COMMODITIES

Oil failed to find momentum in either direction for a clear move away from $81.50 on Wednesday as investors waited for data on U.S. stocks or OPEC's monthly report ahead of next week's meeting to provide impetus.

Oil reversed earlier losses to gain a few cents toward $82 on Wednesday after China said imports jumped in February, boosting evidence that emerging Asian economies will lead global demand back into growth this year.

Experts maintained stable outlook for oil & gas and base metal industry. However, the long term outlook for thermal coal is positive, with 220 GW of coal-fired electricity generation capacity expected to come online over the next 5 years, requiring over 750 Mt of coal. The outlook for oil and gas prices remains broadly unchanged, with oil prices still expected to rise. Oil prices have hovered around USD 70 per barrel for the past three months. This relative stability at an economically viable le...

At a time when jewellery retailers and gold buyers are crying foul over the increase in import duty on gold and silver, there is a surprise element for jewellery makers which will make them happy. While presenting the Budget, India's finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said import duty on gold and platinum will go up from Rs 100 to Rs 300 per 10 gm.

Has the consumer behaviour towards spending money for buying gold and silver changed thanks to the surge in bullion prices in the last few months? Yes, consumer preferences for buying gold and jewellery items have drastifally changed thanks to the bullion price spike, says a study by Exim Bank, a government owned bank in India. According to the study by Exim Bank, increasing domestic demand, along with an anticipated pick-up in exports, is likely to drive growth of Indian jewellery market in the...

China is moving ahead with bilateral co-operations in the field of energy exchange and other sectors with Iran, ignoring Western countries calls for stringent sanctions against Iran over its disputed nuclear program.

South East Asian (SEA) region comprising two of world's largest rice exporters, Thailand and Vietnam remained as world's top trade destination for the commodity. The food crisis of 2008 has inspired various countries in Asia to vie for status as the world's rice bowl and many hope to be able to dethrone Thailand.

Will gold prices hit $1,200 per ounce this month? If you go by the opinion of bullion market analysts, the yellow metal may cross $1,200 mark this month as the bull run in bullion has lreay started. In January, the yellow metal had crossed $1,160 per ounce. And analysts now say that this will go beyond $1,200 this month.

Four Democratic senators entered into the clean energy vs. jobs fray, charging that too much federal stimulus money for wind energy projects is going to foreign suppliers and creating jobs abroad instead of in the U.S. The administration and the domestic wind energy industry immediately rejected the lawmakers' charges, as the political pressure to reduce unemployment continued to fuel the economic debate in Washington.

The European Commission added to its economic stimulus program with the largest-ever package of grants to energy infrastructure, including support for the Nabucco pipeline project that will help Europe diversify its sources of natural gas. The package of 2.3 billion euros ($3.1 billion) for 43 projects will attract 22 billion euros ($30 billion) of private sector energy investment, largely for pipelines and electricity interconnectors.

Jobs data indicating that U.S. economic recovery might be picking up steam finally pushed crude oil futures decisively over the stubborn $80 a barrel threshold. Nymex's benchmark West Texas Intermediate settled Friday at $81.50 a barrel, a seven-week high, after topping $82 in intraday trading. An unchanged unemployment rate of 9.7% and a smaller-than-expected drop in payrolls propelled both stocks and commodities higher on Friday. Earlier in the week, industry job data also came out better than...

Gold and foreign exchange reserves in South Africa have declined marginally for the month of February, said a statement from the South Africa Reserve Bank (SARB) on Friday. It said net gold and foreign exchange reserves declined to US38.281 billion in February from US38.630 billion in January.

The debt crisis plaguing Greece has turned out to be another opportunity for global investment advisors to bat for gold, the hottest commodity traded in the world. And when it comes to gold, what the Swiss investing advisor and analyst Marc Faber says on the economic crisis that has hit Greece is making waves these days. Faber says Greek crisis is just the beginning and the entire Europe will be caught in debt problems. And the commodity that can save people is gold.

Oil rose to a seven-week high above $82 a barrel on Friday after a report showed the United States lost fewer jobs than expected in February and on signals China will maintain its economic stimulus measures.

Crude climbed toward $81 a barrel on Friday, approaching a seven-week high, after signals China will maintain its economic stimulus measures boosted hopes strong growth will help drain excess oil supplies.

