Page 7 - Commodities

Commodities on upswing in FY17 as funds return

In International market Crude oil has recovered sharply and Zinc is outperforming all metals, while agri prices ramained tight

World Bank sees upward commodity trend

Raises projections from April forecast for crude oil but has negative outlook for metals and minerals

Cotton, rice and wheat output to go up in India

Sugar and coffee output to come down

Global research houses revise commodity price outlook upward

They see demand outweighing supplies that were curtailed over the past few quarters across commodities

Coastal shipping of commodities to save Rs 40k crore per year

To encourage shippers to shift cargo to waterways, govt is planning to provide an incentive of Re 1 per km for a tonne of cargo

Commodities may slump as investors rush for the exits

Oil may drop to $30 a barrel in sell-off

Five tests for the commodities bounce

It's the best of times in commodities markets, it's the worst of times in commodities markets. Iron ore jumped by the most on record on Monday, while Brent crude broke through $40 a barrel for the first time in three months. Then, Chinese export data Tuesday showed dollar-denominated shipments falling 25 per cent, the worst decline since May 2009.What is going on?There are reasons to take both sets of data with a pinch of salt. Market prices are prone to speculation, momentum trading and short squeezes, all of which could explain some of the movement in iron ore and oil. Economic indicators can also be tricky. How much of China's export collapse in February had to do with the timing of Lunar New Year? If exports to Hong Kong were inflated in December by fake invoicing, is it bullish for the yuan that they declined to a six-year low in February?Here are five indicators worth watching for a clearer picture:BALTIC DRY INDEXTo understand the state of real commodities demand, Baltic Dry is

Options, index futures in commodities soon

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has paved the way for the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to introduce new products in the commodities derivative segment. This means, option trading and index futures trading can now be taken up by Sebi. Last year's amendment in the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act had cleared the legal hurdle on introduction of these products. According to sources, Sebi would begin the consultation process for these products before allowing exchanges to introduce them. Sebi will make it a pre-requisite for commodity exchanges to upgrade their risk management standards, in line with those of stock exchanges.A consultation paper would soon be issued to seek stakeholders' views on new products. The FM has, however, not said anything on allowing new set of participants such as banks, mutual funds, etc, in commodity derivatives. Sources said for index futures, Sebi will have to prescribe standard index making norms. It will also have to decide in which segm