India May Import 3 Lakh Tn Natural Rubber From Thailand

New Delhi, (PTI) Faced with rubber shortage, India is looking to import about three lakh tonnes (LT) of natural rubber from Thailand to meet its domestic requirement.

Indias annual demand for natural rubber is more than 10 lakh tonnes, while the domestic production is stagnant at about 5 lakh tonnes.

"The rubber authority of Thailand is offering about 3 lakh tonnes of natural rubber to India. Negotiations have started between the domestic tyre, rubber industry and the Thai authority," All India Rubber Industries President Mohinder Gupta said.

A high-level delegation of Thailand, comprising governor of its rubber authority Titus Suksaard, is on a visit to India for negotiations. "As of now we are in talks with Indian industry players to export about 3 lakh tonnes of natural rubber," Suksaard said adding that Thailand want to at least double its exports of natural rubber to India to 4 lakh tonnes. Suksaard also invited Indian rubber and tyre industry to invest in the proposed rubber city which is being established in Thailand for rubber and tyre industry.
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"In view of the rising gap in domestic production and demand of natural rubber, the visit of Thailand delegation has significance and it will yield good results for both the countries," All India Tyre Manufacturers Association Director General Rajiv Budhraja said.

The domestic rubber production declined 13 per cent to 5.63 lakh tonnes in 2015-16, while imports during the period rose by 3 per cent to 4.54 lakh tonnes.

In April last year, the government hiked the import duty on natural rubber to 25 per cent or Rs 30 per kg, whichever is lower, to protect the interest of domestic growers and curb imports.

 

Source:indiatoday.intoday.in

Halting Diesel Imports May Not Translate Into Huge Savings For Oil Companies

 The latest strategy worked out by Indian Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to stop importing costly diesel from the international market and source cheaper fuel from domestic private refiners would not translate into significant savings for the state-run firms or have any noticeable impact on the country’s fuel bill, according to experts.

India consumed nearly 74 million tonnes of diesel last financial year. Around 180,000 tonnes – or a miniscule 0.2% -- of this demand was met through imports. The diesel imports came at a cost of Rs 655 crore, around 0.1% of the country’s total oil import bill of Rs 4,82,000 crore in 2015-16.

“The volume and value of imports is miniscule. India is a net exporter when it comes to petroleum products including diesel. And the exports are only going to rise with the commissioning of IOC’s Paradip refinery. The impact of the deal with private refiners, in terms of gain for OMCs or the effect on oil imports, would not be a directional change. Also, as private refineries are mostly export oriented, it does not make much sense for the firms to sell the product in the domestic market a cheaper rate,” said a senior analyst from a consultancy firm.

Rising domestic demand and subdued global prices have so far fuelled Indian diesel imports, which have more than doubled from 84,000 tonnes in 2013-14. Also, private refiners had refused to bear central sales tax and coastal freight costs. The situation has now turned on its head.

Asia’s gasoil crack for the benchmark 500 parts per million (ppm) grade has risen to nearly $12 per barrel, almost double the value on 6 April as strong demand driven by a severe dry season has bolstered the market. Besides, the OMCs have been able to convince private refiners on sharing of sales tax and inter-state coastal freight costs.

“There have been discussions with the private refiners for quite some time on this issue. Now a final deal has been struck. Our Chairman has also said that imports were resorted to last fiscal only to meet the emergency demands in some parts of the country,” said a senior executive from Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).

News agency Reuters has reported India's state refiners may halt diesel imports after working out a temporary mechanism to resume buying the fuel from private processors if global diesel prices remain at current levels.

 

Source:.business-standard.com

India Cotton Exports Drop On Thin Supply Pushing Prices Higher

MUMBAI: Cotton exports from India, the world's biggest producer, have nearly halted as local prices have rallied due to tight supplies because of drought, forcing key importers like Bangladesh, Pakistan and Vietnam to turn to other suppliers.

The freeze in export will prompt Brazil, Australia and United States to raise shipments and has pushed global prices to near their highest since August.

