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| As on Feb 18, 2019 12:00 AM |
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| New Zealand services sector continued to expand in January, and at a faster pace, the latest survey from BusinessNZ revealed on Monday with a Services PMI score of 56.3. That's up from 53.2 in December, and it moves further above the boom-or-bust level of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. Among the individual components, supplier deliveries, new orders, employment and sales all expanded, while stocks and inventories fell barely into contraction. Powered by Commodity Insights |
| Japan core machine orders eased 0.1 percent on month in December, the Cabinet Office said on Monday, following the flat reading in November. On a yearly basis, core machine orders were up 0.9 percent, following the 0.8 percent increase in the previous month. Core machine orders for the fourth quarter of 2018 were down 4.2 percent on quarter and up 2.0 percent on year. For the first quarter of 2019, core machine orders are predicted to fall 1.8 percent on quarter and gain 1.5 percent on year. Powered by Commodity Insights |
As per latest release by Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Australia exported 4.47 million tonnes (Mt) of wheat in the second half of 2018. Bulk customers took a total of 3.9Mt of wheat, with Indonesia on 705,679t, Iraq on 465,206t and Korea on 441,190t, only 2124t in front of Japan on 439,066t, the biggest volume buyers. In the containerised market, a total of 568,512t was shipped, with Myanmar on 166,882t, The Philippines on 79,914t, Malaysia on 53,058t, and Taiwan on 40,892t the biggest customers. Both bulk and boxed exports fell to their usual annual low in November, as old-crop stocks ran down while Australia's current-crop harvest cranked up. Powered by Commodity Insights |
As per latest release by Malaysian Palm Oil Board's, Malaysia has kept its export duty on crude palm oil for March at 0% and calculated a palm oil reference price of RM2,084.37 (US$511.88) per tonne for March. Powered by Commodity Insights |
COMEX Gold futures rose last week, eyeing the upbeat movement in commodities as crude oil and copper rallied. The metal has been well supported after recovering from two week low and traders are eying the possibility of a further upmove in the commodity given its recent price behavior. The metal has approached eight month highs near $1230 ounce yet again. MCX Gold futures ended just under Rs 32400 per 10 grams, adding around 1% on the day as weakness in Indian Rupee supported the metal further. The Indian rupee extended recent slide and ended around 71.23 per US dollar, losing 7 paise. Local currency recorded third straight session of losses. Renowned economist Ken Rogoff has made a bullish case for Gold according to a latest write up in World Gold Council's (WGC) Gold Investor Update for February 2019. He is particularly concerned about the amount of gold held by emerging market central banks, suggesting they should increase their gold reserves by several percentage points. Emerging market central banks should hold fewer dollars and more gold as a way of diversifying their portfolio. At the moment, most emerging market central banks hold 1-2% of their reserves in gold, with 70-80% in dollars and the rest in euros and other currencies. A 5% allocation seems a natural position to take as part of an effective diversification policy - although it could be higher. After all, the US share of the global economy is shrinking, power is being centralised and we don't know what the future holds, he noted. Powered by Commodity Insights |
Copper rose as a sharp recovery in risk sentiments supported the red metal after the US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin provided the traders with supportive vibes as he wrapped up two days of trade talks between China and the US. COMEX Copper also jumped following this and extended recent gains to break above $2.80 per pound. The metal ended at its one week high. MCX Copper futures also recorded sharp gains of 1.70% on the day to close at Rs 442.40 per kg. However, the global economic stress is likely to cap the upside for the red metal. The IFO World Economic Climate index for the first quarter of 2019 slipped for the fourth time in a row to minus 13.1 points, the German ifo Institute announced on Monday. For the fourth quarter of 2018, the index for the global business climate stood at -2.2 points. The ifo index for the global economic climate in the first quarter of 2019 is based on responses of 1,293 experts from over 100 countries. The economic climate was significantly tepid for the Middle East and North Africa, according to the ifo Institute, while in emerging and developing countries the experts' assessment of the economic situation remained virtually unchanged, after having declined significantly in the previous two quarters. The experts surveyed by the ifo Institute expected weaker growth of private consumption, investments and world trade, as well as a worldwide depreciation of the US dollar. Powered by Commodity Insights |
| Crude oil futures surged further on worries over reductions to global output and supportive Chinese economic data. WTI Crude futures ended just under $56 per barrel - hitting near two and half month high. MCX Crude oil futures closed up nearly 2% at Rs 3940 per barrel after hitting a high of Rs 3980 per barrel. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and some non-affiliated suppliers including Russia are withholding supply, media reports noted. The producer group known as OPEC+ has agreed to cut crude output by a joint 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd). The Brent crude oil spot prices averaged $59 per barrel (b) in January, up $2/b from December 2018 but $10/b lower than the average in January of last year, noted the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). The EIA forecasts Brent spot prices will average $61/b in 2019 and $62/b in 2020, compared with an average of $71/b in 2018. EIA expects that West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices will average $8/b lower than Brent prices in the first quarter of 2019. Powered by Commodity Insights |
