Rupee Closes 13 Paise Weaker Against Us Dollar At 66.56

Mumbai: The Indian rupee closed weaker against the US dollar on Wednesday, tracking the losses in the local equity and Asian currencies markets.

The home currency closed at 66.56, down 0.19% from its previous close of 66.43. The rupee opened at 66.63 a dollar and touched a low of 66.65, a level last seen on 25 April.

India’s benchmark Sensex index fell 0.51%, or 127.97 points, to close at 25,101.73. The index fell in four out of five sessions. Since 27 April, the Sensex has fallen over 3.7%, or 960 points. So far this year, the Sensex is down 3.89%.

Asian currencies slid on broad dollar strength after regional US Federal Reserve chiefs suggested interest rate hikes could restart in June.

Malaysian ringgit was down 1.54%, South Korean won 1.24%, Indonesian rupiah 0.55%, Philippines peso 0.44%, Taiwan dollar 0.4%, Thai baht 0.38%, Singapore dollar 0.27%, China offshore 0.15%, Japanese yen 0.13% and China renminbi declined 0.13%.

Two prominent members of the US Fed’s Open Market Committee said overnight that they intend to support an interest rate hike in June, six months after the US central bank raised rates for the first time in a decade.

Atlanta Fed president Dennis Lockhart said on Tuesday that the Federal Open Market Committee could move on rates in June, if warranted, though he is not leaning in either direction at this point. San Francisco Fed president John Williams said that he would support a rate hike next month, Bloomberg reported.

The weak manufacturing data in China and the UK also raised worries over slowing growth among traders.

India’s 10-year bond yield closed at 7.432%, as compared with its Tuesday’s close of 7.442%.

So far this year, the rupee has weakened 0.6%, while foreign institutional investors have bought $1.85 billion from the local equity market and sold $165.10 million in the debt market.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 93.135, up 0.21% from its previous close of 92.944.

 

Source :.livemint.com

Non-Industrial Diamonds Top Export Earner In Fy16

India earned about $16.5 billion from the export of non-industrial diamonds, the top exported commodity in April-January 2015-16. It imported petroleum and crude oil worth $57.67 billion in the period.

This was revealed on Tuesday after the commerce ministry unveiled an online portal aimed at analysing foreign trade statistics.

Developed by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS), the portal is aimed at providing easy access to foreign trade data. "The ministry has drawn a lot of flak over falling exports, the figures for which need to made available to the public in an easy manner," a ministry official said on conditions of anonymity. The official said the initial plan was to put up data for five years.

The portal can be accessed by public.

India's cumulative merchandise exports for 2015-16 fell to $261 billion - a five-year low. The figure was $310 billion in the previous financial year, which had also seen a decline in exports. The cumulative export target, initially set by the government at $300 billion, was revised downwards to $260-270 billion last month after merchandise trade remained negative throughout the year. Exports had last recorded growth in November 2014, rising 7.2 per cent y-o-y. The website showed that the US was the top destination for Indian merchandise exports, with $33.67 billion worth of goods finding their way to the country, followed by the UAE ($25.10 billion) and Hong Kong ($9.67 billion).

 

Source:business-standard.com

India's April Gold Imports Down 67.3%

NEW DELHI: Gold imports fell sharply by 67.33 per cent to 19.6 tonnes in April 2016 as jewellers' strike opposing one per cent excise duty on non-silver jewellery significantly hit demand for the metal, according to gold and silver refiner MMTC Pamp.

"Gold imports declined to 19.6 tonnes in April, 2016 as against 60 tonnes in the year-ago period due to poor demand," a senior official at MMTC Pamp told PTI.

Of the total imports, bullion shipments were at 13.14 tonnes in April this year, down from 54 tonnes in the year-ago period, he said.

Citing reasons for the fall, the official said, "not much was imported due to poor demand in the wake of jewellers' strike in April. Whatever gold that was imported in January and February was being used."

Jewellery houses had remained closed since March 2 after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Budget proposed levying 1 per cent excise duty on non-silver jewellery. The 42-day strike was temporarily called off after the government assured that there will be no harassment by excise officials.

There was import of small quantity of gold for export purpose, but that has not been included in the total gold imports for April, he added.

MMTC Pamp is a joint venture between state-run MMTC and Switzerland's PAMP.

In 2015-16, the country is estimated to have imported 750 tonnes of gold, as against 971 tonnes in the preceding year. This does not include the imports done for export purpose, according to the MMTC Pamp.