The price rise could subsequently push up fabric and clothing prices and put pressure on the margins of garment makers.

"In last three-four weeks Indian exporters could not sign a deal. Our cotton is more expensive than Brazilian or Australian supplies," said Chirag Patel, chief executive officer at Jaydeep Cotton Fibers Pvt. Ltd, a leading exporter.

The landed cost of Indian cotton for buyers in Pakistan and Bangladesh is at 75 cents to 76 cents per lb compared to around 73 cents for Brazilian cotton, he said.

Pakistan and Bangladesh prefer Indian cotton due to lower freight charges


Local cotton spot market prices have surged 10 per cent from a month ago to Rs 38,400 per candy of 356 kg (73.5 cents per lb) due to limited supplies after consecutive droughts cut production. A candy is equivalent to about two Indian bales of 170 kg each.

India may produce about 34.1 million bales of cotton in the 2015/16 season that started on October 1, down from last year's output of 38.3 million, the Cotton Association of India (CAI) estimates.

India has exported around 6.5 million bales of cotton so far during the 2015/16 season, with Bangladesh and Pakistan accounting for more than half of the total exports, said Dhiren Sheth, president of CAI. In 2014/15 India exported 6 million bales.

Cotton supplies in spot markets have been dwindling even as domestic textile units are ramping up purchases, Patel said.

In October to April cotton supplies in Indian spot markets fell 12.5 per cent from a year ago.

"The industry failed to judge the impact of drought on the production. Output turned out lower than the initial estimate," said a dealer with a global trading firm.

"Now textile units are aggressively buying to make sure they have stocks for the next four months."

The new cotton crop starts arriving from late September, but this year supplies could start from mid-October as sowing has been held up in key producing states because of a delay in the monsoon rains, said a trader based in Rajkot, Gujarat.

 

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com

Extend Incentives In Gems And Jewellery Exports: Assocham Urges Government

KOLKATA: Apex industry body Assocham on Wednesday urged the government to extend incentives like interest subvention, merchandise exports from India scheme (MEIS) and others to promote gems and jewellery (G&J) exports that have been marred by global slowdown thereby putting at risk livelihood of over 30 lakh people employed by the sector across India.

"G&J exports from India are likely to remain under pressure this year as well, even though there are indications of improvement in business sentiment in United States of America (USA) which takes nearly half of country's diamond jewellery production," noted an Assocham paper titled '2015-16: A year of dismal export performance for India.'

"Though market share of the USA and Hong Kong in diamond and precious stones' exports has expanded to 29 per cent and 36 per cent respectively over the last few years, market share of the UAE has fallen steadily from one-fifth a few years ago to less than one-tenth of the total exports," noted the paper prepared by the Assocham Economic Research Bureau (AERB).

While import of rough diamonds and semi-precious stones have fallen by over 11 per cent in FY2015-16, the net diamond exports and semi-precious stones have declined by about 43 per cent year-on-year i.e. from $4.2 billion (bn) in 2014-15 to just $2.4 bn in 2015-16.

Besides, exports of jewellery have also fallen by about 17 per cent i.e. from $13.2 bn in 2014-15 to $11 bn in 2015-16. Dubai and Thailand are fast emerging as major jewellery manufacturing hub as a lot of Indian businesses are setting up units there.

The Gold Monetisation Scheme might help reduce reliance on import of gold to meet domestic demand and may have some positive impact during the course of the year, the paper observed.

Assocham has reiterated its appeal to the government for granting 'industry status,' to the gems and jewellery sector to give a fillip to investments and bring down costs of operation as that would also help build trust and faith in Indian brands in global markets and in achieving goals of Make in India.

Modernisation of labour laws, requirement of more export-oriented economic zones, establishment of a gold board, ensuring access to better financing, relaxation of certain taxation laws, segregation of investment and consumption demand, setting up a gold tourism circuit are certain key areas focus on which can help in reviving the G&J sector in the country.

Impact of falling global prices and export volumes has not only affected the G&J sector but petroleum products' exports have also plummeted by over 46 per cent i.e. from about $67 bn to $30.4 bn during the aforementioned period. "This seems to be much larger problem as Indian firms are losing their share in global markets."

