MUMBAI, Aug 20: Silver ruled bullish as prices crossed Rs 6,500-mark on the bullion market here today. Gold ruled steady.

Silver .999 spurted from Rs 6,470 to Rs 6,550 per kg. In the ready section silver .916 lifted up by same margin at Rs 6,450 per kg in sympathy. Physical demand continued ahead of festivals while thin suplies and shortage of ready stock pushed prices upward. In the international market silver consolidated recent gains before closing $4.52/4.53 per ounce.

Standard gold moved in a narrow range and finished steady at Rs 4,500 per 10 gm. Gold .22 carat ruled quiet at Rs 4,160 per 10 gm. Prices of gold biscuit (116.50 gm.) remained unchanged at Rs 52,700 per piece.

Seasonal buying was lower than expected but limited supplies and uptrend in dollar prices against Indian rupee kept offerings at a low ebb. Besides firmer dollar has escalated lending cost of the imported metals in India, it was said. Meanwhile premium of import licence for precious metals went up from 13.25% to 13.40% today. In the overseas market prices remained unchanged at $322.50/323 per ounce.

G'nut oil slides

Groundnut oil slide on the oil,oilseeds market here today. Castorseed and its oil ruled weak on fresh selling.

Groundnut oil edged down by a rupee at Rs 361 per 10 kg amidst sluggish buying enquiries. In Rajkot prices placed lower by Rs 5 at Rs 580 per 15 kg.Imported palm oil declined by Rs 2 at Rs 254 per 10 kg exclusive of tax on the back of increased inflow coupled with weak overseas advices.

Castor oil placed Rs 2 lower at Rs 265/277 per 10 kg amidst thin overseas support while continued supplies prompted profit-taking. Castorseed ready eased by Rs 10 at Rs 1170/1176 per quintal in sympathy.

In the futures section castorseed September delivery reacted from Rs 1141 to Rs 1137 before concluding at Rs 1138 per quintal on fresh bull unloading ahead of delivery period. December delivery moved in a narrow range and settled down 50 paise lower at Rs 1170 per quintal.

In Ahmedabad September delivery and December quoted at Rs 1162 and Rs 1172 per quintal respectively. Ready delivery ruled weak at Rs 229/230 per 20 kg on higher offerings.

Sugar quiet

A quietly steady condition was noticed on the sugar market following slack demand.

M-30 ruled at Rs 1515-1545 and S-30 at Rs 1503-1520 a quintal ex-godown. Ex-octroi checkpost the former were on offer at Rs 1490-1500 and the latter at Rs 1475-1490. Arrivals were around 70 lorryloads.

In tenders also prices ruled unchanged. M-30 were placed at Rs 1450-1455 and S-30 at Rs 1440-1450 in Kolhapur line.

Yarn weak

A dull-to-weak condition was in evidence in polyesters on the yarn market.The power crunch in Bhiwandi has further cut the operations of powerlooms from 70 per cent to 60 per cent. This coupled with tight monetary situation has affected the offtake causing a dent in the price of several items by Rs 2 a kg. Thus, grey first quality of medium-sized units 80dn rotoset fell to Rs 112-114, micro rotoset to Rs 125-127, weft to Rs 100 and warp to Rs 118-120. Other items ruled quietly steady. 80/1000dn old machine and 241 machine goods were traded at Rs 122-123 and at Rs 145-250 respectively. 150dn weft and warp were placed at Rs 85-87 and at Rs 98-100 respectively. 150dn single rotoset ruled at Rs 98 and double rotoset at Rs 102.

Cotton firm

Bullish trend strengthened its sway on the cotton market following extremely reserved attitude of the stockists in the wake of steady buying support.Short and medium staple items of Gujarat netted fresh gains of Rs 300 to 400 a candy. V-797 rose to Rs 15,500-15,700, wagad to Rs 14,000-14,200 and kalagin to Rs 13,200 spot. Bengal Deshi shot up by Rs 40 at Rs 1175-1250 and J-34 saw-ginned Rs 25 at Rs 1850-2000. F-414 were placed at Rs 2080-2100.

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra federation is understood to have sold around 1 lakh bales to the private mills with a leading Ahmedabad-based textile group picking up 75,000 bales. The federation has reportedly with it an unsold stock of around 6 lakh bales.

Grains lacklustre

A quiet condition continued on the grains market following lacklustre buying support.

Rice AP Masoori at Rs 875-925, Hansa at Rs 800-821 and kolam cultured at Rs 1025-1100 were unchanged. Wheat MP 147 and Sarbati ruled at Rs 700-800 and at Rs 800-1200 respectively.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.