Prices fell steeply on the Mumbai wholesale sugar market today following poor demand and fresh stockists offerings, dealers said. With the onset of rains stockists started selling their holdings but there were few takers, one trader said. Small sugar fell by Rs 10 per quintal to Rs 1440/1470 while medium sugar declined to Rs 1461/1505 per quintal. In Delhi, sugar mill delivery (mill gate) prices continued to drop on the local sugar market on increased selling pressure and later closed with losses. Reports of weak trend in the upcountry market and easy availability of imported sugar influenced the downward trend, dealer said. Sugar M-30: Khatoli and Modi nagar softened by Rs 5 each at Rs 1405 and Rs 1405 per quintal respectively on poor demand. Amroha and baghpat also followed suit and slipped from Rs 1396 and Rs 1392 and Rs 1395 and Rs 1392 each respectively on increased selling pressure.

Groundnut oil recovers

Prices of groundnut oil recovered sharply on the Mumbaioilseeds market due to restricted arrivals from the producing centres because of heavy rains, traders said. Castorseed September contract continued its sharp rise on increased offtake by exporters. Linseed oil hardened on fresh paint industries' demand while castor oil and castorseeds eased further on lack of support from soap manufacturers. In the edible section, groundnut oil prices rocketed up by Rs 10 to close at Rs 452 from the previous close of Rs 442. Groundnut bold held steady at Rs 2000. Palm oil edged up to Rs 377 from Rs 376 on poor arrivals. In the futures market, castorseed September contract opened smartly higher at Rs 1399 and rallied sharply to Rs 1404.50, before closing at Rs 1401.50, showing a further sharp rally of Rs 14.50 over the last close of Rs 1387.

Indonesian palmolein stable

Indonesian palmolein prices were mostly stable in late trading on Tuesday amid a lack of fresh leads, traders said. "Demand is fairly good and we are selling olein at 3,500 rupiah/kg. I sold about 200tonnes of olein today," said one Jakarta-based trader. Traders said olein prices hovered at 3,500-3,600 rupiah/kg. Some other traders said olein was quoted at 4,000-4,100. The government and producers have agreed that olein prices should not be more than 4,000 rupiah/kg by the time it reaches consumers, meaning ex-factory olein should sell at 3,500 rupiah/kg. One trader said his company was losing money by selling olein cheaply, but this could be compensated through exporting stearin, one of the by-products of crude palm oil (CPO). Olein, which is used as cooking oil, is the refined form of CPO. "It is up to other traders whether they still want to stick to the agreement or not. For me, it is better to see prices stabilise," said one trader.

Tokyo corn futures close lower

Tokyo corn futures closed lower across the board on Tuesday following a further decline in the Chicago market overnight, but losses were limited by the dollar's advance above 141 yen in early trade, traders said. Prices rangedfrom 60 yen to 120 yen per tonne lower, with benchmark May shedding 120 yen to end at 15,510 yen. Estimated volume was a thin 15,630 lots. Traders said the bearish trend in the Chicago corn futures market was likely to continue after Chicago prices on Monday fell and set new contract lows due to good crop weather in the US Midwest. "Activity here was lacklustre as selling interest was limited due to movements in the currency market," one analyst at a commodity broker said. "But as the Chicago market remains under pressure from ideal crop weather, Tokyo prices are expected to fall further," he said. The July corn futures contract on the CBOT Project A trading system was quoted at $2.33 per bushel, compared with Monday's Chicago close of $2.32-1/2.

Corn, wheat end low in Chicago

Corn and wheat futures ended at contract lows today at the Chicago Board of Trade, with analysts saying optimal growing conditions and low export demand pressured the market. "Corn fell like a rock from just plain goodweather," said Dave Maher, analyst with Securities Corp Of Iowa in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. "We're starting to think that may be we're going to have a record crop." Steve Bruce, a broker said that farmer selling and export demand also played a role in today' slide. ``It's pretty obvious that there's really a lack of demand," said Bruce. "There is also some more aggressive farmer selling. Far mers typically sell the low." He added that with the wheat harvest beginning, storage space will be sought after. "There is a race for space," Bruce added. "We'll have a storage space to deal with." Maher said wheat is falling with corn.

Pepper prices buoyant

In Mumbai, pepper prices recovered sharply on the spices market today on higher outside advices coupled with poor arrivals. Ginger unbleached and copra Kozhikode also rose on good demand, traders said. Pepper ready rallied by Rs 100 per 50 kg to close at Rs 11,900. Prices of ginger unbleached and copra Kozhikode improved by Rs 50 per quintal each to close atRs 3250 and Rs 2725.

Cotton yarn up on mills' buying

Prices of hank and cone yarn all counts rose on the cotton yarn market in Mumbai today on brisk buying by textile and handlooms and powerlooms and closed with gains. Elsewhere, activity remained restricted due to prevailing tight money market conditions. Restricted arrivals also induced the sentiments to some extent. SR Faridabad 4 count in hank yarns gained Rs 5 at Rs 258 and 6 count at Rs 279 per 4.54 kilo respectively on brisk buying by parties from neighbouring states. SR Faridabad 10 count gained Rs 3 at Rs 307 Andannapurna 10 count by Rs 5 at Rs 300 per 4.54 kilo respectively. In cone yarns, Hissar 4 count gained Rs 2 at Rs 248 per 5kilo and SR Faridabad 10 count by Rs 3 at Rs 300. Annapurna 10 count was up by Rs 4 at Rs 292 per 5 kilo on increased buying by handloom industries.

Cotton futures high in New York

Cotton futures on the New York cotton exchange settled higher because of heat in texas and heavy speculative short-coverbuying, analysts and traders said. Traders said that scorching heat in Texas growing areas is driving bullish sentiment. But producer hedge selling is limiting the gains in deferred contracts. "We had funds short" in the rising market, and "they got absolutely barbecued on the way up," said Greyson Geilor, Seni or broker with Fox Investments, a brokerage in Chicago. The nearby contract is pointed up to test 78.00 cents per pound, he said.

US West Coast crude falls

US West Coast crude oil prices fell with other markets in a quiet trade while differentials held steady, traders said. The market was thin as buyers and sellers of Alaska crude, the region's benchmark oil, avoided deals. Traders waited for Oriente, a leading substitute for Alaska North Slope (ANS) crude, to be priced in the market before deciding on ANS or foreign. Meanwhile, July crude oil on NYMEX fell 52 cents a barrel to $14.55 amid scepticism that possible production cuts would end a slump in prices.

Hong Kong gold endslower

Hong Kong spot gold ended lower on Tuesday on profit-taking after a sharp rise overnight but could move higher for technical reasons, dealers said. Gold bullion ended at $294.80/295.30 per ounce on Tuesday compared to New York's previous close at $296.00/50 on Monday. Spot silver ended at $5.41/46 an ounce after opening at $5.38/43. Trading at Hong Kong's Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange was suspended during the morning because of heavy rain, which also interrupted the Hong Kong stock exchange. Gold rose sharply overnight on short-covering after figures covering the Comex market in New York showed funds with large short positions, traders said. In Hong Kong prices stayed within a $1 range. "We saw some profit-taking locally," a trader said. Selling in Australia also kept gold under pressure.

London gold closes higher

London AM gold ended sharply higher on overnight gains. Gold ruled sharply higher at $296.25 an ounce against the previous days' close of $291.70. Spot gold fell initiallyonly to recover later in Europe amid lower-than-expected sales. It was last quoted at $296.70/$297.20 against the previous day's New York close of $296.00/$296.50. Silver managed to hold on to previous levels and ended barely changed at $5.45/$5.47 against previous day's $5.43/$5.45.