Rupee Appreciates 9 Paise To 66.48 Against Us Dollar

NEW DELHI: Taking its winning streak to the third session in a row, the rupee rose by 9 paise to 66.48 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday, ahead of the much-awaited speech by the Fed Chair Janet Yellen later in the day.

The domestic currency had closed 7 paise higher at 66.57 to the dollar on Monday on fag-end dollar selling by banks and exporters.

Currency markets, globally, will be glued to US Fed Chair Janet Yellen's speech on Tuesday, India Ratings said in a note. The rating agency believes the rupee may see some weakness, after appreciating 2.6 per cent after the Union Budget.

"Globally, the US dollar recouped its losses on the strong US economic recovery. The likelihood of a rate hike as indicated by few Fed members may rein in gains for emerging market currencies in the near term. The local unit may stay in the 66.40-67.20 range this week," the rating agency said.

Yellen will deliver a speech at the Economic Club of New York later in the day. Markets globally expect Yellen to drop hints about future rate hike path.

The dollar index, which tracks the movement of the greenback against a basket of six major global currencies, rose 0.07 per cent to 96.01.

Nonetheless, most Asian currencies were trading higher against the greenback.

The Malaysian ringgit climbed 0.51 per cent to 3.99 against the dollar. The Korean won advanced 0.45 per cent to 1,160.95. The Taiwanese dollar (up 0.41 per cent), the Singapore dollar (up 0.24 per cent) and the Philippine peso (up 0.17 per cent) too gained against the dollar.

 

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

'Some Export Sectors Doing Well Despite Global Headwinds'

NEW DELHI: Expressing confidence that impact of government initiatives to boost shipments will be visible soon, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that some export sectors have done well despite global headwinds.

"Inspite of the headwinds, there are some sectors definitely performing. So the story is a mixed story. Month-on -month figures may talk about exports falling, but the story is not across the board. Some sectors are still managing to keep their growth story going," the minister told PTI.

She said that global headwinds have been so strong that month-on-month, the realisation from exports are not really happy.

The minister said depreciations of the currencies too are impacting exports.

"It is not just rupee versus dollar... every currency opposite us is depreciating. As a result, you really suffer. And if your crude and commodity prices have fallen, currencies are devaluing, your exports quantum may remain the same but your realisations suffer," Sitharaman added.

Sectors which are recording healthy growth include pharmaceuticals, plastic and linoleum and handicrafts.

Further she said that steps announced by the government to boost exports "do take time to yield results".

"There is a time lag between the decision taking time of the government and the results showing time at the ground. Last September, we came up with two major schemes... you need at least six months to gauge the impact," she said.

Sitharaman added that both -- 3 per cent interest subsidy scheme and extension of duty benefits under Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) -- have been just launched late last year.

"By the time the rules and the money and everything goes through the bank, it does take a bit of a time. And for us to measure what impact does it have, it will take a while," she said.

Falling for the 15th month in a row, exports dipped 5.66 per cent in February to USD 20.73 billion due to contraction in shipments of petroleum and engineering goods amid tepid global demand.

Trade deficit, however, fell to near five-year low of USD 6.54 billion during February as imports too slowed down.

 

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com

Sugar Prices Get Boost From Rising Global Deficit

What did encourage the sugar bulls to finally overcome the last key technical resistance level of 15 cents a pound for raw sugar? The three-month price of raws at 16 cents is at a multi-month high. Sugar futures hit a seven-year low at 11.2 cents a pound in August, plunging the sector worldwide into a crisis.

"Two developments will principally explain why prices of sugar, source of livelihood for millions in growing countries across the world, which fell out of market favour for long, should continue to trend higher in the coming days. First, research agencies have all revised upwards the global deficit - that is, production trailing consumption - for the current season ending in September 2016. Second, the world's largest producer and exporter, Brazil, is spiriting away increasingly larger volumes of cane juice from the sweetener to ethanol as its currency (real) continues to appreciate," says Indian Sugar Mills Association (Isma) former president Om Dhanuka. Agroconsult of Brazil says of an estimated 622 million tonnes (mt) of cane to be crushed in the country's centre-south region in the coming season starting next month, the share of ethanol will be 58.3 per cent and of sugar, 41.7 per cent.

According to the consultancy, rains in the past few months have largely compensated the earlier El Niño effect on cane plant growth. Some other agencies, however, maintain extended rains will delay the start of cane crushing by most factories in 2016-17.

The El Niño phenomenon has not spared the world's second largest producer India and Thailand either. Against last season's very high production of 28.31 mt, output is likely to shrink to 25.5 mt or even less this time. Lack of rain during the south-west monsoon was particularly acute in Maharashtra, a leading producer.

"As drought has shrivelled, cane crop in Thailand, the country will be producing about 10 mt in the current season, 14 per cent less than the earlier estimate of 11.6 mt," says Dhanuka.

International Sugar Organization has now pegged world production shortfall at 5.02 mt, up from 3.5 mt in November 2015. It says "a statistical deficit is clearly supportive for world prices" moving generally higher in the remaining months of the 2015-16 season. While Rabobank confirms that the deficit will be bigger than its earlier estimate of 4.7 mt, some agencies are putting the shortfall at up to seven mt, spurring bullish sentiment.

In step with rises in world prices, the Indian sector, under growing pressure to settle cane dues of Rs 15,500 crore and service bank loans, is mercifully meeting with steadily improving ex-factory rates. May futures contracts on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange are Rs 3,430 a quintal.

Isma president Tarun Sawhney attributes better price realisations to revised lower sugar production during 2015-16, expectation of reduced plantings for the season to start in October and the sector's "good response" to the government's export quota programme. Whether or not factories manage to break even while selling in the world market, they must make every attempt to achieve the sector's export target of 3.2 mt. The Prime Minister's Office, Maharashtra and a few other states have held out punitive steps such as buying unfulfilled export quota as levy sugar at discounted prices and linking sugarcane purchase tax exemption to export quota fulfilment.

At likely exports of two mt, the shortfall over the industry target will be quite large. But, the overhang of a large inventory, a cause of keeping local prices down, will get shaved to the extent of exports. The industry began the current season with stocks of close to nine mt. Now, a combination of exports and drought-related production fall will leave factories with stocks of 7.9 mt at September-end. Parched conditions in many cane-growing centres in Maharashtra and north Karnataka will keep supply of the crop down for the next season. Even while cane supplies are set to improve in Tamil Nadu, where the crop found succour in plentiful rains in November-December and in Uttar Pradesh, the country mightface a further fall in sugar output to 22.5 mt in 2016-17. Sawhney says the shortfall in cane production will inevitably result in competition among factories in many states to get supplies. That's a sure recipe for farmers to bring more land under cane, leading to bumper sugar production in future. Ahead of that, the sector's health needs attention.

 

Source :business-standard.com

Government Extends Wheat Import Tax By 3 Months To June 30

NEW DELHI: India has extended a 25 per cent import tax on wheat by three months to June 30, a government order said on Tuesday.

The move is aimed at shielding domestic farmers from cheap imports particularly as wheat from the new-season harvest will become available by the end of this month, government sources told Reuters last week.

India, the world's biggest wheat producer after China, raised the import tax to 25 per cent from 10 per cent in October.

 

 

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

Steel Imports: India Asks Us To Comply With Wto Ruling Against Cvd

 New Delhi:Eager to help the debt-ridden steel industry regain its foothold in the US market for hot-rolled carbon steel products, India has asked Washington to comply with the dispute settlement body’s ruling against countervailing duties (CVD) imposed on imports. The last date for complying with the ruling lapsed on March 19.

India, together with Japan, the EU, Brazil and China, has also asked the US not to transfer anti-dumping and CVD imposed on imports to its industry — a move that was ruled illegitimate by the WTO several years ago, a government official told BusinessLine.

Anti-dumping duties and CVD are penal levies imposed on imports when there is a surge in inflow of particular goods either due to the seller off-loading them at prices lower than what it charges in its domestic market or the exporting country subsidising them.
Delaying tactics?

“While the US, at a recent meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body, said it was taking steps to comply with the WTO’s ruling against the CVD imposed on hot-rolled steel, we feel it is playing for more time as it has asked India for all kinds of fresh data related to price and production of steel and coal. This is unacceptable to us,” the official added.

New Delhi now plans to use the ‘hearing’ to be held by the US in April on its implementation process for the WTO ruling to ensure that the country sticks to the directions given by the multilateral body.

The WTO, in its ruling on the case filed by India against the CVD, had found faults with the way the US calculated the penal duties including its assumption that the iron ore bought by Indian companies from NMDC is supplied at a subsidised rate because it is a “public body”.
Potential gainers

Indian companies including Tata Steel, Jindal, Essar and SAIL, could gain significantly if the US withdraws or re-calculates the CVD as per the WTO’s ruling. Exports from India of the targeted steel product almost stopped over the last few years due to imposition of steep penalties, which were as high as 500 per cent in some cases.

India and a number of other members fighting cases against similar penal duties imposed on their exports have asked the US to also stop distributing the duties collected to its domestic industry as this gives it a competitive edge.

With global steel prices declining, New Delhi recently imposed a Minimum Import Price and a safeguard duty of 20 per cent on import of the metal to shield the domestic industry from cheap.

 

Source :.thehindubusinessline.com

Rupee Trades Higher At 66.60 Against Us Dollar

Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Monday erased all early losses to trade marginally higher against the US dollar in noon trade after some banks sold dollars on behalf of exporters.

At 2pm, the home currency was trading at 66.60, up 0.05% from its previous close of 66.64. The rupee opened at 66.86 and touched a high and a low of 66.58 and 66.87 respectively.

There will be no bank transactions on 1 April due to the annual closure of accounts.

India’s benchmark Sensex index fell 1.03% or 259.78 points to 25,077.78 points. Since 1 March to 22 March, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought $2.58 billion equities in the local markets due to which stock markets gained 9% or over 2,050 points. However, markets are still down 4% so far this year.