The Assocham paper has also suggested for replacing power looms that account for about 65 per cent of fabric production in India by modern shuttle-less weaving equipment, besides it is also required to diversify its export markets away from a few countries in the European Union and the USA to nearby countries in the Asian continent.

Further, Assocham has recommended to urgently put in place the long-pending goods and services tax (GST) to reduce the burden of un-refunded state level taxes to make India's exports competitive.

It has also suggested the government to set up a high-level committee to look into costs of inter-state barriers to trade and suggest a time-bound roadmap to address the same as that would not only provide much-needed relief to the export sector but weld India into a single market much bigger than EU in terms of population.

 

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com

Rbi Sets Rupee Reference Rate At 66.83 Against Us Dollar

The Reserve Bank of India today fixed the reference rate of the rupee at 66.83 against the US dollar and 75.91 for the euro.

These rates were 66.96 and 75.94, respectively, yesterday.

According to an RBI statement, the exchange rates for the pound and the yen against the rupee were quoted at 96.93 and 62.10 per 100 yens, respectively, based on reference rates for the dollar and cross-currency quotes at noon.

The SDR-rupee figure will be based on this rate, the statement added.

Source:- http://ift.tt/15HW3lL

Anti-Dumping Duty On Chemical Import From China, Russia

New Delhi, June 6 () Government has imposed anti- dumping duty of USD 122.14-279.78 per tonne on import of a chemical, used in pharmaceutical and fragrance sectors, from China and Russia to protect domestic manufacturers.

The levy on the import of 'Dichloromethane (Methylene Chloride)' will remain in place for a period of five years from December 2015, the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) said through a notification.

In December last year, a provisional anti-dumping was imposed on such imports.

The definitive duty follows a recommendation for the same by Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD).

CBEC said the DGAD in its final findings had concluded that the Methylene Chloride has been exported to India from the two countries has been below normal values and the domestic industry suffered "material injury" by the dumped imports.

The DGAD had made the case for definitive anti-dumping duty on the imports to remove injury to the domestic industry.

Acting on complaint of Chemplast Sanmar and Gujarat Fluorochemicals, the DGAD had initiated a probe in April last year to ascertain if the chemical was being dumped into India at below normal value.

Methylene Chloride is used in the manufacturing of polycarbonate and phenolic resins, rayon yarn, pharmaceuticals, agro and fragrance. It is also used as an extractant for edible fats, cocoa, butter and essences.
WTO member countries are allowed to apply anti-dumping measures on imports of a product if the exporting company ships the product at a price lower than the price it normally charges in its home market and the dumped imports cause or threaten to cause injury to the domestic industry.

 

 

Source:imesofindia.indiatimes.com

Government Weighs Doubling Capacity Of Lng Import Terminal

NEW DELHI: India plans to more than double its liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal capacity in six years to cater to the rising natgas demand from refineries, fertilizer and power plants.

Plans to set up new terminals and expand existing facilities will push up LNG terminal capacity to 47.5 million metric tonne per annum (mmtpa) by 2022 from the current 21.3 mmtpa, according to an oil ministry document.

In 2015-16, the natural gas consumption in the country rose barely 2 per cent to 52 billion cubic meters, of which 40 per cent was imported as LNG. But in the last few months, the consumption has soared, rising 14 per cent in April, banking on cheaper imports that rose 45 per cent.
Government weighs doubling capacity of LNG import terminal
As the economy expands and industries and households increase their consumption of natural gas, the dependence on imported LNG will only increase since the domestic output has been declining for years. A three-fourths collapse in natural gas prices in two years has made imports attractive.

The fertilizer and power sectors have been key consumers of the natural gas in the country, depending mostly on domestic output, while refineries and petrochemicals plants have relied more on imported gas.

The imported gas is liquefied at source and carried by ships to LNG import terminals where it is regassified for further supply. With expanding need for imports, Indian also needs to add more LNG terminal capacity.

