"The rising LME stocks will continue to weigh on the copper market," said a trader at a local brokerage. LME copper stocks rose 12,375 tonnes to 641,200 tonnes, mostly due to arrivals in Hamburg and Singapore. The all-time record high of 645,300 tonnes reached in January 1978 was seen being exceeded soon, as significant tonnages of Chilean copper were said to be en route for LME warehouses. Industry consultants Bloomsbury Minerals Economics said on Wednesday up to 200,000 tonnes of copper delivered into a European warehouse may be part of a deal between a Chilean copper producer, a major warehouse company and a trader. The local trader pegged support for three-month copper prices at $1,435 a tonne and resistance at $1,500. LME three-month copper bid prices were quoted at$1,440 at 0540 GMT on Thursday, unchanged from Wednesday's London afternoon kerb close. Meanwhile, aluminium prices will likely remain subdued as the current lower contango rates are expected to lure more hidden metal stocks into LME warehouses, traders said on Thursday.

"The rise in LME stocks will depress the aluminium market. The market may test $1,200 a tonne soon," said a trader at a trading firm. The trader said the current lower contango rates, stemming from tightness in January/ February dates, have forced traders to ship their hidden stocks into LME warehouses and left them unable to exploit profits through financing. But another trader said the aluminium market has seen far forward buying interests from end users at around $1,210 a tonne, providing support to the current aluminium market. The trader pegged resistance for three-month aluminium prices at $1,240 a tonne and then $1,260, with support at $1,200 and then $1,180. At 0540 GMT, the three-month aluminium bid prices fell to $1,208 a tonnefrom the previous day's kerb close of $1,211.

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 were trimmed 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 maincommodities 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 the tender was buyers option and according to the specifications of GASC. He said GASC had the right to cancel the tender without explanation.

Growers plea to lift onion export ban: To provide reprive to onion-growers of Maharashtra, the state government would urge the Centre to lift the ban on export of the commodity. Maharashtra co-operative minister Mundada who is leaving for new Delhi on Friday, would meet the union commerce minister Ramkrishna Hegde requesting him to lift the ban on onion export. Earlier, the Centre had allowed Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka to export the vegetable. Mundada would request the Centre that Nafed should increase its purchase of onions for export and household consumption, an official release said here on Thursday night.Similarly, Mundada would also meet union textiles minister Kanshiram Rana following the latter's recent announcement of setting up a corpus of Rs 25,000 crore for technology upgradation of the industry. The minister would hold talks with Rana so that the state's textile department is benefitted from the decision, the release added.

Japan, KPC in naphtha term talks: Japanese buyers stuck to their demand for a sharply lower premium as naphtha talks between Asian term lifters and Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) entered a fourth day, industry sources said on Thursday. KPC is due to meet South Korean buyers from next week after it completes a round of talks with major Japanese buyers for about three million tonnes of naphtha for the year starting in March, they said. Japanese buyers have pressed Kuwait to set the premium for the full-range material at around $2.50 to $3.00 per tonne over the mean of Middle Eastern quotes. The level represents a sharp decline from a term premium of $6 set for the year whichstarted in August. Japanese buyers have said it was almost inconceivable to pay a high premium given the current weak naphtha market. A trader with a leading petrochemical firm said the premium was a question of simple calculation based on the level of the current spot market as well as freight and port costs. "And the rest is where you think the market is looking, up or down, and how much you are prepared to pay for the term cargoes," he said. He said the outlook for naphtha remained weak. "It doesn't look as though the supply and demand balance is going to improve this year," the trader said. "A lot of arbitrage cargoes...excess cargoes from other regions are heading to this part of the world in the first quarter," he said. Japanese traders said early on Thursday that Kuwaiti officials had yet to say what their idea was for the premium. Progress seemed slow with neither side prepared to concede.

"I haven't heard that any progress has been made," a trader with an oil company who had just taken part in thetalks said. In the early days of the negotiations there was some speculation that an agreement might be worked out by the end of the week, but traders taking part in the talks have grown increasingly sceptical of the prospect of an early conclusion.

Cigarette industry's call: The domestic cigarette industry has asked government to retain prevailing duty structure and rates in the general budget as any shift may affect government revenue collections and pull down this sector further. In a pre-budget presentation to the finance ministry, the Tobacco Institute of India (TII) predicted a Rs 620-crore gap between revenue collection targets and achievement in 1998-99 and said revenue growth could fall further due to low sales. An weighted average increase of 9.2 per cent in duty last year yielded only 6.4 per cent increase in revenue collections but lowered the volumes by 5.2 per cent during July/November 1998, it said. Stating that cigarettes generate 87 per cent of revenue from tobacco while accountingfor only 19 per cent of tobacco said, "the policy makers should allow natural growth of cigarette tax base as it is revenue efficient and the only route for expanding the tax net in the tobacco sector. Calling for continuation of the specific duty structure, TII said this eliminated litigation/disputes on valuation which were rampant under the ad valorem structure earlier which left unsettled cases worth thousands of crores. The memorandum also called for restoration of single point taxation to facilitate "free movement of goods between states and uniform prices throughout the country. It said with 10 states currently levying the luxury/entry tax at varying rates of two per cent to 10 per cent, the cigarette industry was paying an additional Rs 375 crore equivalent to 7.6 per cent of the total excise collection. Stating that 50 per cent of cigarette tobacco produced in the country is exported, TII said moderate taxation and would benefit the farmrers and give boost to the export front. A stable excise policywould assure a strong domestic base for the product and boost India's tobacco exports to target an increase of the country's share of global trade from 0.7 per cent to 10 per cent, it said.

Leather fair in Chennai: Over 350 participants, including 100 from 25 countries will showcase their products and technologies in leather at a five-day India International Leather Fair (IILF) in Chennai from January 31. The annual mega event, the 14th in the series, will coincide with the prestigious 25th Congress of International Union of Leather Technologists and Chemists Societies, according to an official press release from the India Trade Promotion Organisation, the organisers of the meet. Machinery for leather tanning, show making, finishing leather chemicals, effluent treatment, leather garments, semi-finished leather like raw hides, goat skins and finished leather would form the profile of the fair. The union commerce minister Ramakrishna Hegde will inaugurate the fair.