Crude edged up on Friday, capping two consecutive weeks of trading above $80, after China signaled it would maintain its economic stimulus, rekindling hopes for accelerating growth to drain excess oil supplies.

The elections in Iraq on March 7, 2010, are likely to serve as an important indicator of the prospects for a resolution of the long-running dispute over the administration of the ethnically mixed and resource-rich province of Kirkuk in the north of the country. The Iraqi Kurds have repeatedly called for Kirkuk to be transferred to the control of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), which already administers three provinces in the predominantly Kurdish north of Iraq. The other...

With Yemen's oil revenues plunging, the government's push into the gas market seemed like an economic saving grace for a state wracked by poverty and terrorism, but analysts warn more thought should be given to carving out the country's post-petroleum era. The infamous Christmas Day bomber's attempts to blow up a jet approaching Detroit - which Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for - has drawn unwanted attention to the country's vulnerability to terrorist movem...

Wait and watch, that is the game bullion market is playing now. With India's new tax on gold imports hitting the demand in global market, investors and importers are now waiting and observing the movements for a clear hint. However, gold scrap sales have picked up slowly in Southeast Asia but witnessed no major movements.

Commodity prices recovered in February after falling in the first month of the year despite China's tighter monetary control regime and US Federal Reserve raising rates for emergency loans to banks which initally sent jitters down the commodity street. However, prices of key commodities have rebounded with crude oil rising as much as 10 percent while key Nymex traded Copper futures have gained 7.1%. Gold gained 2% in February and Spot Gold in New York closed the month at $1,119 still far short o...

WASHINGTON (Commodity Online): Cotton prices increased sharply in February 2010. The Cotlook A Index rose from 75.35 cents per pound on February 1 to 85.55 cents per pound on February 26. Cotton prices are supported by strong fundamentals: reduced production and rebounding mill use are expected to generate a 15% drop in global cotton stocks, according to International Cotton Advisory Committee.

Global copper prices eased Tuesday after earthquake hit Chile's Codelco mine reported minimum damage to its facilities. Chile is one of the largest producers of the industrial metal. However, most of its production plants and mines are in the north of the country, while the earthquake struck near the country's southern region.

South Korea's state run Korea Gas Corporation (Korea Gas) said it will invest $1.1 billion to jointly develop natural gas fields in Canada with local firm Encana Corp. In a statement issued here, it said the deal will secure enough gas shipments to South Korea.

Non-OPEC crude oil supply is set to surge in 2010 and 2011by 51.8 mn barrels per day and 52.3 mn barrels per day respectively and susbequently face consecutive decline from 2012, according to an analysis by Bank of America-Merrill Lynch (BofAML). The optimism comes from expected production in news fields in Brazil, FSU, Norway, West Africa and Gulf of Mexico. If Iraq and Nigeria supplies increase as announced then crude oil would find it difficult to rise above $100 over the next decade, BofAML ...

Philippines is likely to grant permission to private firms to import up to 150,000 tons rice apart from its previous allocation of 200,000 tons due to the increased demand, said an official on Monday. NFA is considering additional quantity of 100,000 to 150,000 tons for private sector importation due to the overwhelming response from them, spokesman for the state-run National Food Authority (NFA).

Crude oil broke through the $80 a barrel ceiling repeatedly during the week but kept falling back as hedge funds placed big bets on the Euro's decline. The fiscal drama in Greece held global markets hostage much of the week as worries about the impact of the Greek crisis on the euro outweighed comments from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke about continued low interest rates in the U.S., pushing the euro down against the dollar and damping crude prices.

Oil rose toward $79 a barrel on Friday, after sliding more than 2 percent the previous session, as an upwards revision in U.S. gross domestic product for the fourth quarter helped revive lackluster sentiment.

Oil held around $78 a barrel on Friday after sliding more than 2 percent the day before as traders mulled recovery prospects for the United States, the world's top energy consumer, ahead of economic data.

Petra Diamonds will be putting up a 507-carat egg-sized diamond on sale this week, which it discovered at its Cullian mine in South Africa. The company is expecting the 100-gram diamond to sell for around $25 million. Originally, analysts had placed the diamond price at around $20 million, but the rising rough diamond prices and higher buyer interest cited for the stone, could raise the diamond's sale price.