Currently, there are four LNG terminals at Dahej and Hazira in Gujarat, Dabhol in Maharashtra and Kochi in Kerala. The recently-built Kochi terminal is barely functional due to the delay in the construction of pipeline planned to connect the terminal with the consumers.

 The capacity at Dahej is expected to expand to reach 15 million tonne by the year end from 10 million tonne at present, and further to 17.5 million tonne in future, according to the oil ministry document.

A new LNG terminal at Ennor in Tamil Nadu , being built by state-run Indian Oil Corporation BSE 0.28 %, with a capacity of 5 million tonne, is expected to be completed in three years.

Adani group is developing a 5 million tonne capacity at Dhamra in Odisha while Shell and GAIL BSE -0.07 % plan to set up a 5 million tonne terminal at Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh.

 

Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com

India To Soon Run Out Of $70-Bn Oilmeals Market

 India is steadily making an exit from the $70-bn oilmeals markets, due to non-availability of seeds for crushing and emergence of alternative supply sources on bumper oilseed crops there. Seed crushing mills have sought immediate relaxation in government policies for India to regain its lost glory in global oilseed markets.

Until three years ago, India used to contribute over 5 per cent in global oilmeals trade with availability of abundance of oilseeds from local sources. India's oilmeals exports, however, have declined by a staggering 94 per cent at a mere 7,737 tonnes in May 2016 as compared to 121,339 tonnes in the corresponding month last year.

Falling oilmeals exports have worsened financial health of Indian seed crushing mills. Most of them, therefore, have reduced their operating capacity to less than 50 per cent to reduce their losses which they incur currently at around Rs 1,000-1,500 for per tonne of seed crushing.

"India will soon go out of global oilmeals markets if the current trend in its exports continues," said B V Mehta, Executive Director, Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA).

Over the last three years, India's oilmeals exports have witnessed a free fall due to rapid change in global business environment. From the level of 4.38 million tonnes in 2013-14, India's oilmeals exports slumped to 2.47 million tonnes in 2014-15 and further 1.21 million tonnes in 2015-16. Trade sources estimate less than one million tonnes of oilmeals exports from India during the current financial year i.e. 2016-17.

Indian oilmeals exporters have been facing multiple problems which affected its shipment. Because of the fixation of the minimum support price (MSP) of oilseeds, mills have been unable to buy seeds from farmers below the MSP resulting into higher cost of meal production. Since vegetable oil prices remained subdued, domestic crushing unit face negative parity. Thus, domestic mills focus on import of refined oil for blending and repacking directly in local units instead of crushing of locally originated seeds and concentrate on trading business rather than manufacturing of oil and its derivatives - oilmeals.

The scenario has changed due to bumper soybean output in the world's three major producing countries including Argentina, Brazil and United States. Consequently, countries like China have started importing soybean from all over to process locally. This has reduced China's dependence on imported oilmeals.

Meanwhile, Iran, the largest importer of Indian oilmeals until 2013-14, was facing global economic sanctions which prompted the Islamic country to turn to India for its bird/animal feed requirement. Since the economic sanctions have been lifted by the Western powers, Iran has almost stopped import of oilmeals from India now. Iran currently meets over a million tonnes of its oilmeals requirement from cheaper alternative sources including United States, Argentina and Brazil. Meals supply from these countries stands $100-150 lower than that from India.

Similarly, Japan used to import around half a million tonnes of oilmeals from India until three - four years ago, has now started importing oilmeals extracted from genetically modified (GM) seeds. Since, India produces meals from non-GM seeds, its extraction works out costlier than GM.

"Therefore, the government needs to change its policy for oilseeds and allow sowing of GM. Import of GM seeds should also be allowed for crushing locally. Otherwise, India's exports of meals would come to standstill," said Kanubhai Thakkar, Managing Director, Gokul Refoils and Solvent Ltd (producer of Gokul brand oils).

Import of oilseeds in India is currently non-remunerative due to levy 30 per cent tax. Also, import of GM oilseeds is not allowed in India.

