Japanese copper cable may recover: Japanese copper wire and cable shipments are likely to recover somewhat in the next fiscal year because the government's stimulus measures are expected to prop up the nation's economy, an industry official said on Thursday. But shipments in the year starting on April 1 are unlikely to return to the level seen in 1997/98, given a prospect that firmer long-term interest rates could pressure capital spending, said Michio Arai, senior managing director of the Japanese Electric Wire and Cable Makers' Association. Arai said the association had yet to make projections for copper wire and cable shipments in 1999/2000, but he personally expected they would be somewhere between 940,000 and 1.03 million tonnes. "In mypersonal view, shipments will likely be between the two figures. But I don't have much hope for shipments exceeding one million tonnes," Arai said at a news conference. In 1998/99, Japanese copper wire and cable shipments are expected to total 940,000 tonnes. In 1997/98, shipments amounted to 1.03 million tonnes, he said.

Straits ups copper cathode output: Australian miner Straits Resources Ltd said on Thursday production of copper cathode from its Girilambone and Nifty mines rose 6.6 per cent to 7,022 tonnes in the quarter ended December 31, 1998 from the previous quarter.

Japan aluminium mill output down: Japan's output and shipments of fabricated aluminium products slid in December from the same month in 1997, the Japan Aluminium Federation said on Thursday. The federation said output of fabricated aluminium products fell on a year-on-year basis for the 17th consecutive month, while shipments fell for the 15th month in a row. But production of flat-rolled products showed an increaseforthe second month in a row, helped by a firm recovery in demand for exports to other Asian nations, it said.

Gold seen remaining under pressure: Gold looked set to remain underpressure after previous support gave way following Wednesday's monthly expiry of over-the-counter (OTC) options, but dealers expected it to remain between $282.00 and $285.00 on Thursday. Silver remained resilient in early trading and dealers said the metal looked likely to hold its ground in an apparent battle between funds going short and physical buying. Little action was expected in platinum, barring fundamental news out of Russia.

Padaeng to raise Thai zinc output: Thailand's sole zinc smelter Padaeng Industry said on Thursday it planned to increase its output by eight to 10 per cent from 88,000 tonnes in 1998. Brett Lambert, PDI's president and chief exective officer, told Reuters the company would also raise the output of alloys, which command a strong premium in the market, by 50 per cent to 22,000 tonnesthis year.

Malaysian tin steady: Malaysia's spot tin price closed unchanged at 19.20 ringgit ($5.05) a kg on Thursday, supported by a smaller offering, traders said. "LME tin was down $45 (a tonne) last night but the local price managed to hold steady mainly because of the small offering," said a trader. Turnover fell to 41 tonnes from 84 tonnes on Wednesday, with buying mainly from Europe and Malaysia. Traders said the performance of the London Metal Exchange (LME) would continue to have a big influence on the price direction here. The local price premium over LME widened to $105 a tonne against $60 previously following the overnight fall in London, traders said.

China intensifies cotton ban: Chinese authorities have issued an urgent circular banning state firms from selling cotton at a loss, the People's Daily said on Thursday. The circular issued by the Agriculture Development Bank ofChina and the All China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives ordered all state cotton firmsto ensure normal market order, the newspaper said. China's decision to liberalise cotton supply prices from April 20, 1998 did not mean that state cotton firms could violate policy by dumping cotton at low prices, it said. Currently, some state firms sold cotton at below cost or on credit instead of for cash, which increased the government's already huge losses nd impeded reform of the cotton distribution system, it said. The newspaper also called for strengthened management of state cotton purchasing fund, but gave no further details. China had cotton stockpiles of nearly 2.0 million tonnes after three consecutive years of bumper harvests, state media have said. China's cotton ouput in 1998 was estimated at 4.33 million tonnes and output in 1999 was expected to be about 3.5 million tonnes.

China textile sector cuts losses: China's ailing textile industry has cut losses by 2.6 billion yuan ($310 million) in 1998, falling short of its target of reducing red ink by 3.0 billion yuan, the People's Dailysaid on Thursday. The sector aimed to cut a further 3.0 billion yuan in losses in 1999, the newspaper said. The state wrote off more than 12 billion in debts suffered by state textile firms in the third and fourth quarters of last year, it said. Beijing has said it planned to make the textile sector a model of reform by reducing losses by tackling the overstaffing and overproduction that are the root causes of the red ink. A separate report said China also planned to reduce the production capacity of the wool spinning industry. The wool spinning sector aimed to take one million spindles out of production over the next three years, slashing 300,000 spindles this year, it said. China would also close wool spinning firms suffering losses for more than three consecutive years, it said.