As per the latest update from United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), India's cotton exports for MY 2018/19 at 4.4 million 480-lb bales (5.6 million 170-kg Page 4 of 7 bales/958,000 MT), which is the same as previous estimatesl . Exports surged by thirteen percent in December as compared to the previous month. China was the leading export destination followed by Pakistan and Bangladesh. According to the preliminary trade data published by the Ministry of Commerce, the exports of cotton yarn in December remained the same as last month at 95,000 MT, but decreased in value. The cotton yarn prices have remained low since November 2018 because of the weakening rupee, thereby affecting margins. The currency has also affected the exports of cotton fabrics, made-ups and handloom products which declined by five percent in value from the previous month. USDA estimates MY 2018/19 imports at 1.6 million 480-lb bales (2 million 170-kg bales/348,000 MT), which is the same as the official USDA estimate. Imports of raw cotton and cotton waste were reduced by 9 percent from the previous month. As the pace of domestic arrivals picks up, import shipments will be limited during the peak cotton arrival months of January and February. However, large mills continue to prefer using imported cotton due to price parity and technical parameters. Imports in December were dominated by cotton from the United States, followed by extralong staple (ELS) from Egypt. Powered by Commodity Insights |
MCX Gold futures tested around two week low before rising on volatile US equities. US markets saw uneven moves and sentiments were jittery after the US Commerce Department said retail sales fell by 1.2% in December after inching up by a revised 0.1% in November. The annual rate of retail sales growth also slowed dramatically to 2.3% in December from 4.1% in November. Gold rose nearly 10 dollars in intraday moves and is holding at $1215 per ounce right now, up marginally on the day. MCX Gold futures ended at Rs 33080 per 10 grams, up around 0.20% on the day. The break above Rs 33k should hold ahead of weekend. Renowned economist Ken Rogoff has made a bullish case for Gold according to a latest write up in World Gold Council’s (WGC) Gold Investor Update for February 2019. He is particularly concerned about the amount of gold held by emerging market central banks, suggesting they should increase their gold reserves by several percentage points. Emerging market central banks should hold fewer dollars and more gold as a way of diversifying their portfolio. It’s a simple question of diversification. At the moment, most emerging market central banks hold 1–2% of their reserves in gold, with 70–80% in dollars and the rest in euros and other currencies. A 5% allocation seems a natural position to take as part of an effective diversification policy – although it could be higher. After all, the US share of the global economy is shrinking, power is being centralised and we don’t know what the future holds, he noted. Powered by Commodity Insights |
| US producer price index for final demand slipped by 0.1 percent for the second straight month in January, reflecting steep drops in food and energy prices, the Labor Department reported on Thursday. The unexpected dip in producer prices was partly due to the sharp drop in energy prices, which plunged by 3.8 percent in January after plummeting by 4.3 percent in December. Food prices also showed a substantial pullback, tumbling by 1.7 percent in January after surging up by 2.6 percent in the previous month. Excluding food and energy prices, core producer prices climbed by 0.3 percent in January after coming in unchanged in December. Core producer prices were expected to rise by 0.2 percent. Powered by Commodity Insights |
With the aim of benefitting Sugar farmers and in order to clear their arrears/cane dues, the Union Government has decided to increase the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Sugar from Rs. 29 to Rs. 31 for the year 2019-20. This announcement was made by the Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Shri Ram Vilas Paswan last evening.The Department of Food, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has made this key decision of increasing MSP by Rs. 2 in order to provide more liquidity to the Sugar Mills so that they are able to pay the arrears or dues to the Sugarcane farmers. Addressing media after the announcement, Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Shri Ram Vilas Paswan asserted that the main objective of the Prime Minister NarendraModi led government is to ensure farmers' welfare and growth and this move is another step in that direction. Shri Paswan expressed confidence that the hike in MSP will lead to increased income and savings for the Sugar Mills which will then be passed on to the Sugarcane farmers. The Department of Food and the State governments will also be able to monitor the sale of Sugar at the new, revised MSP rate so as to ensure that the Sugar Mills are utilising their increased liquidity to pay farmers' dues. As on 13th February, 2019, the Farmers' dues amount to Rs. 20167 crores while the same computed at FRP amounts to Rs. 18157 crores. Powered by Commodity Insights |
| First-time claims for US unemployment benefits increased in the week ended February 9th, a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed. The report said initial jobless claims rose to 239,000, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week's revised level of 235,000. The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average climbed to 231,750, an increase of 6,750 from the previous week's revised average of 225,000. With the increase, the four-week moving average reached its highest level since hitting 234,000 in late January of 2018. Powered by Commodity Insights |
As per the latest data release by Indian Agriculture Ministry, Indian Mustard seed production is being targeted at 8.5 mln tonnes, against last year's production of 8.3 mln tonnes. As per the data, Mustard output in Rajasthan is estimated higher at 3.59 mln tonnes, compared with 3.40 mln tonnes in 2017-18. In Madhya Pradesh, the mustard crop is estimated at 1.1 mln tonnes, up from 13.3% a year ago. Powered by Commodity Insights |
As per Chinese officials, China plans to increase its domestic production of soybeans, on the account of drop in imports of the legume in January. China will ramp up its production of soybeans and oilseeds, while rice and wheat fields in regions suffering from damaged underground water supplies will be reduced, Chinese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Han Changfu announced on Wednesday at a national work conference on spring farming. China imported 7.38 million tonnes of soybeans in January, down 13 percent from the 8.48 million tonnes it imported a year earlier, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs on Thursday. Soybean imports last month were up 29 percent from the 5.72 million tonnes in December 2018, the lowest record since 2011, official data showed. Although Chinese customs do not break down the origin of imports, data from the U.S. Federal Grain Inspections Service (FGIS) showed that China was the top destination for U.S. soybeans in January due to a strong import surge in the second half of the month following a respite in ongoing trade tensions. About 1.3 million tonnes of U.S. soybeans were exported to China in January, accounting for 30 percent of the total oilseed exports from the U.S., according to FGIS. Powered by Commodity Insights |
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