| Oil prices remain near US$99 a barrel but market seen staying bullish
Oil prices were barely higher Friday from the previous session's close after setting a record above US$100 a barrel overnight on a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude stockpiles. Light, sweet crude for February delivery was up 4 cents to US$99.22 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Europe. On Thursday, the contract rose as high as US$100.09 a barrel, a trading record, before retreating to settle at US$99.18. In London, Brent crude fell 8 cents Friday to US$97.52 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. The U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said Thursday that crude inventories fell 4 million barrels last week, much more than the 1.7 million barrel decline analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires, on average, had expected.
Sensex dips 612 points
Indian markets opened positive and after first two hours of volatile trade came crashing down and the benchmark BSE Sensex closed the day with 612.56 points loss at 17,526.93. The broader 50 share Nifty closed 3.56 per cent lower at 5133.25 amidst talk of a large chunk of selling in the Nifty Futures. Though domestic market sentiment could have been affected by the warning that India would grow slower at the rate of 8.7 in 2007/2008, market participants said it was basket selling in frontline, large cap stocks that triggered the crash. The situation in the primary markets too worsened as Wockhardt Hospitals had received only 20 per cent of subscriptions to its IPO by 5 pm on the closing day, even after cutting its issue price once and extending the subscription date. The provisional figures from the National Stock Exchange indicated foreign institutional investors were net sellers to the extent of 860 crore while domestic funds net buyers of Rs 230 crore.
SEC to consider CBOE rule on trading rights
U.S. securities regulators plan to consider this week a Chicago Board Options Exchange rule aimed at eliminating trading rights held by certain members of futures exchange CME Group Inc. Settling the issue is critical for the largest U.S. options market to complete a year-long process of converting from a member-owned organization into a for-profit, shareholder company, which would pave the way for an initial public offering. CBOE has been in legal dispute over the trading rights issue with CME, which was formed last summer after Chicago Mercantile Holdings merged with Chicago Board of Trade's parent CBOT Holdings Inc. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to decide on Wednesday on whether to approve a proposed CBOE rule change that would eliminate eligible Chicago Board of Trade members from trading at the options exchange, according to a SEC meeting notice on its Web site late last week.
Pork producers have opportunities to lock-in profits
With feed prices high and headed higher, pork producers may continue to see losses at least through the first quarter of 2008. That's according to USDA's Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook, which the Agency released Friday. But a noted hog marketing expert says the futures market is providing opportunities for pork producers to avoid red ink next year.
The USDA report said for the first quarter of 2008, hog prices are expected to average between $38 and $40 dollars a hundredweight, more than 15% below a year ago. USDA estimated production costs in the low-to-mid $50's per hundredweight and also said most hog producers are likely to lose money in 2008. But University of Missouri livestock economist Glenn Grimes told Brownfield taking advantage of strength in lean hog futures at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) may help pork producers avoid that prediction.
Shock for food prices as wheat futures rocket
THE price of wheat on the JSE futures exchange broke through R4000 a ton yesterday to a new record on supply concerns, making increases in the price of bread and other foodstuffs inevitable. After hovering around R3900 a ton for some time, the future prices for delivery in May broke the psychological barrier of R4000 a ton, and the price for delivery in July closed at R4000, although it was as high as R4030 during the day yesterday. Wheat prices have now more than doubled from R1878 a ton a year ago, and further increases are expected. Milling and bread companies warned yesterday that with the steep hike in the price of wheat, further increases in the price of bread were unavoidable.
NCEL launches awareness drive for rice trading
KARACHI: National Commodities Exchange Limited (NCEL) on Monday launched a month-long pre-launch programme and investor awareness drive ahead of the commencement of listing and trading of its IRRI-6 Rice Futures Contract.
Managing Director Assim Jang said NCEL will be in Kandhkot, in upper Sindh, holding the first of investor awareness seminars aimed at informing the potential participants, including growers, millers, traders and exporters of the details of Futures Trading in IRRI-6 rice and encouraging their participation.
We have chosen these areas to start out investor awareness drive as they are the trading hubs of IRRI-6 rice, Assim said adding, we feel it is important to reach out to the key participants in our market on a one-to-one basis, they will not only ultimately benefit from this new contract, but also will provide NCEL with the necessary depth and liquidity, he added.
Cost of corn pinches plants
High corn prices have created a cash-flow problem for a South Dakota ethanol plant.
Poet Biorefining in Chancellor has borrowed $6.3 million from its partner, Poet, in response to an increase in the price of corn futures that shows little sign of abating.
On Jan. 14, the Chancellor ethanol company and Poet agreed to a short-term loan to be repaid Feb. 13, including interest at an annual rate of 9.25 percent. According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the money was needed to cover margin calls triggered by a price increase in the corn futures market at the Chicago Board of Trade. "We did not have the necessary funds from operations to cover the margin calls," General Manager Rick Serie wrote in the filing.
The plant, which produced about 51 million gallons of ethanol last year, was securing grain with plans to distill 100 million gallons this year.
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