Cotton on MCX settled down -0.65% at 21310 as traders are avoiding major buying as cotton price that was increasing steeply until the end of February, has become firm during the last 20 days. As the gap in the international and domestic prices has narrowed down, now imported cotton appears to be attractive due to better yarn realisation, productivity and quality. Also traders are eyeing on muted speculative activity ahead of a federal acreage report due next week. From International side Cotton closed higher after holding Support above $76 as market was anticipating another strong week of export demand. Cotton remains mostly a demand story as US export demand has been stronger than any trade expectations so far this year.

Cardamom on MCX settled down by -0.71% at 1379.6 amid subdued physical demand for cardamom in the domestic spot market. Further, sufficient supplies on higher physical arrivals from the major cardamom producing regions too fuelled the downtrend. Upcountry dealers as well as exporters were covering as it has become clear that no arrival of fresh cardamom will take place till the next season picking begins, by mid-June. This sentiment has prompted all stakeholders to become active in the market. Quality of the capsules arriving were not up to the mark and there was a shrinkage in supply. Arrivals last week stood at 295 tonnes as against 390 tonnes the previous week. The auction average moved up, vacillating between Rs. 1,192 and Rs. 1,280 a kg.

Maize on NCDEX settled up by 0.36% at 1409 on short covering after prices dropped amid overseas prices on pressure from record South American supplies. Argentine corn should benefit this season from high yields brought by good weather, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said, adding that it may increase its harvest estimate above the current 54.8 million tonnes. The U. S. Department of Agriculture reported weekly export sales of old-crop U. S. corn at 1.255 million tonnes, above a range of trade expectations and the most in seven weeks. The U. S. Department of Agriculture reported export inspections of U. S. corn in the latest week at 1,547,022 tonnes, at the high end of a range of trade expectations. Private analytics firm Informa Economics raised its projection of U. S.

Jeera on NCDEX settled up by 3.98% at 17905 on rising domestic as well as exports demand at the spot market. Further, reports of lower production estimates in the producing belts of Gujarat too fuelled the uptrend. Reports showed that production of Jeera in Gujarat will be 2.21 lt, down almost 11% compared to last year production of 2.38 lt. Lower carryover stock coupled with higher export demand may push up jeera prices, as traders fear tight supply conditions in the coming months. The carryover stock has dipped to about 2 lakh bags (each of 55 kg) as against the normal 20-25 lakh bags, thereby reducing the availability even as the demand for exports and domestic consumption remains firm, trader sources said.

Turmeric on NCDEX settled up by 2.94% at 6444 on rising exports demand at the spot market. On the export front, country exported about 82,115 tons during April-December period, up by 28% compared to last year exports of 64,105 tons. Though, some gains were capped as the turmeric arrivals in the country are higher at 115,205 tons during March 1-20 compared to 30,945 tons during previous month. Production in the ongoing season is expected to increase mainly on higher sowing area and favourable weather conditions in Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh etc. According to trade sources turmeric output is expected to be around 7.5-8 million bags. India's Apr-Sept turmeric export stood at 59,000 ton up

Mustard Seed on NCDEX settled up by 1.34% at 4008 on supply worries following reports of unfavourable weather. Fear of return of el-nino weather phenomena is firming up market sentiments. India is expected to produce around 6.5-7 million tonnes (mt) of rape mustard seeds in 2016-17 as compared to 5.8 mt produced in 2015-16 due to higher acreage and improving productivity. The carry-forward stock from the previous season was around 0.15 mt. The Ministry of Agriculture expects 8.5 mt of mustard seeds to be produced in the current rabi season against 6.8 mt a year ago, as per its 4th advanced estimates. Higher price levels seen before sowing, favourable weather and a hike of over 10.4 per cent in MSP to Rs. 3,700/Q (including Rs.