India, the world's largest consumer of gold, imports around 800-900 tonnes of gold annually.

 

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com

Hazardous E-Waste: Apple Can't Import Or Sell Second-Hand Phones In India

NEW DELHI: The government has sounded out Apple that it is in-principle against allowing import and sale of second-hand phones in India to prevent dumping of hazardous electronic waste.

This deals a setback to the smartphone maker's expansion plans in a market where it sees huge potential amid overall slowdown of its sales.

"We conveyed our views on the matter and the representatives respected our stand," a senior government official said.

The government's views come as a dampener for Apple which has aggressive expansion plans in the fastest growing smartphone market in the world where the Cupertino-based smartphone maker sees huge potential.

This would be the second time Apple faced a roadblock to importing pre-owned certified or refurbished iPhones in a country where the US technology company seeks out price-conscious Indian consumers to grow its base.

Apple declined to comment to ET's query. The company had 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.

ET had reported last month that the views of the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DietY) views were communicated to the environment ministry and the Director General of Foreign Trade, that it did not support import of second-hand consumer products as it contributed to electronic waste being dumped in India.

Handset makers in India had also opposed Apple's move arguing that the move could potentially flood the market with second hand phones, severely hampering the government's Make in India program that is aimed at encouraging local manufacturing.

The American company, which has about 2% share of the booming Indian smartphone market by volume, has set its sights on India which CEO Tim Cook said separately on Tuesday, had "huge market potential" for its products.

Apple has continued to climb in India, and has increased shipments by 56% to make it the second fastest-growing vendor in the top 10 in the first quarter, Singapore-based research firm Canalys said Tuesday.

The iPhone and iPad maker is closing the gap with market leader Samsung in the over $300 (Rs 20,000) segment where it grew its market share to 29% in the first quarter of 2016, from 11% a year ago. Samsung's market share in the same category fell from 66% in the first quarter of 2015 to 41% in the same period of 2016.

India is important for the technology giant and it is "really putting energy" in the South Asian nation that will begin rolling out high-speed wireless broadband networks this year, Cook said in a TV interview with a US channel.

Cook said that the company has "great innovation" in the pipeline and new iPhones that will attract people in markets like India, equally recognizing India's massive young demographic as a ready market.

"India will be the most populous country in the world in 2022. India today has about 50% of their population at 25 years of age or younger. It's a very young country. People really want smartphones there," he said. Comments on India came on the back of iPhone sales growing 56% year-on-year.

 

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com

Slowing Indian Sugar Exports To Boost Thai, Brazil Sales In Asia

 An expected slowdown in Indian sugar exports as domestic prices surge, will boost the market share of Thai and Brazilian sugar in Asian markets, traders said on Tuesday.

India will soon scrap an order that requires sugar mills to export excess supply, two government officials said on Monday, after back-to-back droughts look set to turn the country into a net importer next season and open the door to rival suppliers.

Traders said the news came as little surprise as many had expected that India, the world's number 2 sugar producer after Brazil, would swing next season to a net importer from exporter after drought ravaged production.

India, also the world's top sugar consumer, has been a major source of low quality white sugar shipped to Myanmar, much of which was then smuggled into China, traders said.

Over the past several weeks, flows of white sugar to China have slowed after brisk trade into the country in the fourth quarter of last year, they added.

"With India now marginalised, and if Chinese demand does pick up again, the sugar (for China) will come from Thailand and other sources," a senior European physical trader said.

Indian mills are now prioritising sales to the local market to benefit from higher domestic prices as supplies tightened.

Traders said they expected Indian mills to lose market share in Asia to exporters from Thailand, Middle Eastern and Indian tolling refineries, as well as from Brazil.

Tolling means importing raw sugar, refining it into high quality white sugar and re-exporting it.

Traders said Thai sugar was likely to be the first choice of buyers in Asia as freight costs and shipping times were less than from Brazil.

However, current cheap freight costs had made Brazilian crystal, or 150-ICUMSA sugar, competitive with Thai and tolled supplies in Asian markets.

Excluding freight charges, traders quoted Brazilian crystal sugar at a $20-25 discount to benchmark August ICE white sugar futures , compared with $20 over futures for high quality, 45-ICUMSA Thai supplies.

Traders said they expected tight supplies of white sugar, combined with strong demand from markets in Asia, the Middle East and West Africa, to keep the whites-over-raws premium buoyant in coming months.

The nearby whites premium was in excess of $100 per tonne this week, a comfortable margin for refiners.

 

Soource :economictimes.indiatimes.com