Since the beginning of this year, the rupee has lost 0.65%, while FIIs have sold $288.20 million from local equity and $889.60 million in debt markets.

Most Asian currencies were trading mixed. Malaysian ringgit was up 0.56%, South Korean won 0.28%, Singapore dollar 0.15%, Taiwan dollar and China Offshore spot were up 0.1% each. However, Indonesian rupiah was down 0.4%, Japanese yen 0.36% and Thai baht 0.21%.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 96.237, down 0.04% from its previous close of 96.273.

Meanwhile, India’s 10-year bond yield was at 7.508%, as compared with its Wednesday’s close of 7.51%.

 

Source :.livemint.com

Denim May Outperform Overall Apparel Growth

 Even while apparel exports and domestic markets are expected to see subdued growth, the denim segment is likely to grow at a faster rate.

According to industry experts, the denim industry is growing at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13-15% in a year when overall apparel growth rate is being pegged at a lackadaisical 3-5% this fiscal, down from 12-15% for the past couple of years.

Denim makes up 35% of total textile exports from India and is expected to rise to 45% of total exports by 2020; production is also expected to increase to 1.5 billion metres by 2020.

Meanwhile, the Indian denim industry is gradually looking to increase its share of exports, which currently lags behind at 35% compared to a domestic market of 65% of total production.

"Denim is witnessing one of the fastest growth rates as an apparel fabric segment, up by 500 million metres from 700 million metres in 2010 to 1.2 billion in 2015. Yet, there is a gap of another 300 million metres in India if the denim industry needs to tap its full export potential," says P R Roy, chairman of Diagonal Consulting (India).
Read more from our special coverage on "DENIM JEANS"

As an apparel segment, denim's growth has been more in the domestic market than in the exports. While India has been one of the major global suppliers of denim fabrics, the domestic market still falls behind other competing nations in terms of denim apparel such as jeans.

Also, while most of the global brands outsource denim apparel work to Indian players, much of it is meant for the domestic market and not for exports.

"While the total denim capacity in the country is about 1.2 billion metres per annum, the utilisation is at around 900 million metres per annum, of which 250 million metres would be exports. However, denim apparel exports would roughly form around 50-60 million," says Prashant Agarwal, joint managing director of Wazir Advisors, a retail and management consulting firm.

Globally, the denim jeans market is projected to grow at 8%, up from $55 billion in 2015 to $59 billion in 2021. While the projected growth rate in Asia including India is around 12%, that for Latin America, North America and Europe is expected to be around 15%, 10% and 4%, respectively in next six years.

 

Source :business-standard.com

 

Allowing Used-Iphone Imports Will Hurt Make In India’

NEW DELHI: Apple's bid to import certified second-hand iPhones into India is facing stiff opposition from local manufacturers, who say any go ahead by the government will defeat the purpose of 'Make in India' and may open doors to dumping of all kinds of electronics, including scrap.

Experts add that if the government indeed gives a go ahead, it may not be able to restrict imports to just second hand, or pre-owned, refurbished Apple iPhones, but would need to expand it to phones from other brands and second hand laptops and desktop computers, among other products, as well for reasons of parity.


Apple clarifies iPhone SE's price in India will be Rs 39,000, not Rs 30,000; launching on April 8


"When the government is creating Make in India to reduce imports, and a lot of mobile manufacturers are coming to the country, how can we have imports of refurbished phones by any brand, not just Apple," questioned Ravinder Zutshi, chairman of Mobile and Communications Council. The council falls under the Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA), which represents electronic manufacturers in India.

"We fully oppose such a move," he added.

The Narendra Modi-led government, which has taken decisive steps to spur local manufacturing since it assumed office in May 2014, by raising the cost of importing handsets and peripherals, faces a tightrope walk given its vocal claims to support plans by Apple - a huge global brand - to deepen presence in India. But it also can't be seen undermining its own ambitious 'Make in India' initiative.

Executives at two top Indian handset makers, who are investing to expand their production, also opposed allowing sale of imported certified second hand phones, saying it would defeat the purpose of steps taken to boost local manufacturing. They didn't want to be named.

The Indian Cellular Association, which represents mobile phone makers in the country, backed exports of refurbished phones from the country, irrespective of the brand, but was silent on import and local sale of such phones.

"Repair and refurbishing chain can create a great employment opportunity here," said Pankaj Mohindroo, president at ICA.

Cupertino-based Apple has sought permission from the government to import second hand iPhones for sale in India, a country where its sales are doubling on-year and where it plans to bring its iconic retail stores too. The ministry of environment and forests is yet to take a decision on Apple's request, having turned it down once before last year.

Industry experts point out to that a major concern would be import of scrap under the garb of refurbished, which may have ecological implications. This means the government would need to clearly define refurbished. Currently, it refers to reselling returned phones due to technical faults or incorrect delivery.

"India has strong anti-dumping laws, so they (government) would be careful not to let a Pandora's Box open up...It won't be an easy decision to make because it goes against Make in India," said Hitendra Chaturvedi, founder of GreenDust, a refurbished goods retailer.

India typically is a prolific levier of anti-dumping duty, imposed on imports priced lower than the local market price, which hits the local manufacturers.

 

Source :timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Can India Sustain Diesel Exports To Bangladesh?

Initiating energy trade with neighbours is a welcome step. But has India done enough home-work to ensure that the recent supply diesel to Bangladesh is sustainable?

On March 17, Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan flagged off a train load of 2,200 tonnes of Euro-III diesel from the West Bengal border town of Siliguri.

The oil was pumped from the 3 million tonne per annum (mtpa) Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL), located 650 km north-east, in Assam, by pipeline to Siliguri.

The train first went 260 km south to Malda before covering another 250 km to reach Parbatipur in Dinajpur district of north Bangladesh, where a senior Bangladeshi Minister received the “goodwill rake” a day later, with much fanfare.

The enthusiasm on the Bangladesh side is understandable. The country currently imports petroleum products through the Chittagong seaport in the south.

In the absence of pipeline infrastructure in Bangladesh, the diesel is transported by a combination of river and road transport to the consumption centres in the north at $10 a barrel above the FOB (free on board) price.

NRL matched the landed cost of fuel in the north and saved Bangladesh the hassle of transporting it from the south.

Last year, India and Bangladesh signed a preliminary agreement for a long-term deal. The deal rests on two factors — the proposed expansion of NRL from 3 mtpa to 9 mtpa and the construction of a 135-km ‘friendship pipeline’ of 1 mtpa capacity from Siliguri to Parbatipur by NRL and Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC).

Ideally, this should help NRL achieve economy of scale and reduce the landed cost of fuel in Bangladesh, making it a win-win deal.

A press release from the Centre didn’t give any projections on future rail consignments but hinted that the exercise may be repeated in the intermittent period.

“Once the NRL refinery expansion is complete, India will be in a position to export petroleum products on a regular and long-term basis. Prior to… (that) rail is an effective mode of transport with minimum loss and pollution,” the release said.
Right candidate

With 160 mt annual consumption against a refining capacity of nearly 220 mt, India is an exporter of refined products, and it makes economic sense to tap the markets next door. But is NRL the right candidate for it? The refinery is now running at less than 80 per cent capacity owing to dwindling crude production in Assam.

With no upside visible in crude production in the North-East, the capacity expansion project should bank on pumping imported crude all the way from Paradip port in Odisha, some 1,600 km from Numaligarh by road.

It means a good part of the proposed ?21,000-crore NRL expansion project will be spent in laying pipelines that will first take crude 1,600 km north and bring products 650 km south, either for another 135-km pipeline travel or over 500-km rail to Bangladesh.
The IOC alternative

There is an alternative. IndianOil’s 15 mtpa Paradip refinery will start producing at full scale in two months.

It will create redundancy at the company’s (also port-based) Haldia refinery in Bengal. The excess capacity can be used for rail or river based supplies to Bangladesh. Considering IOC’s extensive product pipeline network, probably it wouldn’t be difficult to engage it in pipeline transfer too. Whatever the possibilities, the decision-making should essentially be a business decision. But available information suggests it is far from a business decision.

And that created the next set of the problems.

The NRL expansion proposal is unusually costly and the Centre is yet to approve it. To make it viable, it has to grant huge capital subsidies (nearly half the project cost), most of which will be spent in laying those pipelines.

That’s not all. North-East refineries enjoy 50 per cent excise benefit on domestic sales. It means NRL will lose profit opportunity on every consignment of diesel exported to Bangladesh.

Of course, a subsidy deal can make it profitable. But who will gain from that? Is a modern day refinery — that can be run by 100-odd people — connected by underground pipelines an employment generating exercise?

Or, can the subsidy amount be better spent in revamping the dilapidated highway infrastructure in Assam?

 

Source :.thehindubusinessline.com

Baleno Is Maruti's Most Exported Model From India

Baleno hatchback.It’s just been two months since export operations of the Maruti Baleno commenced and the premium hatchback has already become the company’s most exported model. In February, 3,400 units of the Baleno left the country thereby outdoing its stablemates, the Alto (1,645 units) and Swift (1,425 units).

In January, first lot of 1,760 units of the RHD variant of the hatchback went to Japan. The following month, the company added 6 new LHD markets from Europe – Italy, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Slovenia and Poland. Considering that India is the sole manufacturing base for the Baleno, more and more markets would be added to the export list. The Baleno aims to become the most exported car from India in due course with over 100 destination markets.

Suzuki Baleno SHVS 2016 Geneva Motor Show

For some markets, the export-spec variant is powered by a 1.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine.
The export-spec Maruti Baleno is powered by the 1.2-litre Dualjet petrol engine (an advanced version of the K-Series motor) with SHVS and the new 1.0-litre BoosterJet turbocharged petrol motors. The 1.3-litre diesel motor is limited to the domestic market as of now.

Suzuki Baleno SHVS 2016 Geneva Motor Show
The export-spec hatchback receives SHVS (Smart Hybrid Vehice by Suzuk) mild hybrid technology.
The Maruti Baleno sits above the Swift to compete with the likes of VW Polo, Hyundai i20 (called as Elite i20 in India), Skoda Fabia, etc., in Europe. In India, the premium hatchback crossed 100,000 bookings.

