Gold and silver: Tariff value increased, import duty on edible oils decreased

- Crude oil continues to improve over the weekend: domestic dollar weakens

(Commercial Representative) Mumbai, Ta. 16 May 2020, Saturday

The local gold and silver market was officially closed on Saturday but the private sector saw a rise in prices as tariff value for import duty on the precious metal was increased. The world market also saw its impact on locals as prices closed higher over the weekend. Crude oil prices also closed higher over the weekend. The dollar closed weaker on the domestic front.

At home, the GST-free price of 7.50 to 10 grams of gold, which was closing at Rs 5 yesterday, rose to Rs 200 in private today, while the price of 7.50 gold rose from Rs 305 to close at Rs 50. Gold prices, along with GST, were three per cent higher. Silver was also elevated behind gold. Silver. The price of a kilogram, which was Rs 305 excluding GST yesterday, rose to Rs 2,000 today. Silver rose by Rs 1,000 in private sector as compared to yesterday.

The central government today announced an increase in the benchmark tariff value for import duty on gold and silver. The tariff value for gold, which was earlier ૫૪૮ 5 per 10 grams, has been increased to ૫૫૭ 5, while the duty on silver has been increased from ૪૮૯ 3 per kg to ૫ 201.

The increase in tariff value also led to higher prices of gold and silver in the private sector. Gold closed at ૭૪૩ 19.50 an ounce and silver at ૬ 17.8 an ounce over the weekend. Other precious metals, platinum, rose from ૭૭૬ 6 to ડો 20 an ounce and palladium from ૮૩ 150 to ૮૮૨ 15.

The SPDR, one of the largest gold ETFs in the world, has seen a surge in gold holdings, surpassing the 1,100-tonne mark. As a result of tensions between the US and China, fund houses are selling dollars and turning to investing in gold. Retail sales and factory production in the US were also reported to have softened. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in New York, traded at 2.50 a barrel over the weekend, while Brent closed at ૫ 4.50 a barrel. At home, the currency market was closed on Saturday, but in private, the dollar traded modestly lower at Rs 2.50 from Rs 7.5.

Decline in import duty on various edible oils imported into the country: This has led to a decline in market prices.

Soybean, soybean and cotton prices rise in US agricultural markets overnight trade

In the Mumbai oil-oil market today, there were new business wings and prices of various domestic and imported edible oils were fluctuating bilaterally. However, world market news was showing strength. Meanwhile, there was news that the central government had reduced the tariff value used as a benchmark to calculate the import duty on various edible oils imported into the country, leading to a reduction in the effective import duty on imported edible oils, market sources said. Such effective imports have fallen by about Rs 1.5 per tonne of crude palm oil, while that of palmolin has fallen by Rs 2,810 and that of soyoil by Rs 21, the sources added.

According to reports from Delhi, the government has slashed the tariff value of crude palm oil from ૫ 206 to ૫૪૬ 3, while the tariff value of palm oil has been slashed from ૬૩૮ 2 to ૫૬૪ 2 and soyoil by ૬૫૬ 4 to ૬૩૬ 4. Meanwhile, palm oil prices in the Mumbai spot market today stood at Rs 305 per 10 kg at Rs 715. The recent shutdown of palm oil deliveries by some refineries also had an impact on market prices. Peanut oil was quoted at Rs 1,50, cottonseed oil at Rs 4, soyoil at Rs 4, sunflower at Rs 4 and refined at Rs 4.

Meanwhile, in the Mumbai market today, castor oil prices fell further by Rs 2 to Rs 305 to Rs 5 per 10 kg, while spot castor fell from Rs 2,50 to Rs 2,215. New export demand was slow. In the Mumbai flour market, the price of sunflower flour rose by Rs 200 per tonne to Rs 30,200 today, while other flours remained steady. Meanwhile, soybean oil prices rose by 20 points, soybeans by 12 points and cotton by 20 points in the US agricultural market overnight.

Soyoil rose on the back of rising crude oil prices in the global market and palm oil prices in Malaysia were also expected to open higher on Monday, experts said.