"GM seeds fetch at least three times more output. Allowing GM plantings in oilseeds would not only bring higher output for farmers but also make cost of oil and oilmeal productions lower as farmers would be able to sell their seed output at lower than MSP in case markets turns unfavourable," said Thakkar.

 

Source:business-standard.

India May Halt Diesel Imports, Deal With Private Refiners: Sources

NEW DELHI: India .s state refiners may halt diesel imports after working out a temporary mechanism to resume buying the fuel from private processors if global diesel prices remain at current levels, two refinery sources said.

State refiners stepped up imports in recent months after private refiners refused to continue absorbing sales tax and coastal freight costs, making the domestic fuel more expensive.

Indian imports were a factor behind the stronger Asian gasoil crack, which has been holding near $12 a barrel for the fifth straight session on Monday, after almost doubling to $11.74 on June 2 from this year's low on April 6.

Under the latest arrangement, private refiners will pay the central sales tax and state-run marketing firms will pay coastal freight costs for interstate cargoes shipped from plants in western Gujarat state, the sources said.

India's diesel use is rising along with an economy that grew by 7.6 percent in the financial year to March 31. In the last fiscal year India's diesel demand grew 7.5 percent, its fastest pace in four years.

To meet this soaring demand, the three state-owned firms last year bought some 12 million tonnes of diesel from the private oil processors.

 State-owned Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp sell the bulk of diesel consumed in India.

Diesel is used as a transport fuel but also for power generators and in irrigation systems and heavy equipment, including those for farming.

The approaching Monsoon in parts of India could reduce the need for power generators as the weather cools.

 

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com

Copper Majors Demand Abolition Of Import Duty

NEW DELHI: Indian copper majors have demanded abolition of duty on imported raw material and restoration of export duty incentives as their capacities lie underutilised.

Hindalco Industries BSE 2.29 %, Hindustan Copper BSE 0.00 % and Vedanta have asked the government to remove the current import duty of 2.5% on copper concentrate.

"The industry is dependent on imports as only 4% reserves are available in India whose rights vest with state-owned Hindustan Copper Ltd, while rest 96% is imported, Hindalco Group Executive President, Head (Copper Business) JC Laddha said.

The mines ministry has recommended to the revenue department to abolish the duty, Mines Secretary Balvinder Singh told ET.

The three companies have a combined annual capacity to produce one million tonnes. The capacities are underutilised by about 22% as copper imports from Japan and Asean firms have increased, he said.

India's consumption of copper is at 6.25 lakh tonne while imports are around 4 lakh tonne. India's Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Japan and Asean countries allow imports of finished products at lesser duty, giving rise to an inverted duty structure. The inverted duty structure incentivises imports of finished goods rather than imports of raw material for local manufacturing, Sterlite Copper Chief Executive Officer P Ramnath said.

 

 

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

Rupee Closes Weaker Against Us Dollar At 67.17

Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Monday weakened against the US dollar, tracking losses in the Asian currencies markets. Traders are also cautious ahead of an event-heavy week.

The home currency closed at 67.17, down 0.2% from its previous close of 67.04. The rupee opened at 67.23 per US dollar and touched a low of 67.37.

Most Asian currencies closed lower. South Korean won was down 1.05%, Malaysian ringgit 0.94%, Japanese yen 0.71%, Indonesian rupiah 0.39%, Taiwan dollar 0.34%, China renminbi 0.24%, China offshore 0.22%, Philippines peso 0.15%, Thai baht fell 0.1%, Singapore dollar 0.1%.

The government will issue the gross domestic product (GDP) and fiscal deficit data on 31 May after 5.30pm. Gross value added (GVA) would have grown by 7.2% in the March quarter compared with 7.1% in the December quarter, while GDP growth will be at 7.5% from 7.3% a quarter ago, a Bloomberg poll showed.

India’s benchmark Sensex index rose 0.27%, or 72 points, to 26,725. In the last five days, the Sensex has gained 5.61% or 1,420 points. So far this year, the Sensex has gained 2.33%.