 

Source :.thehansindia.com

 

Rupee Rules Steady After Initial Losses Vs Dollar In Late Morning

The rupee was quoted steady against the American currency in the late morning trade at 66.54 on fresh selling of dollars by banks and exporters on hopes of more foreign capital inflows.

The rupee resumed lower at 66.58 per dollar as against Monday’s closing level of 66.53 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market and dropped further to 66.64 on initial American currency demand from banks and importers on the back of higher dollar in overseas market.

However, it recovered immediately to 66.52 on selling of dollars by exporters before quoting at 66.54 per dollar at 10.45am as against 66.53 on Monday.

The dollar climbed on Monday, paring its weekly decline last week. The American unit steadily strengthened against its main rivals during Monday’s session after two regional Fed presidents said they would support the Federal Reserve raising interest rates at its April meeting.

Foreign funds (FPP and FIIs) continued their buying spree on Monday as they bought shares worth Rs 1,396.33 crores as per the stock exchanges.

Market benchmark Sensex was quoted lower by 11.06 points or 0.04% to 25,274.31 at 10.45am.

 

Source :.hindustantimes.com

India Likely To Extend Wheat Import Tax Beyond March

New Delhi: India is likely to extend a wheat import tax beyond March to shield its domestic farmers from cheap imports particularly as wheat from the new-season harvest will become available by the end of this month, government sources said on Monday.

After consulting the food, farm and trade ministries, the finance ministry now looks likely to extend the duty until September, the sources, who requested anonymity because they are not authorised to talk to the media, said.

India, the world's biggest wheat producer after China, imposed an import tax of 10 per cent in August last year, reinstating it after a gap of eight years following big wheat imports from overseas.

In October, the government raised the import tax, which expires on March 31, to 25 per cent. Once the tax is extended, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ministers will review the decision in June when they will have a clear idea about the size of this season's crop, the sources said.

Food ministry spokesman N.C. Joshi declined to comment. Indian farmers, who grow only one wheat crop in a year, will start their harvests from end of March and April, after planting the crop in October and November.

There has been some concern from farmers and experts about the size of the crop because of wet weather. But Farm Minister Radha Mohan Singh expects India to harvest at least 92 million tonnes of wheat in 2016, almost in line with the previous government forecast.

Output last year was 86.53 million tonnes, down from 95.85 million tonnes in the previous year, due to rains and hail flattening the crop in February and March.

On March 1, wheat stocks at government warehouses totalled 16.9 million tonnes against a minimum requirement of 13.80 million tonnes.

 

source :deccanchronicle.com

Indian Refiners To Import Iranian Crude On Fob Basis From April

Starting April, Indian refiners will begin importing crude from Iran on a free on board (FOB) basis instead of a CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight) basis. Earlier in January, international sanctions against Iran were lifted giving India unrestricted access to its crude oil.
 
"From April 1, all importers will move to FOB as it is cheaper," said an official from a private refining company.
 
FOB basis means that the buyers charter a vessel to lift the crude from a terminal in the producing country and pay for the cost of shipping the crude to its destination.  A CIF model is when the seller pays the costs and freight including insurance to bring the goods to the port of destination.
 
An official from the Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), an ONGC subsidiary said, "We will be importing the Iranian crude based on our month-on-month economics."
 
Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) said the company would begin importing Iranian crude in a few months’ time.
 
Indian public sector general insurers, including official reinsurer GIC Re and shipping companies, are planning to set up an exclusive entity known as P&I Club to provide cover to shipping companies in India.
 
The P&I club from Europe would also provide re-insurance up to $580 million, said insurance industry sources. P&I is a global third-party-liability insurance for ship owners, operators and companies that charter ships. The insurance covers their legal liability in the event of a crew member getting injured or dying in an accident. It also covers collision, wreck removal, marine pollution, stowaways, cargo damage and fines levied by foreign governments or port authorities. In such a club, members contribute to the club’s common risk pool according to the Pooling Agreement rules.
 
"Cover for cargo will be provided by P&I club and that will kick in whenever there is a higher capacity demand. Once all the players begin Iran crude import, this would come into force," said a senior insurance underwriting executive from a state-owned insurer.
 
Indian insurers used to depend on European companies to re-insure their risks. However, with the sanctions on trade with Iran from both the US and the European Union, they had refused to re-insure. Large sized covers like these are only given if the particular insurer or group of insurers have enough reinsurance capacity to deal with the risk.
 
Indian insurers typically faced a lot of hurdles in insuring refineries importing Iranian crude. In 2013, Iranian crude-importing refineries had to face problems as insurance firms declined to extend full coverage, citing lack of reinsurance coverage.
 
For this, a Rs 2,000-crore Indian Energy Insurance pool was proposed to cover the refineries that were importing crude oil from Iran. However, this failed to take off due to the differences in opinion between oil companies and the previous UPA government on the size of the cover and pool.
 
While oil companies were asking for a cover of Rs 9,500-11,000 crore, the government offered only Rs 2,000 crore. Of the Rs 2,000-crore insurance pool, the petroleum ministry was to contribute around Rs 1,000 crore through the Oil Industry Development Board, and the finance ministry another Rs 1,000 crore. State-owned general insurers had also invited their private sector counterparts to be part of this pool but they all decline, citing high associated risks.

 

Source :.business-standard.com

Rajesh Exports Wins Export Order Worth Rs 1,045 Crore

NEW DELHI: Jewellery exporter and retailer Rajesh ExportsBSE 0.31 % today said it has won a Rs 1,045-crore export order from Singapore.

In a BSE filing, Rajesh Exports said it "has bagged an export order worth Rs 1,045 crore of designer range of gold and diamond-studded jewellery and medallions from Singapore".

The company said this order will be executed at its manufacturing facility in Bengaluru and is to be completed by May 31.

The stock was trading at Rs 617.25, up 1.16 per cent, from its previous close on BSE.

 

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

Government Permits Export Of 723 Tonne Of More Sugar To Us Under Trq

NEW DELHI: The government today permitted export of additional 723 tonne of raw cane sugar to the US under the tariff rate quota, which entitles shipments to low tariff rates.

"Additional quantity of 723 tonne of raw cane sugar to be exported to the US under TRQ (tariff rate quota) up to September 30, 2016 has been notified," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a public notice.

DGFT, an arm of the Commerce Ministry, deals with export and import related activities.

TRQ is a quota for a volume of exports that enters the US at low tariffs. After the quota is reached, a higher tariff is applied on additional imports.

The DGFT also said that a certificate of origin, if required, for export of preferential sugar to the US, shall be issued by additional director general of foreign trade, Mumbai.

Sugar exports from India, the world's second-largest producer, are likely see an over 80 per cent jump to 20 lakh tonnes in 2015-16 marketing year, even as the production is set to drop by 9 per cent.

Sugar production in India, second to the Brazil's, fell for the first time this year with output dipping to 221.30 lakh tonnes till March 15 as against 221.57 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period.

 

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

Indian Rupee Gains 20 Paise To 66.55 Against Dollar In Early Trade

The Indian rupee strengthened by 20 paise to 66.55 against the dollar in early trade on Friday on increased selling of the US currency by exporters and banks amidst sustained foreign fund inflows.

Besides, weakness in the dollar against other currencies following the Fed’s decision to scale back its forecasts on hiking borrowing costs, supported the rupee.

Moreover, a higher opening in the domestic equity market influenced the domestic unit, according to forex dealers.

The rupee had closed at an over two-month high of 66.75 by gaining 47 paise in Thursday’s trade on persistent selling of the American currency by banks and exporters after the US Fed indicated a slower pace on rate hike.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex climbed 101.61 points, or 0.41 per cent, at 24,778.98 in early trade on Friday.

 

Source:.financialexpress.com

Hindustan Unilever Sells Rice Exports Business To Lt Foods

MUMBAI: Hindustan UnileverBSE -0.38 % has agreed to sell its rice exports business to LT FoodsBSE 6.04 % for Rs 25 crore as part of its strategy to exit non-core businesses.

The deal transfers inventory along with two rice brands - Gold Seal Indus Valley and Rozana - to LT Foods' Middle East arm. Both these brands had combined sales of Rs 51 crore last fiscal.

"Given the context of our portfolio priorities, we believe that it is in the best interest of the business to sell these brands to a strategic player such as LT Foods, who is capable and well positioned to unlock their full potential," said Sanjiv Mehta, Managing Director of HUL.

The Indian unit of Anglo-Dutch Unilever began exporting premium basmati rice in three decades ago to several countries in the Middle East and Europe, which was subsequently extended to other brands and geographies.

HULBSE -0.38 % will continue to manage the business until the completion of the transaction which is expected to close over the next few months.

HUL had been struggling with high costs and an unmanageable workforce in the low-margin business. The maker of Knorr soup and Lipton tea has been focusing on core packaged food and beverage brands with higher margins and exited tea plantations, oil, fats and biscuit businesses over the past decade. Just two quarters ago, it sold its bread and bakery business under the Modern brand to the Everstone Group.

HUL's food business accounts for less than a fifth of sales compared with parent Unilever, which gets about 45 per cent of its global sales from foods and refreshments.

 

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

German Smes To Invest Rs 3,000 Crore To Set Up Projects In India

BERLIN: German Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have pledged to invest over Rs 3,000 crore for the 'Make in India' initiative for setting up of new manufacturing plants and projects.

The German SME's (Mittelstand) have committed an investment of over Rs 3,000 crores for 'Make In India' under the Make in India Mittelstand (MIIM) initiative, said India's Ambassador to Germany Gurjit Singh during a business event held at the Indian Embassy here.

The investments will result in setting up of 15 new manufacturing plants, 6 expansion projects and 2 pilot projects covering the states of Maharastra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

MIIM, launched in September 2015, is an investment facilitation programme being implemented by the Indian Embassy in Berlin with the support of Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion ( DIPP) and Investment and Technology Promotion (ITP), Division of the Ministry of External Affairs to attract investments by German Mittelstand (SME) companies.