CPO on MCX settled up 0.34% at 537 on short covering recovered from the day's low as support seen after the update that Indonesia’s crude palm oil output likely dropped in February, extending the decline into a third straight month. CPO production in the world’s top producer of the widely used oil likely slipped to 2.80 million tonnes in February from 2.95 million tonnes in January, according to the median estimate in a survey of two industry associations and a state palm research firm. Meanwhile, exports of Indonesian CPO were estimated to have risen last month to 2.41 million tonnes from 2.21 million tonnes in January. Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) data showed the country exported 2.72 million tonnes of palm oil and palm kernel oil in January.

Ref. Soyaoil on NCDEX settled up by 0.84% at 652.85 on hope of higher demand in global market. Prices of oil were up on demand hope from the US following report that said that US president Donald Trump's administration will not change 2017 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Biofuel quotas. The mandates are in place for 2017 to use more soybean oil to make biodiesel. Further, strong demand for on-going wedding season and festivals in domestic market were also supported soyoil prices. According to data released by the Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA), during Nov-Feb, the country had imported 4.68 mt of edible oil, down from 5.09 mt a year ago. The government has cut the base import price of soyoil by $9 per tonnes for second half of March.

Soyabean on NCDEX settled up by 1.2% at 2953 on expectation of good demand from Industries and lower supplies in the spot market. Meanwhile, Soyabean prices edged lower in international markets as forecasts for ample global supplies kept the oilseed near a three-month low. Soyabean also weighed down by negative crush margins in China, which is an indicator that there could be a slowdown in purchases from the world's biggest importer of the beans. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently raised its global production forecast for the 2016-17 fiscal, driven by higher output estimate for Brazil. In India too, production is set to rise sharply, after two years of drought. Over the past year, soyabean has lost about 24 per cent, after peaking at Rs.

Mentha oil settled flat as sowing process has started in UP producing area. Further upside also seen limited ample stocks position on higher supplies from major producing belts of Chandausi in Uttar Pradesh, too influenced mentha oil prices. The weather looked good and everything seemed fine as of now as farmers are still under stress, as they have already suffered a lot because of demonetization. As cash is the primary mode of transaction in agriculture sector which contributes 15% to India’s total output. Earlier it was estimated that total area under Mentha planting will drop by 20% to 1.75 lakh ha for this season resulting into a proportionate fall in Mentha oil production this year.

Aluminium on MCX settled up 0.32% at 125.80 as support seen after dollar crawled near four-month low clouded by concerns about U. S. President Donald Trump's pro-growth policies. Meanwhile the political heat is rising in the aluminium market, with a trio of industry bodies calling on the G20 to address global market imbalances resulting from China's burgeoning output. The market is still digesting the implications of Beijing's anti-pollution measures in regions around the Chinese capital over the winter heating months from mid- November to mid-March.

Nickel on MCX settled down -0.65% at 654.10 as sign of comfort in the Chinese nickel market is that inventories monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange are still at relatively high levels. Prices are under pressure on the sign that there is no shortage of Nickel in China, China is still getting all of the nickel it needs, simply by increasing the amount it buys in more refined forms. Chinese customs classifies nickel imports into refined nickel and alloy, ores and concentrates, and ferronickel. Imports of ferronickel surged 60 percent in 2016 from the prior year, with Indonesia storming back with a 250 percent increase to 747,097 tonnes, a 71 percent share.

Zinc on MCX settled down -1.61% at 183.65 tracking weakness from LME Zinc which fell to a one-week low, down 1.5 percent at $2,814 a tonne despite a spate of mine disruptions. A 3-1/2-week strike at Noranda Income Fund's zinc processing facility in Quebec is showing no signs of ending, with no talks set between workers and management. Noranda Income Fund said on Thursday zinc output at its Quebec plant, the second-largest in North America, was at 50-60 percent of normal operating levels as a five-and-a-half week long strike dragged on. Yesterday metals prices pulled back from a session high after US trade weighed by a rise in the dollar, as new home sales data confounded expectations while initial jobless claims rose faster than expected.