Indonesian palm olein falls: Poor buying interest triggered falls in prices of Indonesian palm olein in late morning trading on Thursday, traders said. Olein was quoted in Jakarta at 3,900-3,950 rupiah/kgagainstWednesday's close of 4,000-4,100 rupiah/kg. "The reason behind the falling prices is simple. Buying interest is very poor. The market is also watching for news of fresh student demonstrations," said one trader in Jakarta. The market was also quiet on Wednesday on a lack of buying interest, sparked by fears of new unrest in capital Jakarta and elsewhere in Indonesia. Traders said the government was expected to announce the new export taxes of crude palm oil (CPO) and its by-products either on Friday or Monday. Trade sources have said the CPO export tax rate, effective February 1, was expected to be 40 per cent, down from the current 60 per cent. Tax for RBD (refined, bleached, deodorised) palm olein was seen at 37-38 per cent.

Dalian soybeans higher: Dalian soybean futures finished higher on Thursday as short-covering and technical buying continued pushing prices up, traders said. The technical rally was likely to be extended into next session, they said. The most active July 1999 contract closed at2,230 yuan ($269.32) per tonne, up 40 yuan from Wednesday's settlement. It opened at an intraday high of 2,240 yuan and traded as low as 2,216 yuan. July open interest rose to 146,684 from Wednesday's 140,006. Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade finshed lower on Wednesday. Prices fell one to four cents per bushel. In Dalian, the March contract added 7 yuan to 2,033 yuan per tonne, May gained 20 yuan to 2,130, September rose 54 to 2,288, November was up 34 to 2,265 and the Januany 1999 contract 20 yuan to 2,225 yuan. Combined volume fell to 162,812 lots from Wednesday's 274,140 lots.

Snow may hit China rapeseed: Snow and cold weather in central China could damage the country's rapeseed crop, but the real impact would only be known during the flowering period i March, traders said on Thursday. They said unseasonably cold weather had affected areas of the Yangtze River valley, one of the main growing regions for rapeseed, sparking concerns of a second year of poor harvests. "It is too earlyto tell if the crop is going to be small for the second year in a row," an agricultural expert said. China's state Meteorological Bureau said early this week that frost in some parts of China had affected growth of wheat and rapeseed in mid-January. The weather conditions may have weakened the growth and yield of rapeseed but there was no reliable crop data yet. Traders and agricultural specialists had no reliable information on planting acreage. Wet weather and cloudy skies in the previous spring caused last year's crop to fall to 6.79 million tonnes from 8.02 million tonnes in 1997. The shortfall resulted in large imports, which some traders fear might still be glutting the market. The rapeseed was competing with abundant domestic soybeans and peanuts, which were major sources for crushing, they said.

Tocom precious metals higher: Yen-based precious metal futures closed higher on Thursday helped by the dollar's surge against the yen from Wednesday's Tokyo levels, traders said. But gains weretrimmed by investor profit-taking amid uncertainty about the dollar's upside potential, they said. Rises in gold, silver and platinum futures were also blocked by a weak undertone in spot market prices, while palladium was backed by gains in New York overnight, they said. Gold futures ranged from six to 13 yen per gram higher. Benchmark December closed up eight yen at 1,048 yen. "The benchmark contract was capped at 1,050 yen, as investors who had built longs at 1,020-1,030 yen rushed to unwind their positions," one brokerage analyst said. "Although the dollar broke upward through the key 115 yen level, it looks uncertain how far the dollar can advance. Investors were in a rush to take profits," he said.

Egypt seeks French, Argentine wheat: Egypt's main commodities buyer said on Thursday he was seeking 55,000 tonnes or 60,000 of French or Argentine wheat for loading in the second half of March or April. Samir Shakankiri, vice chairman of the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), said thetender was buyers option and according to the specifications of GASC. He said GASC had the right to cancel the tender without explanation.