According to a release by the Indian Embassy in Berlin, during the first six months of the MIIM programme, 26 German companies have committed to 'Make In India' with the support of the MIIM programme.

In the last six months, three companies from the area of wind turbine technology, consumer appliance have announced their entry into India with significant investments.

Five companies have successfully formed their Joint Ventures (JVs) and incorporated their Wholly Owned Subsidiaries (WOS) in India during the period.

Five more companies are in the process of setting up their JVs/WOS in the coming months, it said.

Dirk Wiese, member of German Parliament and Member of the Indo-German Parliamentary Friendship Group said that the MIIM programme was the perfect complement for the Mittelstand- driven German economy.

He also highlighted the role played by the Make In India programme in strengthening the Indo-German economic partnership.

Mario Ohoven, President of the German Association for Small and Medium-sized Businesses, at the event promised support of his association towards the MIIM programme.

 

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

India Sets New Steel Quality Standards; Auto-Grade Imports Exempt For 6 Months

 India imposed quality standards on steel products sold in the country on Thursday, but delayed bringing auto-grade steel imported by car makers under the ambit of the new order by six months.

Indian car makers import about 1 million tonnes of high-tensile steel annually, mainly from Japan and South Korea, and had sought an extension to avoid disruption in production.

Quality standards for all steel products, except auto-grade steel, will come into effect on March 18.

India was expected to delay the implementation of quality standards on auto-grade steel imports, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

 

 

Source :.business-standard.com

India Cancels Corn Import Tender, Puts Off Plans To Buy More: Sources

NEW DELHI: India has cancelled a tender to import 240,000 tonnes of corn, trade and government sources said, hoping for a bigger-than-expected local summer harvest and following uncertainty over the availability of non-genetically modified corn as demanded.

Global traders such as Agrocorp, Concordia, Noble, StarcomBSE -1.97 % and Daewoo International submitted bids on Feb. 12 to supply 240,000 tonnes of corn in a range of $194.62 and $221.50 per tonne.

By cancelling the latest import tender, India has put off plans to import any more for now, the sources said on Thursday. In a previous tender, New Delhi secured supplies of 250,000 tonnes of Ukrainian corn.

Late last year, the government asked state-run trader PEC Ltd to import half a million tonnes of duty-free corn after two droughts in a row clipped output, announcing the country's first such overseas purchase in 16 years.

In its first international tender competition launched in January, the government-backed trader awarded a contract to South Korea's Daewoo International to supply 250,000 tonnes of yellow non-genetically modified corn.

"Of the 250,000 tonnes, PEC has already received about 130,000 tonnes and ships carrying another 120,000 tonnes are plying international waters," said a trade source.

Since India doesn't allow genetically modified (GM) food crops, PEC sought in its import tender only non-GM corn, a condition that looked like a tall order to many trade and industry experts, as only a handful of countries grow grain which would qualify.

PEC will sell imported corn directly to poultry units and starch manufacturers.

India has traditionally been a major corn exporter to southeast Asia, but higher local prices because of the first back-to-back drought in nearly three decades and rising domestic demand hampered exports.

The dramatic switch in India's position in the market has brought cheers to rival suppliers such as Brazil, Argentina and the United States.

Indian farmers grow corn twice a year. The winter crop is planted in October, with harvests in March and April. The farm ministry last month forecast India's summer harvest at 5.41 million tonnes, down from 7.16 million tonnes.

 

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com

Focus On Fdis, Domestic Investments And Improve Exports Need Of Hour For India To Come Out Of Prevailing Economic Volatility

Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India, Mr. H R Khan prescribed a three pronged strategy for India to come out of prevailing economic volatility, uncertainty, ambiguity and complexity by laying its focus on attracting FDIs, domestic investments and improving on front of exports.

Declining to subscribe to the view that Indian economy is trapped in economic turmoil, the Deputy Governor said that economic turmoil was not the right expression to define the current economic stagnation, on the contrary the truth is India has been confronting with issues of economic volatility, uncertainty, ambiguity and complexity which her economy can come out of provided and additional attention is laid on to improving FDIs and domestic investment scenario with improved export focus on new and emerging markets.

Addressing a conference on Global Economic Turmoil - Impact on Indian Economy: Look Ahead under aegis of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Khan said that India's tax GDP and her expenditure GDP ratio needed to be enhanced which has fallen less to a respective levels of 5.4% and 6.4% with comparable economies.

The Deputy Governor thus called for maintaining a quality of fiscal deficit with suitable and proper corporate balance sheet, pointing out that India also needs to clear up its stressed assets scenario with three main approaches in mind which consist of a paradigm to resolving, restructuring and recovering these.

He concurred with the view that in the recent past portfolio investments have receded but India compensated the loss by accelerated FDIs and with deepening of debt market for which the RBI has taken measures to make it more broad base with a celebrated manner.

 

Source :.business-standard.com

Volkswagen Marks Five Years Of Made-In-India Exports

Volkswagen India is celebrating its five-year export journey in India with the shipment of over 185,000 cars made in India for global markets.

Exactly five years ago to the day, VW India’s first shipment to South Africa – its first single export market – from Volkswagen India reached its destination. Since then, the carmaker has expanded its shipments to over 35 countries across Asia, Africa, North America and South America. The carmaker began its export operations from India within two years of setting up its production plant in Pune in 2009.

In 2015, the company exported over 55% of its cars produced in Pune to over 35 countries across four continents while serving as the hub for parts and components to Malaysia. The range of cars being exported includes left-hand drive as well as right-hand drive Polo and Vento cars. Mexico has been the single largest export market for Volkswagen India where over 80% of the export volume was shipped in 2015.

Commenting on the export drive, Dr Andreas Lauermann, president and MD, Volkswagen India, said, “Volkswagen set up its Indian operations especially for the domestic Indian market and we still continue to focus primarily on our local customers and their demands. However, with fluctuations in the domestic demand and the currency exchange, it became necessary for us to establish a second strong leg of our operations here in India. Since a Volkswagen made anywhere in the world follows the same quality and engineering standards, we were able to impress several export markets and create a demand there with our cars built in India. The acceptance and rising demand from a variety of markets and consumers from Asia to America stands a testimony to the global standards and state-of-the-art manufacturing that we undertake here at the Pune Plant.”
 

 

Source :.autocarpro.in

Tea Exports To Pakistan Up 60% To Rs 161 Crore

NEW DELHI: India's tea exports to Pakistan rose by 60 per cent to Rs 160.82 crore in the first 10 months of the current fiscal.

The overall outward shipments of tea, on the other hand, surged by just 11 per cent to Rs 3,597.41 crore.

Tea exports to the neighboring nation stood at Rs 100.61 crore in the year-ago period.

India is the world's second biggest tea producer and also one of the largest consumers. The country exports CTC (crush- tear-curl) grade tea to countries like Egypt, the UK, and other traditional varieties to Iraq, Iran and Russia.

The overall tea shipments was at Rs 3,240.90 crore in the April-January period of the 2014-15 fiscal, according to the Tea Board data.

The per unit price at which tea was exported to Pakistan increased to Rs 97.58 per kg from Rs 84.05 per kg a year ago.

In volume terms, outward shipments from India to Pakistan increased to 16.48 million kg in the 10-month period of 2015-16, from 11.97 million kg in April-January period of 2014-15.

The total tea exported from India in the period under review rose to 186.63 million kg as against 164.88 million kg a year earlier.

The increase in tea exports was seen in major tea-importing countries such as the CIS countries, the UK, Germany, Poland, the UAE, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Tea production has been low this fiscal mainly due to unfavorable weather conditions. Besides, wage-related issues also hit tea producers.

The tea sector has also been facing other issues including migration of laborers to other industries.

Tea plucking in India mainly starts between July and October.

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

Gold Jewellery Imports From Asean To Face 12.5% Countervailing Duty

NEW DELHI: After steel and metals, the government has moved to protect the local gold jewellery-making industry from imports that threaten the jobs in the sector.

Gold jewellery imports from the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) under the free-trade agreement, which have been under the scanner for some time, will face a 12.5% countervailing duty in lieu of 12.5% excise duty imposed in the budget. The duty will make imports more expensive and protect the local industry.

"Excise duty without credit is pegged at 1%, but CVD would be equivalent of 12.5%, the rate proposed with credit," said a government official.

The import of jewellery, especially under the India-ASEAN free-trade agreement after basic customs duty on gold was increased to 10%, has emerged as a big issue. The move to raise customs duty was aimed at discouraging the import of the yellow metal, which had contributed to a widening of India's current account deficit. However, inbound shipments under FTAs with Thailand and ASEAN increased because of lower rates of 1% and 2%, respectively.

Gold jewellery imports from ASEAN to face 12.5% countervailing duty


Imports from Thailand virtually stopped after the government raised the issue with customs authorities there against the violation of value addition norms and issued an alert against them. But these were soon substituted by imports from Malaysia and Indonesia.

As of now, customs insist on a bond of duty differential from these countries, which requires appropriate higher duty to be paid if there is any violation.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley had in his budget proposed 1% excise duty on jewellers with a turnover exceeding Rs 12 crore. The government is of the view that while large domestic manufacturers will only need to pay 1% excise duty - a move opposed by the industry, which has been on strike for the past 15 days - it would shield them from the onslaught of imported jewellery.

Imposition of duty would also ensure incentive for production in the country and the Make in India initiative. Replying to a debate in the Lok Sabha on the general budget, Jaitley rejected the demand for rolling back the levy, saying the move is in preparation for implementation of the goods and services tax.

The government has sought to allay the industry's apprehensions by promising an inspector raj-free regime without any hassle of fresh documentation. Excise authorities will accept value-added tax documents submitted to the state authorities.

 

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com

India Contracted 1.3 Million Tonnes Of Sugar Exports So Far In 2015/16: Trade Body

MOSCOW: India has contracted 1.3 million tonnes of sugar for export so far in the 2015/16 marketing year, of which 1 million tonnes have already been exported, said Abinash Verma, director general of the Indian Sugar Mills Association.