Copper on MCX settled up 0.51% at 383.85 while traded in the range near one-week lows on news that operations at the world's top producing copper mine in Chile would resume. LME Copper ended 0.2 percent higher at $5,825 a tonne, after briefly touching a session low of $5,768. It hit the lowest since March 10 at $5,715 the previous session. Traders are eyeing on the fresh update from the workers at BHP Billiton's Escondida mine agreed to go back to work on Saturday, ending a 43-day stoppage. The striking union and BHP Billiton are meeting to resume conversations. Also, the union received approval from its rank-and-file to invoke certain provisions of Chile’s labor code that would halt the current negotiation process and maintain the benefits of the current contract for 18 months.

Naturalgas on MCX settled down -0.3% at 197.60 as prices turned lower after data showed that natural gas supplies in storage in the U. S. fell broadly in line with market expectations. The U. S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas storage in the U. S. declined by 150 billion cubic feet in the week ended March 17, matching forecasts. That compared with a withdrawal of 53 billion cubic feet in the preceding week, a build of 15 billion a year earlier and a five-year average drop of 21 billion cubic feet. Total natural gas in storage currently stands at 2.092tcf, according to the US EIA, 16% lower than levels at this time a year ago but 12.7% above the five-year average for this time of year.

Crudeoil on MCX settled down -0.66% at 3143 because of investor concerns that OPEC-led supply cuts were not yet reducing record U. S. crude inventories. Traders said the slight lift in prices came as a report that Saudi Arabia's crude exports to the United States in March would fall by around 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) from February, in line with OPEC's agreement to reduce supply. The United States imported about 1.3 million bpd of Saudi oil in February, according to U. S. Energy Information Administration data. In the United States, overseas oil suppliers like Saudi Arabia have to compete against rising shale drilling, which has pushed up U. S. oil production by over 8 percent since mid-2016 to more than 9.1 million bpd.

Silver settled flat as dollar steadied, amid a mixed batch of U. S. economic data, ahead of a key House vote on a healthcare bill to repeal and replace Obamacare. San Francisco Federal Reserve President John Williams said Thursday that the economy is in a good place and that the U. S. central bank should continue to raise interest rates this year as fast as or faster than it has signaled it would. Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan said the U. S. central bank should be moving "deliberately but patiently" to remove monetary policy accommodation, as long as the economy continues to make progress toward the Fed's goals.

Gold on MCX settled down -0.29% at 28800 amid a firmer dollar as markets waited to see if U. S. President Donald Trump will face hurdles on his economic agenda. Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan said Thursday that the U. S. central bank should be moving "deliberately but patiently" to remove monetary policy accommodation, as long as the economy continues to make progress toward the Federal Reserve's goals. In a talk at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Kaplan reiterated his economic forecast for above 2 percent growth for this year, and said the U. S. labor market is relatively tight and the economy is making reasonable progress toward the Fed's 2-percent goal. U. S.

Cotton on MCX settled up by 1.37% at 21450 due to expectation of export demand to China. Though, some gains were limited on good arrivals from major producing belts. The cotton trade body maintains a higher crop size of 34.1 against 33.8 million bales, prices are unlikely to cool off in the near future. With an opening stock of about 4.5 million bales at the beginning of the 2016-17 season, the Cotton Association of India (CAI) has projected a total demand of 29.5 million bales for the year, against 38.2 million bales last year. CAI's estimates put available the surplus at 11.2 million bales. However, looking at the trends in cotton arrivals at mandis, as much as 70 per cent of the crop is believed to have already hit the market.

Cardamom on MCX settled up by 1.35% at 1389.5 on good buying amid a squeeze in supply at auctions held in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Upcountry dealers as well as exporters were covering as it has become clear that no arrival of fresh cardamom will take place till the next season picking begins, by mid-June. This sentiment has prompted all stakeholders to become active in the market. Consequently, prices moved up by Rs. 20-30 a kg last week. Quality of the capsules arriving were not up to the mark and there was a shrinkage in supply. Arrivals last week stood at 295 tonnes as against 390 tonnes the previous week. Though the south-west monsoon was declared “normal” last year after two consecutive years of drought, the cardamom growing areas received poor rains.