Commodity Briefing

Malaysian palm oil supportive
The official Malaysian palm oil data released by the Palm OilRegistration and Licensing Authority PORLA on Thursday is seen by traders as supportive. quot;PORLA numbers were friendly. Both stocks and exports numbers were better than market expectations,quot; a trader at a commission house said. Traders said they expected more gains in the local palm oil futures market in the afternoon. The PORLA data was released after the morning trading session had ended. Malaysia8217;s benchmark, third month June futures contract was up 19 ringgit at 1,610 ringgit a tonne at midday. Malaysia8217;s palm oil production rose 24.9 per cent to 7,03,322 tonnes in March from 5,62,957 tonnes in February and compared with 5,98,612 tonnes in March 1998, PORLA said. End-March stocks increased 0.35 per cent to 7,16,328 tonnes from 7,13,846 tonnes.

Kirana market steady
In New Delhi a steady trend prevailed in the local kirana market with prices moving narrowly around the previous levels on small bouts of buying and selling. The volume of business was small. Following were today8217;s quotationsin rs per quintal: ajwain 3,000-6,000, black pepper metro Rs 20,300, black pepper golden 18,700-19,500, betelnut 15,500-18,000, cardamom brown bold grain 17,000-17,500 and small grain 14,700-16,300. Cardamom small: colour pan kg 550-640 cardamom robin 600-615 cardamom bold 635-650 cardamom extra bold 680-700 cloves kg 63-65.

Almond California up
In New Delhi prices of almond California and kernel gained on the dry fruit market here today due to local demand while copra receded. Almond california inferior rose by Rs 200 from previous close of Rs 6,800-7,200 to settle at Rs 7,000-7,200 and its kernel move up by Rs 250-255 from previous mark of Rs 245-247. Meanwhile, copra inferior dropped by Rs 150 to settle at Rs 4,500-5,300 against a previous close of Rs 4,650-5,300 per quintal. The business transacted was good.

Wax prices ease
In New Delhi an easy trend was noticed on the local chemical market with most of the commodities ruling easy due to increased arrivals coupledwith poor offtake. Wax varieties paraffin, press and slackes declined by Rs 50, Rs 800 and Rs 100 to settle at Rs 1,400-1,700, Rs 23,500 and Rs 17,400 from the previous mark of Rs 1,400-1,750, Rs 24,300 and Rs 17,500 respectively per tonne. Elsewhere, prices of other commodities ruled steady on scattered enquiries. The volume of business transacted was small.

Vietnam coffee trade dull
Vietnam8217;s coffee market has been dull over the past week as traders waited while prices fell in line with international market moves, dealers said. quot;In general prices continue to fall,quot; said an international coffee trader. quot;The Vietnamese, including exporters and ordinary people who keep coffee for speculation, are not willing to sell but the quality of their stocks is dropping.quot; Traders said Vietnam had started offering the lower grade eight per cent black and broken coffee, as better quality grades had mostly been sold since the end of the harvest in January. Vietnam8217;s robusta five per cent black and broken gradewas quoted on Friday at around 1,300 a tonne, FOB Saigon Port, down from 1,320-1,350 last week.