India's sugar cane output in 2016/17 may fall compared with this year due to less rainfall in several regions, Verma told Reuters on the sidelines of an industry conference in Moscow on Thursday.

Source  :economictimes.indiatimes.com

Exports From Sezs Down 1.89% In Apr-Dec 2015

India’s total exports originated from special economic zones (SEZs) fell by 1.89% to Rs.3.41 lakh crore during April-December 2015, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply to the Parliament on Monday.  

In the financial year 2014-15, exports from SEZ’s had fallen by 6.13% to Rs.4.63 lakh crore.  

“In order to boost exports from SEZs, the government periodically reviews the policy and operational framework of these zones and takes necessary steps to facilitate speedy and effective implementation of SEZs,” Sitharaman said on Monday.

The commerce minister stressed that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government has put a particular emphasis on developing India’s SEZs, as these economic zones hold immense potential to boost the country’s export segment.

Sitharaman said the government has, for the last three years and during the current financial year, granted more time to 132 SEZ developers to complete their projects.

SEZ units and developers have for long complained to the government about the imposition of dividend distribution tax (DDT) and minimum alternate tax (MAT) stressing that these additional charged have impacted exports from SEZs.

In a separate reply, the commerce minister said the government has not imported food grains for its central pool since 2008-09, and further there is no proposal to ban inbound shipments of wheat.

Replying to a question on WTO, Sitharaman said India has been pitching for a comprehensive discussion on public stockholding for food security and also on a special safeguard mechanism. 

 

Source :thedollarbusiness.com

India Replacing China As The Center Of The World’S Oil Demand Growth

India is replacing China as the center of the world's oil demand growth as it's economy expands faster than any other major country and a growing middle class has more money to spend. India's oil demand grew by 300,000 barrels a day last year, double the average rate in the previous decade, according to a report by The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies this month. China's growth has slowed to 300,000 barrels from an average 500,000 barrels in the decade to 2013 as the government moves the economy away from heavy industry.

Since the turn of the century, China has guzzled oil as its economy expanded, helping drive up crude prices to above $100 a barrel. A slowdown in this growth in the past few years and a surge in production from the US to Russia and Saudi Arabia sent prices crashing to below $30 a barrel, pummeling oil-producing nations' economies.

"In this new era of slower Chinese growth, a new contender has emerged: India," Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst at Energy Aspects, and Anupama Sen, senior research fellow at Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, wrote in the report.

"Structural and policy-driven changes are underway which could result in India's oil demand 'taking off ' in a similar way to China's during the late 1990s." As living standards improve, Indians are buying more cars and the government is looking to boost the share of manufacturing in the country's gross domestic product, which traditionally has been services-led.

 

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

Sit To Monitor Probe In Over Rs1,000 Crore Rice Export Scam

New Delhi: The Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money will monitor the probe into the alleged over Rs 1,000-crore scam in export of high-quality Basmati rice to Iran which was fraudulently diverted mid-sea to Dubai.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), which has unearthed the scam, has shared relevant details of the case with the SIT, which will monitor the agency's probe, official sources said.

With this, the DRI will have to share its probe details periodically with the SIT during the review meetings, they said.

The SIT, which is headed by former Supreme Court judge M B Shah, is responsible for investigating cases of black money stashed abroad through coordination of various members from Reserve Bank of India, Intelligence Bureau, Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation, Financial Intelligence Unit, Research and Analysis Wing and DRI.

According to the probe being done by the DRI, over two lakh metric tonnes of Basmati rice was illegally offloaded in Dubai in the last over a year instead of in Bandar Abbas in Iran, official sources said.

Over 25 big exporters from Haryana and Punjab are under the scanner of DRI and other agencies for their involvement in the multi-crore scam. Both the DRI and SIT have referred the case for probe by ED also, they said.

Explaining the modus operandi, the sources claimed the rice would be taken to Gujarat's Kandla Port by these exporters.They would then file Shipping Bills--documents filed withcustoms authorities carrying details of goods to be exported, consignor and consignee--for export to Iran, the sources said.

 Instead of the consignment reaching Iranian shores, it would be diverted mid-sea to Dubai allegedly with connivance of cargo ship operators carrying the goods.

Surprisingly, payments were also made from Iran to these exporters in India. Importers and port officials would allegedly acknowledge the receipt of rice and allow payment to be made against it here, they said.


What is worrying for intelligence agencies here is that they do not know the end-use of rice off-loaded in Dubai. They suspect use of rice as barter system to fund some illegal activity like terror financing, the sources said.


While India lost foreign exchange which it could have got from Dubai in case of genuine trade, Iran was also deprived of customs duty it would have been entitled to if rice was delivered at its shore, they said.

 

Source :timesofindia.indiatimes.com

India’S Polished Diamond Exports +2% In February

. India’s polished diamond exports increased 1.9 percent year on year to $2.34 billion in February, according to provisional data provided by the nation’s Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council.

By volume, polished exports increased 8.2 percent to 3.3 million carats. Polished imports dived 45 percent to $222.1 million, leaving net polished exports up 12 percent to $2.12 billion.

Rough diamond imports surged 37 percent to $1.55 billion and rough exports soared 49 percent to $131.8 million, leaving net rough imports 36 percent higher at $1.42 billion. India’s net diamond account, which is calculated as the difference between net polished exports and net rough imports, narrowed 17 percent to $700 million.

During the month, India imported $7.3 million of rough synthetic stones, most of them diamonds. Polished synthetic imports, meanwhile, totaled $9.7 million and exports were $6.4 million.

In terms of diamond trading for the first two months of the calendar year, Rapaport News calculated that India’s polished diamond exports fell 17 percent year on year to $3.38 billion, while polished imports dived 46 percent to $419 million. Net polished exports fell 10 percent to $2.96 billion.

Rough imports in the first two months increased 28 percent to $2.54 billion, while rough exports advanced 23 percent to $238 million, leaving net rough imports 29 percent higher at $2.3 billion. India’s net diamond account for January and February was $664.1 million, a 56 percent drop from $1.52 billion a year ago.

 

Source :.diamonds.net

India's Exports Drop 13.6% In January To $21 Billion In 14Th Straight Fall

NEW DELHI: India's exports in January fell 13.6% from a year earlier to $21.07 billion - declining for the 14th consecutive month - while a contraction in imports narrowed the trade gap to an 11-month low.

Imports fell 11% to $28.71 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $7.63 billion, provisional data released by the ministry of commerce & industry showed.

The last time the gap was lower was in February 2015 at $6.84 billion.
India's exports drop 13.6% in January to $21 billion in 14th straight fall
Gold imports rose 85% to $2.91 billion last month compared with a 179% increase in December.

Oil meal exports posted the steepest decline at 77.5%, while petroleum product shipments fell 35.18%. Of the 30 export sectors, 13 registered growth amid subdued global demand and softening commodity prices. "The trend of falling exports is in tandem with other major world economies," the ministry said in a statement.

China's exports dropped 11.2% on year to $177.5 billion in January while imports plummeted 18.8% to $114.2 billion.

In the first 10 months of the current financial year, India's exports were $217.67 billion compared with $264.32 billion in the same period last year.

"At this rate, total exports will be in the $260-265 billion range. Fall in import of capital goods and raw materials is not a good sign for industrial recovery. SMEs will not have wherewithal to retain labour and in such a case, job losses become imminent," said Ajay Sahai, Director General of Federation of Indian Export Organisations.

"Overvaluation of the rupee, after adjusting against domestic retail inflation, is also eating into competitiveness of Indian exports. The fall in engineering exports by over 27% for January will have a negative impact on jobs as well since the sector is dominated by SMEs with large number of employment," said Engineering Export Promotion Council of India chairman TS Bhasin.

Oil imports dropped 39% to $5.02 billion while non-oil imports declined 1.4% to $23.68 billion. Non-oil, non-gold imports, seen as a measure of domestic demand, fell 7.4% to $20.78 billion.

"The seasonal uptick in gold imports was partly advanced in the current year with the fall in prices in rupee terms during the second quarter of FY16, which led to a 19% shrinking in the value of gold imports on a year-on-year basis in the third quarter of FY16," said Aditi Nayar, a senior economist at ICRA Ltd. "Benefiting from this, ICRA expects current account deficit to halve in the third quarter as compared to the $8.2 billion in the third quarter of FY15."

 

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

Rupee Gains 17 Paise To 67.04 Against Dollar

Mumbai, March 10:  

The rupee gained 17 paise against the US dollar in late afternoon trade today at the Inter-bank Foreign Exchange market on increased selling of the US currency by exporters and banks.

At about 4.40 pm, the rupee was quoting at 67.04.

It traded between 67.27 and 66.98 during intra-day deals after opening at 67.21.

Sustained foreign capital inflows gave the rupee some muscle, dealers said.

A subdued trend in domestic equities and dollar’s strength against other currencies overseas, however, restricted the gains.

The rupee closed at 67.21 in yesterday’s trade on fag-end selling of the dollar.

 

Source :.thehindubusinessline.com

Steel Imports At Rs 36,073 Crore In April-January Fy16: Government

NEW DELHI: India, the world's third largest steel producer, imported steel worth Rs 36,073 crore in the first 10 months of this fiscal against almost Rs 44,893 crore in 2014-15, Parliament was informed today.

India witnessed about 75 per cent year-on-year rise in imports of total steel (alloy + non-alloy) in 2014-15 and about 24 per cent increase during April-January period of 2015-16, Steel and Mines Minister Narendra Singh Tomar told Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

"The jump in imports is, however, largely on account of global steel glut. Due to this reason, steel is being exported by China and other countries, often at below cost of production," he added.

The data provided by Tomar showed that India imported 9.3 million tonnes (MT) of total finished steel worth Rs 36,073 crore during April-January this fiscal against 9.32 MT worth Rs 44,893 crore in 2014-15.