On Wednesday, India, the US and China will announce manufacturing Purchasing Mangers Index, while on Thursday, the US will announce jobs data and crude oil inventories along with factory orders data.

Traders will be also cautious on a possible June rate hike in the US. The US Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) meet scheduled for 14-15 June will decide whether or not to increase key lending rates.

So far this year, the rupee has weakened 1.55%, while foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have bought $2.03 billion from the local equity market and sold $1.16 billion in debt markets.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 95.678, up 0.16% from its previous close of 95.521.

Meanwhile, India’s 10-year bond yield closed at 7.461%, as compared with its Friday’s close of 7.471%.

 

Source:livemint.com

Cil Coal Price Tweak To Impact Power Tariff: Sources

KOLKATA: The largest miner Coal India's price rise will increase power tariff as impact on regulated sector coal is 8 per cent.

While the overall price hike would be about 6.2 per cent, the effect on regulated (power) sector would be about 8 per cent, sources told PTI.

Coal India  has revised low grade coal price up to 19 per cent. Revision of coal price will fetch it additional revenue of about Rs 3,900 crore.

But, the soft global coal forced Coal India to stay competitive with imported coal and has reduced price between two and 29 per cent.

Sources said, "existing price of G1 to G-5 has been reduced from 2 per cent to 29 per cent to make it competitive with international coal".

 

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com

Dri Unearths Scam In Import Of Chatons, Beads

Ahmedabad: The investigations by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) into the last week's seizure of chaton and glass beads has revealed that crores of customs duty is being evaded by importers in various parts of country by undermining the value of imported goods and at the same time, huge amount of money is being sent through hawala to China.

Last week, the Jamnagar unit of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) had seized 19 tonnes of chaton and glass beads worth Rs 1.9 crore from two premises in Rajkot belonging to Dhirubhai.

   The duty evasion was about Rs 60 lakh as chaton and glass beads attract around 28% duty.

Upon questioning, Dhirubhai told DRI that he had purchased these glass chatons from China and given a contract to an agent in Mumbai to smuggle them through Nhava Sheva port in Mumbai. The chatons were imported by concealing in normal goods containers for onward delivery to him in Rajkot when it was detected.


Further investigation revealed that in the last one year, Dhirubhai had illegally imported over Rs 20 crore worth of chaton and glass beads thereby evading duty of more than Rs 6 crore.


Explaining the modus operandi, a DRI official said, "In case of the Rajkot seizure, in the bill of entries chatons were mentioned as Rs 160 per kg whereas the actual cost was Rs 600 per kg. The difference amount was paid by Dhirubhai to men of Chinese suppliers in cash. This cash was then sent to China through hawala."

 

Source:timesofindia.indiatimes.com

India Among Top 10 Steel Importers In 2015: Wsa

NEW DELHI: India, the world's third largest steel producer, was among the top 10 importers of the alloy last year, according to the latest data by the global industry body World Steel Association (WSA).

India imported 13.3 million tonnes (MT) of the metal in 2015 and was just a notch up from China, which imported 13.2 MT of steel during the same period.

According to the WSA data, European Union as a bloc imported 37.7 MT of steel last year, which was followed by the US (36.5 MT), Germany (24.8 MT), South Korea (21.7 MT), Italy (19.9 MT), Turkey (18.6 MT), Vietnam (16.3 MT), Thailand (14.6 MT), France (13.7 MT) and India (13.3 MT).

According to Indian government data, steel imports rose by 25.6 per cent to 11.71 MT during the 2015-16 financial year against 9.32 MT in the year-ago period. India was a net importer of the metal in the last fiscal.

WSA data also showed that India exported 7.6 MT of steel in 2015, which was just a fraction of what its neighbour China exported during the same period at 111.6 MT.

Admitting that Indian steel sector is going through stress for some time due to rising imports, steel minister Narendra Singh Tomar had earlier this month assured the Rajya Sabha that government will take all steps to promote and safeguard the industry.

"It has come to the notice of the government that imports from China, Japan and Korea have increased, which is creating trouble for domestic industry and also causing losses to it."

