation of production remaining strong till end-October which would raise ending-stocks.



Malaysia’s palm oil exports rose 1.9% on month during the August 1-25 period to 1.14 million tonnes, cargo surveyor SGS (Malaysia) Bhd. The figure was in line with another estimate earlier in the day - by Intertek Agri Services - but was slightly below market expectations for Aug. 1-25 exports being around 1.15 million-1.20 million tonne.



The benchmark November contract closed down at MYR 2,600.00 [- 115.00] a tonne with 9,280 lots traded. [MYR=Malaysian Ringitt][1 lot=25 tonnes]



The US soy complex closed down on Friday driven by gains in US Dollar, huge losses in crude oil and profit-booking. September soybeans settled 20 cents lower at $13.21 a bushel. The most actively traded November soybean contract ended 21 cents lower at $13.21. December soymeal settled $1.30 higher at $360.30 per short ton. December soy oil lost 142 points to 54.93 cents per pound.



MUSTARD SEED



Mustard seed futures closed mixed with active contracts settling higher in anticipation of firm festival demand as supply of edible oil from new khariff crops are expected only from mid-October. The expectation of increase in demand for mustard oil from West Bengal for ‘Durga Puja’ festivities was keeping the cash markets active. However, anticipation of a record soybean output and huge losses in Malaysian palm oil futures limited the gains.



Meanwhile, the near-month September contract ended down with players booking profits and exiting the contract, before it enters the expiry month.



Most active mustard seed November futures on NCDEX closed higher at Rs. 593.50 [+ 0.90] per 20 kg with 1,17,410 tonnes traded. The regional markets ended up with November contract at Hapur settling at Rs. 645.15 [+ 1.55] per 100 kg.



CASTOR SEED



Castor seed futures closed mixed after a session of choppy, range-bound trading, with most of the early losses lost on account of the overall weak sentiments due to the current quick pace of sowing. At the same time, some short covering of recent losses was seen as the cash markets were closed today too for ‘Janmashtami’ festival.



Most active castor seed September futures on NCDEX closed higher at Rs. 608.50 [+ 1.30] per 20 kg with 1,650 tonnes traded.



The regional exchanges were closed today.

Palm oil not likely to trade below MYR 2200 per tonne-Dorab
25 Aug 2008 12:54 pm

Mumbai - London-based vegetable oils analyst Dorab Mistry remains hopeful on Malaysian Palm oil to sustain above MYR 2200 per tonnes provided crude oil prices stabilize around $100 a barrel with a 10 percent range.



Earlier Palm oil tumbled lower and remains under pressure as production enters seasonally high period. Palm oil output in Malaysia expected to reach 17 million tonnes which is higher than the MPOB’s target of 16.2 million tonnes. Higher supply, slowing demand, higher stock, slow export and lower crude oil prices act together to keep palm oil below MYR 2500 per tonne.



The market presently sustain above MYR 2500 per tonnes although the buyers remain nervous entering new buying agreement amid cash crunch in the market. Dealers said importers had defaulted on at least 300,000 tonnes of palm oil cargo in the past few weeks, while 500,000 tonnes of deals had been washed out, where traders pay lower prices than those initially agreed.



"We have at present a deadly cocktail of rising production combined with some demand rationing. In such circumstances, prices have to go to the level where they create strong demand growth," Mistry told in an industry conference. He also added ‘at that level (MYR 2,200), we should see strong demand growth’.



Mr Mistry also mentioned higher rapeseed production in China and higher Soybean production in US and India (Expected) keep the bulls on defensive. He remains optimistic on biofuel demand to pick up in the coming months on lower Palm oil prices. He also mentioned ‘on an annualized basis, for the oil year 2007-08, we have already lost 1 million tonnes of food demand and about 500,000 tonnes of biodiesel demand as a result of high prices’.