In 2013-14 fiscal, the country imported 5.45 MT of total finished steel worth Rs 30,416 crore against 7.93 MT worth Rs 39,290 crore in 2012-13, it showed.

To protect domestic steel sector, government has taken various measures, which have reduced the pace of growth of imports, the minister said.

"While imports grew by about 75 per cent in the Financial Year 2014-15, compared to the financial year 2013-14, the import growth has slowed to about 24 per cent in the period April 2015 to January 2016, compared to the same period in the last financial year," he added.

Tomar said various steps have been taken to check import of cheap steel such as imposition of minimum import price, last month, on 173 steel products.

Besides in September 2015, the government has imposed a provisional Safeguard Duty of 20 per cent on hot-rolled flat products of non-alloy and other alloy steel, in coils of a width of 600 mm or more, for a period of 200 days, he added.

In June, 2015, an Anti-Dumping Duty was levied for five years on import of certain variety of hot-rolled flat products of stainless steel from China ($309 per tonne), Korea ($180 per tonne) and Malaysia ($316 per tonne).

 

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

Oil Prices Dip After Rally But Supply Worries Persist

Oil prices held most of the previous day's strong gains on Thursday, but while a dive in US gasoline stockpiles fuelled hopes for a pick-up in demand, traders remain on edge over the long-running supply glut.

Both main contracts soared on Wednesday, with US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) hitting a more than three-month high and Brent breaking $41 after the US energy department report.

The figures showed gasoline inventories plunged three times faster than expected while the country's commercial crude stockpiles rose almost two-thirds less than forecast. WTI put on 4.9% and Brent 3.6% soon after the data.

On Thursday, WTI eased five cents to $38.24 and Brent dipped 14 cents to $40.93.

Analysts said it remains to be seen whether the price rise would be sustained, especially after China this week reported a plunge in exports in February, stirring renewed fears of a "hard landing" for the world's second biggest economy.

"I'm still not leaning towards prices moving up sustainably because the fundamentals have not changed," said Phillip Futures analyst Daniel Ang.

He pointed to US crude production, which he said rose marginally last week after weeks of decline, describing it as "rather bearish" for prices.

EY oil and gas analyst Sanjeev Gupta said the market it looking forward to a March 20 meeting of major crude producers to discuss an output freeze proposed by key players Russia and Saudi Arabia aimed at stabilising prices.

The meeting "will provide vital clues about price development in the near term", Gupta said, but other analysts have cautioned against too much expectations that an agreement will be reached.

 

Source :.business-standard.com

Centre Considers Bi-Lateral Agreements With New Nations To Boost Exports

 As free trade agreements (FTAs) with major countries in Europe and US getting delayed, the ministry of textiles is looking at countries like Australia, CIS, including Russia and Africa, to boost exports through bi-lateral agreements. This comes on the back drop of the ministry's target of doubling textile exports in the next 10 years from the current level.

The textiles ministry has set a target to double textiles exports from the current level in the next 10 years. However, the challenge remains lack of FTAs, credit availability, old labour laws, which currently puts India at competitive disadvantage, Textiles Secretary Rashmi Verma told Business Standard on the sidelines of India International Handwoven Fair ( IIHF), which was inaugurated at Chennai on Wednesday.

Textile export target for 2015-16 was $47.5 billion. Till December, export clocked was around $32 billion.

“We might be little short of target, but by and large we will achieve it,” said Verma.

Last year, textile export was around $42 billion, large of part of it cotton and yarn, said Alok Kumar, union development commissioner (Handlooms) adding that current global environment is challenging.

Verma added since India doesn’t have FTAs with US and EU, our sector is at big disadvantage compared to Bangladesh and Vietnam. They are exporting at zero duty, while Indian exports subject for 10-14%.

The Ministry is now looking at countries like Australia, CIS including Russia and Africa to boost exports, by having bi-lateral agreements, said Verma, adding that garment sector can double exports in a year's time if FTAs are in place.

The Textile Ministry also requested the Finance Ministry to give some kind of tax incentives to the weavers to make this sector attractive. The suggestion includes offering tax holidays and interest subvention among others.

Verma also wanted relaxation in Labour Laws including allowing women to work at night and want modification in Contract Laws, said Verma, adding that the Ministry will introduce new Textile Policy in the next two months.

"The new modified and simplified textile policy is ready, we are in the process of sending it to Cabinet. We should be able to bring it out in two months time,", she said.

The policy will focus on productivity of textile sector, generating more employment, bringing down the cost of production, penetrating into newer markets, and increase value added products contribution from the current 25%.

Commenting on WTO guidelines and its impact, Verma said most of the incentives or subsidies given by the Ministry are production related. Those related to processing and skilling would be continued, she said. A meeting of all stakeholders would be held next month to take stock of current situation. It would also review which are the subsidies and concessions that could be continued or phased out.

On the revised Textile Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFSW), Verma said revised guidelines have been finalised. It is being placed before the Cabinet.
 
Value-added products

Thrust will be value addition, which is currently around 25%, said Verma. Traditionally the focus has been exporting raw material, but the fabric and the garmenting was not happening much since our products were not competitive in the international market due to duty structure.

"We are trying to balance the value chain and trying to focus on fabric and garmenting so that value addition can take place within the country. Raw material share will come down, when the overall exports grow and that is what we want.”

On cotton, Verma said, this year we did not had any problem, since market rate was higher than MSP. But, yes with the shortage of cotton export has to be seen whether we need to encouraging, that is why the ministry want to focus on value addition.

 

Source:business-standard.com

Cotton Imports From India Rise 36Pc

Cotton imports from India increased 36 percent year-on-year to 2.99 million bales in 2015, according to data from Bangladesh Textile Mills Association.

India became the largest cotton supplier to Bangladesh's spinners and weavers thanks to the rise in imports, the industry insiders said. One bale weighs 480 pounds or 218 kilograms.

In 2015, Bangladesh imported 6.1 million bales of cotton, 49 percent of which came from India.

In 2014, cotton import from India grew by 27 percent year-on-year to 2.2 million bales, which was 37 percent of that year's total cotton import of 5.91 million bales.

Cotton imports from India started climbing in 2011. Bangladesh imported total 4.37 million bales of cotton that year, of which 1.66 million bales came from India, registering a 48 percent year-on-year growth.

Due to higher quality, lower prices and shorter lead-time, India has become the largest cotton sourcing country for Bangladesh, Tapan Chowdhury, president of BTMA, said at a press meet at the association's office in Dhaka yesterday.

Chowdhury announced the first-ever Bangladesh India Cotton Fest 2016 to be held at Radisson hotel in Dhaka on Saturday.
ADVERTISEMENT

“We should not be too much dependent on India alone for cotton as any disruption in the supply chain could cause a lot of trouble for Bangladesh,” he said.

Such disruption in cotton supply happened earlier when India imposed a ban on the fibre's export without any prior notice during 2010 and 2011. Cotton prices then increased over 4 times to $2.6 a pound for an artificial crisis.

The other reason for over-dependence on India is the presence of child labour in Uzbekistan, another major source of cotton for Bangladesh.

Apart from India and Uzbekistan, Bangladesh usually imports cotton from the US and some African countries.

Due to child labour, sometimes the international clothing brands and retailers show their reluctance to source garment items from the factories, which manufacture the apparel items with yarn spun from Uzbek cotton, he said.

Chowdhury also said the import trend shows that India will dominate the Bangladeshi market among the other cotton growing and exporting countries in the coming days.

That is why, BTMA, Bangladesh Cotton Association and Indian Cotton Association will jointly organise the Cotton Fest.

 

Source :.thedailystar.net
 

Iran Plays Hardball With European Oil Buyers, Slowing Exports

LONDON: Iran has managed to sell only modest volumes of oil to Europe since the lifting of sanctions seven weeks ago and several former buyers are staying away, citing legal complications and Tehran's reluctance to sweeten terms to win back customers.

Tehran had been unable to sell crude to European firms since 2012 when the EU imposed sanctions over its nuclear programme, depriving it of a market that accounted for over a third of its exports and leaving it relying completely on Asian buyers.

Since the restrictions were lifted in January, Iran has sold four tankers - 4 million barrels - to Europe, including to France's Total, Spain's Cepsa and Russia's Litasco, according to Iranian officials and ship-tracking data.

That equates to only around five days' worth of sales at the levels of pre-2012, when European buyers were purchasing as much as 800,000 barrels per day (bpd) from the country

Many former big buyers - including Anglo-Dutch major Shell, Italy's Eni, Greece's Hellenic Petroleum and trading houses Vitol, Glencore and Trafigura - are yet to resume purchases.

A lack of dollar clearing, the absence of an established mechanism for non-dollar sales and the reluctance of banks to provide letters of credit to facilitate trade have been obstacles since sanctions were lifted.

But some former major buyers also cited Tehran's unwillingness to loosen its selling terms from four years ago, and offer flexibility on pricing, despite the world having become oversupplied with oil and Iran's European market share seized by Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iraq.

"Iran is not flexible with terms. They still impose very old-fashioned destination clauses telling you where you can and cannot take your crude," said a senior oil trading executive, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.

"It was okay a decade ago but the world doesn't look like this anymore."

Iran, like top OPEC exporter Saudi Arabia, generally imposes destination clauses that forbid reselling of its crude, to retain control over who receives its supplies, and sets official selling prices for its crude grades every month.

By contrast, Iraq - the world's fastest-growing oil exporter in the past year - allows buyers to resell crude at prices below its official ones.

A spokesman for the state-run National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) could not be immediately reached for comment.

But its oil export chief Mohsen Ghamsari told Reuters last week that European buyers were cautious about boosting trade immediately because of banking and ship insurance difficulties, and that he expected sales to rise from this month.

He ruled out applying discounts to monthly official selling prices but said he could consider improving the pricing mechanism on some cargoes to attract European buyers.