"Government has made efforts to check this by steps like imposing anti-dumping duty, safeguard duty on imported steel products and policy announcement on minimum import price (MIP). After these steps, the pressure on the steel industry is gradually coming down," he had told the Upper House.

 

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

India To Finalize Rice Export Deal With Indonesia Soon: Trade Secretary

NEW DELHI: India, the world's biggest rice exporter, will soon finalize a non-basmati rice exports contract with Indonesia in a rare government-to-government deal,

Trade Secretary Rita Teaotia said on Monday, as rice prices started firming up following drought in key producing countries.

India could ask the state-run Food Corporation of India to sell around 1 million tonnes rice from its stockpile to Indonesia, the world's leading rice importer , industry officials said.

Rice prices in Asia are hovering around their highest levels in two years.

 

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com

Rupee Trades Higher At 67.24 Against Us Dollar

Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Thursday strengthened for the second consecutive session against the US dollar, after the local equity market gained for the third session.

At 2.05pm, the home currency was trading at 67.24, up 0.15% from its previous close of 67.34. The rupee opened at 67.33 per US dollar and touched a high of 67.22, a level last seen on 19 May.

India’s benchmark Sensex index rose 1.29% or 327.23 points to 26,208.40. Since the last three days, Sensex has gained 3.9% or 980 points. So far this year, Sensex has gained 0.2%.

The gains in Asian peers also boosted the sentiment for the rupee.

Most Asian currencies gained today. Indonesian rupiah was up 0.31%, Malaysian ringgit 0.2%, Philippines peso 0.2%, Thai baht 0.19%, Japanese yen 0.15% and Taiwan dollar 0.05%. However, South Korean won was down 0.07% and China renminbi 0.05%.

So far this year, the rupee has weakened 1.6%, while foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have bought $1.84 billion from the local equity market and sold $1.14 billion in debt markets.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 95.271, down 0.09% from its previous close of 95.354.

Meanwhile, India’s 10-year bond yield was trading at 7.467%, as compared with its Wednesday’s close of 7.464%.

 

Source:.livemint.com

Honda Imports Grom For Testing In India

Two-wheeler maker Honda has imported it's Navi like scooter Grom to India, fuelling fresh round of whispers about the launch of the model in the country. A record of Zauba, which tracks India's import and export data, shows that a unit of the Grom has been imported from Japan.

According to the record, the Grom was imported for the purpose of testing and research and development in India. The Grom is a two-wheeler crossover like the Navi in India, which is powered by a 125cc air-cooled single-cylinder four-speed engine four-speed gearbox.

It runs on 12-inch wheels and features LED taillight, front and rear disc brake, upside down front fork and digital instrument cluster. It will not come as a surprise if Honda decides to bring the Grom to the Indian market as the company's Navi is garnering considerably good response.

So far Honda has sold over 5,000 units of the Navi since its launch in early April. It has been priced at Rs. 39,500 (ex-showroom Delhi). There have also been rumours that Honda is also planning to roll out a powerful version of the Navi with 125cc engine at the heart. The current Navi is powered by a 109cc 4-stroke, SI engine, which can churn out 7.83bhp of power at 7,000rpm and 8.96Nm of peak torque at 5,500Nm.

 

Source:.ibtimes.co.

Slow Domestic Consumption, Exports Will Affect Spinners' Business: Icra

Slow growth in domestic consumption and exports will pose a challenge for profitability of spinners if the demand growth remains muted in FY2017, says ICRABSE 5.95 % in its research update on Indian spinning industry.

High dependence on exports to China and resulting sensitivity of India's exports to China's policy on reserve cotton stock has always warranted a cautious outlook on India's yarn exports, says the report.

According to Mr. Anil Gupta, AVP, Corporate Sector Ratings, ICRA Ltd, "The slow pace of growth in spun yarn production has been driven by factors like tepid domestic consumption and limited growth in exports. With cautious outlook on cotton yarn exports, domestic demand growth will determine the production growth going forward".

