Edible oils remained calm on Tuesday, as stockists avoided fresh buying and concentrated on taking deliveries of old commitments. Talk of a higher import duty kept the market cautious.
Bursa Malaysia Derivatives was closed for holiday, while domestic soya oil futures improved slightly. Volume was thin and need based in the ready market. Groundnut oil rose here by Rs 5 for 10 kg. Palmolein ruled steady. Soyabean and cotton refined oil dropped by Rs 3 and Rs 2 for 10 kg. Sunflower and rapeseed refined oils decline by Rs 5 and Rs 10 for 10 kg.
There was no fresh bulk commitment from stockists, as they have covered enough for February. Fear of a hike in import duty in the Budget has led traders to concentrate on taking deliveries of advance commitment made in the past to avoid any tax burden or dispute. In the spot market, resellers traded about 150-200 tonnes of palmolein at Rs 503-504 (excluding Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust) and at Rs 508-509 (excluding Shapur). There was no direct trade with refiners, as their prices were higher than resellers.
New arrivals of rapeseed-mustard seeds in Rajasthan and Gujarat and positive outlook for rabi oilseeds crops are putting pressure on the market sentiment. Palm oil inventory and output data for January from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board on Wednesdaywill give more trading clues.
Towards the end of the day, Liberty was quoting palmolein at Rs 511-513, super palmolein at Rs 560 and sunflower refined oil at Rs 800. Ruchi quoted palmolein at Rs 510, soyabean refined oil at Rs 695 and sunflower refined oil at Rs 775. Allana offered palmolein at Rs 510 and super palmolein at Rs 560. In Saurashtra and Rajkot, groundnut oil ruled unchanged at Rs 1,920 for a 15-kg telia tin and at Rs 1,240 for loose (10 kg).
On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange, soyabean refined oil’s March contract was up at Rs 702.35 (Rs 694.35), April at Rs 691.80 (Rs 685.70) and May at Rs 690 (Rs 686.30). Last week, Malaysia’s crude palm oil’s March contracts settled at MYR2,534, April at MYR2,560 and May at MYR2579 a tonne.
Mumbai nominal spot rates (Rs/10 kg): groundnut oil 1,240 (1,235), soya refined oil 695(698), sunflower exp. ref. 710 (715), sunflower ref. 780 (785), rapeseed ref. oil 775 (785), rapeseed expeller ref. 745(755) cottonseed ref. oil 605 (607) and palmolein 507 (507).
Vikram Global Commodities, Chennai quoted Rs 568 for Malaysian super palmolein.