NO DISCOUNTS

Before 2012, Iran was exporting around 2 million bpd, with the bulk going to the Asian countries, which retained most rights to buy Iranian oil when the EU imposed sanctions but informally agreed to limit their collective purchases of Iranian crude to around 1.2 million bpd. Tehran has been banned from selling oil to the United States since the 1979 revolution.

NIOC aims to increase exports by 500,000 bpd this year, said Ghamsari. Other than Europe, its main targets for increased sales in Asia are China, India and South Korea, he added.

Iranian oil sales to Asia are estimated to have increased by around 100,000-200,000 bpd in February, after the end of sanctions, which paved the way for Iran to rejoin the global banking transaction network.

The terms being offered to Asian buyers are unchanged since before the lifting of sanctions, but companies in Asia face fewer obstacles than in Europe when buying Iranian oil.

"We looked at options of buying Iranian oil," said another senior executive, from a major trading house in Europe. "We saw that shipping complications made it around $1 per barrel more expensive than rival grades. But when we spoke about discounts - we were told it would not happen."

Olivier Jakob from Petromatrix consultancy said it was possible that Iran did not want to appear "distressed" by offering discounts.

"But maybe it is a sign that unlike Iraq they don't have a massive surplus of oil they need to sell urgently," he added. "When your oil is flowing fast and filling up tanks, you need to get rid of it quickly. So it remains unclear how fast Iran can ramp up output and exports after years of sanctions."

Iran and Saudi Arabia, whose status as the world's top exporter gives it more market clout, are the main oil producers to set their monthly official prices using the BWAVE index.

Iraq and its semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan set prices against dated Brent and Kuwait has also recently switched to dated Brent from BWAVE, citing requests from customers and the need to become more competitive.

Most European buyers say they prefer the dated Brent index to BWAVE, which has proven to be a more expensive option over the past year due to its calculation method.

Russian, Nigerian and Angolan crudes trade at daily changing differentials versus dated Brent, often giving buyers even more flexibility.

Ghamsari said he could consider selling some spot cargoes at dated Brent while sticking with BWAVE for its term contracts. Most buyers say, however, they haven't seen many spot cargoes being offered by Iran so far.

LESS FLEXIBLE

A third trading source suggested Iran may be waiting until oil prices - hovering at $40 per barrel, near lows seen during the 2008 financial crisis - pick up further before taking steps to regain market share.

"It is a very strange dynamic. As soon as Iran opened up they became less flexible. This is the wrong strategy with too much oil around," said the source.

"You could think the Iranians have no incentive to increase their production while the prices are low. They lived like it for years already - they can cope with another few months."

A source familiar with NIOC's thinking said it would not consider offering discounts to win back market share as it would mean an escalation of a price war and would not benefit Iran or its customers.

All in all, Iran seems to be taking its usual "slow and rather philosophical approach", according to another senior trading source.

"When you ask them: "Why are your prices so bad?", they tell you: "You see - you are asking and that means you are interested."

 

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

Renault Bets High On Mauritius As First Export Market For Kwid

Renault, which shipped the first lot of Kwid to Mauritius last month from Chennai port, is aggressively tapping the island country as its first export market for the hatchback.

The company had earlier said that it would begin exports of the Kwid to SAARC countries. While the carmaker has shipped some units to Sri Lanka, full-fledged exports have started to Mauritius, according to foreign trade data.

Sumit Sawhney, CEO and MD, Renault India, had earlier said that the company was initially looking to export the Kwid into foreign markets and would ramp up volumes later. A total of 37 cars were shipped to Mauritius on February 5.

Meanwhile, with increased domestic demand for the Kwid, the carmaker was finding it difficult to ramp up the export volumes.

Based on the CMF-A platform and developed by the Renault-Nissan Alliance, the Kwid has received a tremendous response from Indian customers and there is a waiting time of four-six months at present.

Given the overwhelming response, Renault India aims to ramp up production of Kwid to 10,000 units this month. The Renault-Nissan factory in Oragadam, near Chennai, will soon begin the third shift to increase the output of Kwid.

The alliance plant of Renault and Nissan will begin third shift operations to increase production of Renault cars-most of which are Kwid. At present the factory works in two shifts and rolls out 1,000 cars a day. The increase in production will bring down the current waiting period to three months from the current six to seven months.

Apart from the SAARC region, Renault India would also be exporting the Kwid to Brazil, Africa and other parts of Latin America through the CKD route.

Source :.business-standard.com

Low Production Likely To Shrink Pepper Exports

 Vietnam has pushed India to third position in the global pepper market and exporters now foresee competition from Sri Lanka and Brazil.

India's average production of pepper is 65,000 tonnes in the last three years and the country exports 20,000-22,000 tonnes a year. Unfavourable weather in Kerala and Karnataka may cause production to decline to 53,000 tonnes in 2015-16. Production in Vietnam may rise 10 per cent to 150,000 tonnes.

"Indian production has declined and competing nations have raised their output in recent years," said Jojan Malayil, chief executive officer at Bafna Enterprises, an export house in Kerala.

The Spices Board has estimated 53,000 tonnes of pepper production in 2015-16 against 65,000 tonnes a year ago and exports are likely to be 20,000 tonnes.

"Unfavourable weather in Kerala and Tamil Nadu caused the fall in production. Some parts of Karnataka, too, have faced a pest attack," said A Jayathilak, chairman of the Spices Board.

India consumes 80-85 per cent of its production but this year pepper prices have climbed, making exports unviable. "Lower production has raised Indian pepper to over $10,000 a tonne while Vietnam is offering the spice at $7,500 a tonne," Malayil said.

Low production likely to shrink pepper exports
The price of pepper has risen from Rs 630 per kg in December to Rs 700 now.

The Indian spice industry feels the country needs to import 20,000 tonnes of pepper to meet demand for value addition. "We need to import about 20,000 tonnes this year against 17,000 tonnes last year," said a Kochi-based spice trader.

Of the 10,000 tonnes black pepper imported between April and September, the major chunk is from Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

According to Jayathilak, the carry forward stock in world markets this year will be 17,000 tonnes lower because of rise in consumption. In India, the carry forward stock for next year will be 2,598 tonnes against 9,598 tonnes in the current year.

 

Soucre :.business-standard.com

Global Cues May Push Up Sugar Prices

Sugar prices are likely to move up in local markets following global trends and the possibility of exports incentives by the Maharashtra government.

Against a four per cent increase to Rs 33.5 a kg in the local wholesale markets so far in 2016, sugar prices are up 18 per cent in the world market.

If prices rise further, it would be a breather for crushing mills. Barring a couple of sporadic instances, prices have remained way below production cost during the past four years. Most mills incurred massive losses in the past few financial years. Both the central and state governments have announced incentives to save mills from going bankrupt.

“Of late, sugar prices in India have started following the global trend. Over the past few months, sugar prices have moved up significantly in global markets but lagged locally. From now on, sugar prices would move up in local markets,” said an analyst with one of the largest trading firms.

International Sugar Association and some other research organisations have forecast a global deficit of 2-4 million tonnes (mt) in 2016 due to crop damage in Brazil.

“So, this will give a chance to India to export a large quantity of sugar this year to which the government has fixed a cap of 3.2 mt. The quantity equivalent to export would reduce domestic availability and supply pressure thereupon. Since we have forecast sugar output in India to remain lower at 26 mt, exports are needed to reduce domestic supply pressure,” said Abinash Verma, director general, Indian Sugar Mills Association.

The sugar sector estimates 7.5 mt of carryover stocks from the last year. There would be a surplus production of 3 mt, which would result in 10.5 mt of overall supply for the current crushing season ending September 2016.

To reduce supply pressure, the Centre has announced Rs 4.5 per quintal of cane crushed production subsidy, which helped producers to contract 1.25 mt of white sugar for exports. Of this, 1 mt have moved out of factories.

The Centre recently held a meeting with state chief and corporation ministers briefing them about the lackadaisical performance of fulfilment of export quota by mills in Maharashtra, the largest producing state contributing 25 per cent of India’s sugar output.

 

 

source :.business-standard.com
 

Made-In-India Baleno Goes On Sale In Japan

Speaking at the launch ceremony held in Tokyo today, H.E. Sujan R Chinoy, Ambassador of India to Japan, said, “Maruti Suzuki exports to over 125 countries including those in Europe, which is proof of their quality. The Baleno is a state-of-the-art car developed and manufactured in India through Suzuki’s excellence. It will be exported to 100 global markets including Japan. I am confident that the Baleno will prove to be a huge success in Japan. I wish the launch complete success.”

Kenichi Ayukawa, MD and CEO, Maruti Suzuki India, said, “A landmark moment like this is a true testimony to the success of Indian government’s ‘Make in India’ campaign. The launch of the made-in-India Baleno in Japan is a proud moment for all of us. This reaffirms Maruti Suzuki’s manufacturing potential and growing importance of Maruti Suzuki India in Suzuki Motor Corporation’s global business strategies. I am confident our Baleno would be well accepted by Japanese customers as well.”

The made-in-India Baleno, which was shipped to Japan last month, will be offered in two variants — 1.0 Boosterjet direct-injection turbo engine (XT) and 1.2 Dual-jet naturally-aspirated engine (XG). While the 1.2-litre variant is on sale now, the 1.0-litre variant will be available from May 13.
japanes-baleno

SMC claims the Japanese-spec Baleno delivers fuel efficiency of 20 kilometres per litre (kpl) for the 1.0 Boosterjet variant and 24.6kpl for the 1.2 Dualjet variant. In comparison, Maruti Suzuki India claims the Indian-spec, 1.2-litre VVT petrol Baleno delivers 21.4kpl.  

Among the additional features available on the Japanese-spec model are Radar Brake Support (RBS) and Adaptive Cruise Control, similar to the left-hand-drive Balenos exported to Europe last month.

Autocar Professional had exclusively reported last month that the first export consignment of 1,760 made-in-India Balenos had reached Japan. The right-hand-drive, automatic (CVT-equipped) hatchbacks, which were despatched from Mundra Port in Gujarat, were unloaded at the Toyohashi Port on February 15.