As per ICRA estimates, the domestic consumption growth for FY2016 is expected to be ~1.4% (~7.6% in FY2015) for cotton yarn and 3.1% (~6.3% in FY 2015) for spun yarn. This is the lowest level of domestic consumption growth since FY2013. The growth in cotton yarn exports has also been slow with exports of ~1,302 million Kg in FY2016E, which reflects ~3.7% growth (47.5% and 18.3% growth witnessed in FY2013 and FY2014).

In terms of cotton yarn production growth, Industry has witnessed slowest pace of production growth in FY16, which is estimated to have grown by ~2.0% to ~4,136 million Kg and is lowest in last four years. Cotton yarn production had grown by 14.6%, 9.6% and 3.2% in FY2013, FY2014 and FY2015 respectively.

Since cotton yarn accounts for 3/4th of India's yarn production, , India's total spun yarn production has also emulated this trend with a ~3.2% growth in FY2016 vis-a-vis 11.3%, 9.1% and 3.4% growth in FY2013, FY2014 and FY2015 respectively, which is also the lowest in last four year. In ICRA's View, the marginally higher growth in total spun yarn production compared to cotton yarn production in FY2016 reflects an increased share of manmade/blended spun yarn aided by enhanced competitiveness of polyester fibre, given the sharper decline in polyester prices compared to cotton prices.

Slow growth in domestic consumption and export is leading to lower growth in production and will if demand growth remains muted in FY2017, maintaining the capacity utilization and profitability can be a challenge for the domestic spinning ind.

 

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com

Cil Eyes Export Market In Bangladesh

KOLKATA: Coal IndiaBSE 0.00 % intends to export coal and is in talks with power companies in Bangladesh for striking supply deals. This is the first time Coal India will be exporting the fossil fuel on a commercial basis.

Coal India subsidiaries, Bharat Coking Coal and North Eastern Coalfields, plan to supply coal to Bangladesh power companies. It is likely to be transported to Haldia port in West Bengal from where it could be forwarded through sea route to ports in Bangladesh.

"CIL's coal is likely to be cheaper than the ones supplied from Indonesia because we would save on logistics.The coal produced by these two subsidiaries are of high quality that can compete with Indonesian coal," a Coal India official said.

 

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com

Government Seen Holding Off For Now On Reducing Raw Sugar Import Tax

MUMBAI/LONDON: Government are expected to hold off before cutting or cancelling a 40 percent raw sugar import duty as a last resort to tackle surging domestic prices as the country shifts from net exporter to importer.

Soaring domestic sugar prices in the world's second-biggest producer, where drought has cut yields in the main growing regions such as Maharashtra, mean that mills will increasingly spurn the export market.

The south Asian nation's production in the current year ending September 30 is likely to drop following two drought years in a row.

The federal government has asked state governments to impose stock limits on sugar to avoid hoarding by traders.

Traders spoke of market talk that India could move to either reduce or cancel the raw sugar import duty.

However, no imminent action was expected.

"I don't think the government will scrap the import duty any time soon," said Rohit Pawar, chief executive of Baramati Agro, which operates sugar mills in Maharashtra.

"Yes, sugar prices have risen in the past few months but now they are running just above production cost. In the past few years mills have incurred huge losses as they were forced to sell sugar below production cost.

"In such a situation duty-free imports can depress local prices and cane payment arrears will start rising."

A government official, who declined to be identified, said, "Right now there is no proposal (to scrap the import duty) on the table."

A Mumbai-based dealer with a global trading firm said the government had to maintain a delicate balance between the interests of farmers and consumers.

Aggressive steps to dampen prices, such as a cut in the raw sugar import duty, could damage the central government's image among farmers.

" duty-free import is the last weapon the government has to control price rises," the dealer said.

"It will do it in phased manner. From 40 percent, it will first reduce the duty to 20 percent. If prices rally even after the reduction, only then it will allow duty-free imports."

European traders said they also doubted that Indian authorities would move soon to cut or cancel the duty, as stocks in India were sufficiently high to make such a move unnecessary for now.

 

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com