Jaggery prices steady
Prices held steady in the primary (jaggery) market today on lack of buying interest. Increased arrivals in the wake of poor demand led to the steady trend, dealers said. The following were today's quotations in Rs per quintal truck load: Balti (peli)- 950-1050 , Chorsa- 950-1000, Dhayya 1030-1080, Khurpa -1050-1100. laddo kala- 880-900 laddo best 1080-1100, laddo medium - 1050-1060, pedi- 1140-1200 Rapsaya N.T. Raskat 730-740, Chakku-1050-1100. Following were today's quotation at the Delhi wholesale market in rs per quintal: Chakku - 1250-1300 Dhayya 1200-1225, Pedi -1250-1300.

Cotton rates up
Prices of V-797 moved up marginally while all other select cotton varieties ruled steady at the south india cotton association at Coimbattore. (Rates per quintal in Rs): Bengal deshi fine (Punjab) 4125, wagad (Gujarat) 4049, V-797 (Gujarat)4302, Jayadhar (Karnataka) N Q, J-34 (Bhatinda line) 5358, F-414/SG N Q, LRA-5166 (T N) 5539, H-4 (M P) 5708, LK-29 (AP) 6102, Shankar-6 5933, MCU-5 (A P) 6608, DCH-32 (Mysore) 8154. Maharashtra varieties: Mech-1 Yeotmal/Amravati 5821, H-4 Yeotmal/Amravati 5821, lra-5166 Nagpur/Yeotmal 5483, NHH-44 Yeotmal/Amravti 5202, AK.h-4/AK-235 5202, 1007-Yeotmal/ Amravati 5202, AHH-468 Yeotmal/Amravati 5202, the report added.

Cotton yarn moves up
Cone yarn gained fresh ground on the cotton yarn market today on brisk buying by local handloom industries and traders from neighbouring states. Marketmen said cone yarn of hissar and Faridaba in 4 count and 6 count were higher on brisk buying activities by handloom sector and retain buyers from neighbouring states. The volume of business was fair. Hissar 4 coun was up by rupee one at Rs.246 per 5 kilo and Fariday bad 4 count with a same margin at rs.243 per 5 kilo. Faridabad 6 and 10 count also moved up by rs.2 each at Rs.267 and Rs.297 per 5 kilo respectively.Following were today's quotations in Rs per 4.54 kilos; Waste yarn: Jyoti 2 count 117 and Deepak 2 count 118. Hank yarn: (per 4.54 kg) Hissar 4 counts 246, SR Faridabad 4 counts 252, S R Faridabad 6 counts 272, S R Faridabad 10 count 302, Annapurna 10 count 300, Gulabpura 10 count 272 Gulabpura 20 count 362, K C Textiles 2/4 260, K C textiles 2/6 count 265, and K C Textiles 2/20 count 400. Cone yarn (per 5 kg): Hissar 4 count 245, SR faridabad 4 count 242, SR Faridabad 6 count 265, S R Faridabad 10 count 295, Annapurna 10 count 286, Gulabpura 20 count 400, Hanumanagarh 20 count 416 and Hansi 20 count 398, according to the report.

Wheat buoyant on dollar fall
Sydney Futures Exchange (SFE) wheat rose further on Wednesday, tracking the weaker Australian dollar and Chicago wheat futures' overnight rise. SFE volume rose to a total of 37 on trades in nearby July 1998 and new crop January 1999. July fell by A$1.00 to A$175.00 a tonne on the trade while January 1999 edged up by 50 cents to A$167.00.But settlement prices of untraded contracts firmed across the range, adding A$2.00 in near-term and distant months and 50 cents in mid-range months. Nickel prices downNickel prices yielded fresh ground on the metal market today on lack of buiying interest following a historic fall in its prices on London Metal Exchange (LME) and finished lower. Tin ingot also declined on reduced offtake by tin plating units. Elsewhere, prices were unaltered at previous levels on little doing. The volume of business was small. Nickel was quoted down at Rs.295-297 per kilo from previous level of Rs.303. Tin ingot also lost rs.2 at Rs.360 per kilo. On the other hand, zinc was better at Rs.76 per kilo from Rs.75.50. The following were today's quotations per kilo. Tin ingot 360, solder (40 per cent) 141, nickel (Russian) 295-296, zinc slab 76, zinc dros 60, bell metal scrap 155, copper wire bar 135, copper rod 138.50, copper wire 142.50, copper scarp 114, chadripital 88, brass sheet cutting 90-92 and brass boring 75. Lead ingot36.50, lead imported 41-43, aluminium (22 gauge) 100-102, aluminium (30 gauge) 108-113, aluminium (36 gauge) 112-116, aluminium rod 90, aluminium cg ingot 83.75, aluminium wire scrap 80 and aluminium utensils scarp 71.

Rubber futures end lower
Tokyo rubber futures ended lower across the board on Wednesday, as selling interest gained momentum reflecting the yen's recovery against the dollar in the afternoon session, traders said. Prices ranged from 2.5 yen to 3.7 yen per kg lower.Benchmark November closed off 2.8 yen at 106.0 yen. "In addition to the currency market, weak fundamental factors such as rising Japanese rubber stocks, prompted investors to liquidate longs," a commodity broker analyst said. Rubber futures are likely to dip further if downside support at 105.0 yen for benchmark November is breached, traders said.

Base metal may fall in LME
Base metal prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) are likely to fall further in view of the June option declaration, traders said. "Iexpect a further fall for copper towards $1,640.There're no reasons why it should go up," said a trader at a major Japanese house. "There'll be also selling pressure from options. I can'Timagine they will try to protect $1,650," he said. By 0525 GMT, three months copper steadied around$1,664/$1,669 per tonne after firming during morning hours on buying from foreign brokerages, traders said. They said prices might edge up further during Asian hours,given the dollar's slight retreat against the yen after failing to breach the key 140 yen level on Tuesday. Overnight in London, copper dropped $25 to close at $1,662,moving towards the recent low of $1,635. Aluminium was indicated at $1,347/$1,350 by 0525 GMT after losing $9 to end at $1,347 in London. Zinc stood at $1,047/$1,052 after shedding $3 to $1,046. On aluminium, the trader said: "We expect a fair amount ofbuying below the $1,350 level. It might drop towards $1,330, if it breaches the level. But the downside is most likely to be limited foraluminium."

Bullion & metal

KL tin gains further
The Kuala Lumpur Tin Market's spot price rose another eight cents to 22.43 ringgit ($5.74) a kg on Wednesday on continued buying from overseas, traders said. They saw an opening bid of 138 tonnes against an offer of98 tonnes. Final turnover was 90 tonnes, against 101 tonnes on Tuesday, with buying again coming from Europe and Malaysia. A $42 a tonne premium held by the local tin price over theLondon market did not deter buying interest, traders said. "We expect the market to hover steadily at around currentlevels or firm further if demand continued," said a trader.(US$ 3.91 ringgit)

Menthol prices firm up
Menthol varieties hardened on the chemical market in New Delhi following increased stockists demand in the wake of poor arrivals. Menthol bold crystal edged up by Rs 20 to close at Rs 520 per kilo and menthol flake also swifted Rs 15 to finish at Rs 485 per kilo. Elsewhere, other commodities remained unchanged on cyclicalbouts of buying and selling and pegged around previous levels. The volume of business was moderate.