This marks the first time that a domestic carmaker has exported an India-made car to the Japanese market. Maruti also plans on exporting the Baleno to over 100 markets worldwide. Initial volumes of 5,000-6,000 units a month are on the radar as exports to Japan and Europe.

Launched on October 26, 2015 in India, the Baleno has been a big hit in the Indian market and has managed to capture a significant share in the premium hatchback segment. Till January 2016, the carmaker had sold over 38,000 Balenos in the Indian market till date and is said to have over 100,000 bookings in the bag.

While the India-spec car is available in both petrol and diesel engine options, the 1.0-litre Boosterjet version (Baleno RS), showcased at the Auto Expo 2016, is set to be launched in India later this year.

 

Source :.autocarpro.in

Soya Meal Exports Hit New Lows In Feb

 

India’s soya meal exports are losing market to competing suppliers from North and South America. Exports from India dipped to a historic low at 1,127 tonnes for the month of February 2016, as against 64,515 tonnes in the same month last year.

The decline was due to sustained higher prices of the domestic soybean, which made meal production costly, thereby making it unviable to compete globally.

Currently, FOB/FAS Indian soybean meal is quoted at $480 per tonne against Argentina origin soybean meal CIF Rotterdam at $321 per tonne. Indian soybean meal is out priced by about $160 per tonne in the international market.

Davish Jain, Chairman of The Soybean Processors’ Association of India (SOPA), Indore, maintained that the rising cost has made it unviable to compete globally.

“We are completely out-priced by global competitors. Crushing activity has reduced and several millers have closed their operations because of the disparity in prices,” said Jain.

So far, during the current financial year up to February 2016, soya meal exports stood at 70,392 tonnes as compared to 5,99,818 tonnes in the same period last year, showing a drop of 88.26 per cent.

At Indore spot market, soya meal prices have come down from ?39,250 per tonne in May 2015 to about ?32,800 by February 2016. However, it continues to be costlier to export it to the key markets like Japan, the US and Iran, where the Indian soya meal commanded almost monopoly.

Meanwhile, in the current oil year (October 2015-September 2016), total exports of soya meal till February 2016 stood at 27,647 tonnes, as against 5,02,958 tonnes last year, down by 94.50 per cent.

Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) data put the total oil meal exports for February 2016 at 53,866 tonnes, as compared to 208,499 tonnes in the same month last year, indicating a drop of 47 per cent. Raising its concerns about dipping exports and its impact on crushing activity, the SEA noted that capacity utilisation has touched its lowest, and that the industry was experiencing a tough time with many plants operating at low capacity or even closing down.

The overall export of oil meals during the April 2015-February 2016 period, fell 52 per cent to 1,092,905 tonnes, against 2,256,436 tonnes during the same period of the last year. The same was 3,969,903 tonnes in 2013-14, a SEA statement said.

Rapeseed meal exports have also reduced to one-third of last year primarily due to high cost. Average FOB price continued to be higher for rapeseed meal which stood at $304 per tonne in February, which was $253 in March last year.

Among the oil meal complex, castorseed meal had encouraging export numbers, with growth registered over the last month. Castorseed meal exports grew to 414,311 tonnes in the April-February period, against 386,831 in same period last year.

 

Source :.thehindubusinessline.com

Rupee Trades Weaker Against Us Dollar At 67.38

Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Tuesday weakened against the US dollar, tracking losses in the local equity and Asian currencies market.

At 4.10pm, the home currency was trading at 67.38, down 0.42% from its previous close of 67.10. The rupee opened at 67.21 and touched a high and a low of 67.21 and 67.42 respectively.

India’s benchmark Sensex index gained 0.050% or 12.75 points to 24,659.23.

Meanwhile, India’s 10-year bond yield was at 7.629%, as compared with its Friday’s close of 7.633%.

Since the beginning of this year, the rupee has lost 1.81%, while foreign institutional investors have sold $2.01 billion from local equity and $1.12 million in debt markets.

Most of the Asian currencies were trading lower. Indonesian rupiah fell 0.57%, South Korean won 0.437%, Singapore dollar 0.469%, Malaysian ringgit 0.508%, Taiwan dollar 0.082%. However, Japanese yen was up 0.523%, China renminbi 0.166%, Philippines peso 0.32%.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 97.056, down 0.02% from its previous close of 97.071.

China’s overseas shipment tumbled 25.4% in US dollar terms from a year ago, while imports extended a streak of declines to 16 months, slumping 13.8%, leaving a trade surplus of $32.6 billion.

Traders are cautious ahead of the European Central Bank (ECB) meets on Thursday and there is expectation of further action from the ECB especially since the inflation data was weaker than expectation.

 

Source :.livemint.com

Steel Imports Have Come Down By 1/4Th Against Fy15: Steel Ministry

NEW DELHI: Steel Ministry has brought down the import of steel, an issue that has eroded profitability of the domestic producers, by almost one-fourth in the first eleven months of this fiscal.

"Through various measures like import and safeguard duty, minimum import price and quality control order, the ministry has curtailed steel imports by almost one-fourth in April-February period this fiscal," Steel and Mines Minister Narendra Singh Tomar told PTI.

During last fiscal, imports of the metal had risen by about 71 per cent, he added.

The minister said the checks were needed to protect the domestic industry as the global downturn led to countries including China dumping cheap steel in India, which has impacted the sales and profits of the companies.

According to data by Joint Plant Committee of the Steel Ministry, imports grew 71 per cent to 9.321 million tonnes (MT) in 2014-15 compared to the previous fiscal, with India remaining a net importer in the previous fiscal.

Import of steel during the eleven months of the current fiscal grew 20.5 per cent to 10.215 MT, while inbound shipment in February 2016 decreased 0.1 per cent to 0.91 MT compared to previous month and was down 7.3 per cent against February 2015. This has been four consecutive months of decline in steel imports.

However, India remained a net importer of total finished steel in the current fiscal so far.

Tomar said to protect the domestic producers, government has imposed a minimum import price in 174 steel products last month.

In July and August last year, the peak customs duty was raised on steel to 15 per cent, while anti-dumping duty was imposed on certain grades of steel products during June and December 2015, he added.

Besides, a provisional safeguard duty of 20 per cent was levied on hot rolled steel coils for a period of six months, Tomar said.

Speaking to reporters later, Tomar said India has become the world's third largest steel producer last year leaving behind the US.

"Since May 2014, steel companies, including state-run SAIL and RINL, have added 16 MT of capacity with an investment of around Rs 1 lakh crore," he said.

India's steel production rose 7.9 per cent to 88.12 MT in 2014-15 fiscal compared with the previous fiscal.

On the ongoing first phase of mine auctions, Tomar said out of the 43 blocks offered, six have been auctioned.

"The states will earn a total revenue of Rs 14,855 crore from these six blocks. In the second phase the 12-mineral bearing states will offer about 42 mineral blocks for auction, which will take place in the next fiscal," he added.

 

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

February Coal Imports Inch Up For First Time In 8 Months, Official Says

NEW DELHI: India's coal imports inched up 1.7 per cent in February, the first rise in eight months, coal secretary Anil Swarup told Reuters on Monday, but suggested it may have been a temporary increase based on deals signed earlier.


Imports rose to 16.79 million tonnes from 16.51 million a year ago, ending a downward trend that began in July and lasted until January.


"This is just a marginal increase ...," Swarup said. "It could be on account of a booking made earlier by an importer."
Top Comment
okdeepak baindur


State behemoth Coal India has been boosting output at a record pace though consumption has grown slower than expected, forcing the company to scale down activity in some mines.


India does not have enough good quality resources of steelmaking coal and that grade is imported from countries such as Australia and South Africa.

 

Source :timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Indian Railways Plans To Import Crude Oil To Improve Finances

The rail ministry has embarked on a drive to reform the financially struggling 160-year-old national transporter through a range of initiatives.

The plan, described by the Railway Board's Financial Commissioner S Mookerjee as a "dream", would be implemented over five years. It includes cost optimisation by importing crude oil and procuring refining capacity from oil marketing companies on lease, which would reduce diesel inventories by a third to a mere five days. The railways would raise additional revenue by focusing on export of rolling stock, expanding the freight basket and monetising its vast data bank.

"We are working on a policy that would allow 10 per cent of our rolling stock production capacity to go into producing and exporting rolling stock rather than having it in-house so that our production facilities also stand up on their own feet. We have a target of Rs 4,000 crore of exports by 2020, through exports of machinery and plant," Mookerjee said.

Stressing on cost optimisation, he said reduction in expenditure by cutting down diesel inventories had given the railways relief of around Rs 2,000 crore. "We are also exploring a policy to procure crude oil and then take refining capacity on lease. This is a new thing we are trying to do from next year. This will be in addition to the savings from continued direct purchase of electricity," he said.

Indian Railways consumes around 2.8 billion litres of diesel annually, costing Rs 18,000 crore (around 18 per cent of the net ordinary working expenses).

In addition, the transporter spends around Rs 12,300 crore annually to purchase 17.5 billion units of electricity. About 30 per cent of the fuel bill goes into paying state taxes.

Other initiatives on cards are setting up a dedicated planning and investment organisation for strategic appraisal of projects; redesigning the Railway Board by reclassifying Board Members as Member-Mechanical or Member-Engineering with a new classification on "functional lines" including Member-Freight and Member-Passenger; and creating new directorates for speed and information technology services.

To shore up revenues, the ministry would focus on monetising its data and Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) and also revamp focus on advertising revenue. Further, the ministry might soon announce a revised freight tariff structure to claw back the Railways' lost modal share in freight.

Mookerjee said the Railways' total cost savings of about Rs 8,700 crore for 2015-16 announced in this year's Budget was likely to go up to Rs 10,000 crore by the end of March 2016. The rail ministry also wants to tackle the Pay Commission impact of Rs 12,000 crore on account of salaries and another Rs 8,000 crore on pension payments by tapping into the debt service fund, which has a balance of Rs 4,000 crore, apart from the Rs 3,000 crore parked in the pension fund.

 

Source :business-standard.com