Tag: metals

Commodity Corner: Here are Prathamesh Mallya’s top commodity trade recommendations

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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“The correction is there on the cards for Zinc towards Rs 200. For rest of the metals, I will possibly avoid Nickel because one could get stuck on the long side as well as short side taking into the consideration the volatility,” Prathamesh Mallya of Angel Commodities Broking told CNBC TV18.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

India imported metals from N Korea in violation of UNSC resolutions, says report

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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India imported about 2.4 million dollars worth of iron and steel, iron and steel products, copper and zinc from North Korea last year and exported precious metals and stones worth USD 578,994 to the country in violation of UN Security Council resolutions banning such trade with North Korea, according to a report by an UN panel of experts.

According to a March report of the Panel of Experts established by the Secretary General regarding implementation of the sanctions and UNSC resolutions relating to North Korea, the country exported a total of USD 62,184,815 in iron and steel between January and September 2017 to Barbados, Bolivia, Chile, China, Costa Rica, El Salvador, India, Ireland, Mexico, Pakistan, the Philippines and Russia.

“All exports after September 4, 2017 violated paragraph 8 of resolution 2371 (2017), while those before September 4 2017 violated paragraph 26 of resolution 2321 (2016) unless an exemption was made under paragraph 26 (c) of the same resolution,” the report said.

Specifically, India imported USD 1.4 million worth of iron and steel from North Korea from January to September 2017, iron and steel products worth USD 234,759 and copper worth USD 242,997 in the January to September 2017 period.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea exported a total of USD 373,926 in copper to India and Mexico between January and September 2017 in violation of paragraph 28 of resolution 2321 (2016),” the report said.

Further, India imported zinc from North Korea from January to September 2017 worth 526,018 dollars.

“The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea exported a total of $526,018 in zinc to India in January 2017 in violation of paragraph 28 of resolution 2321 (2016),” the report added.

It further said that according to UN Comtrade, from January to June 2017, India exported precious metals and stones worth USD 578,994 to North Korea. The largest commodity exported from January to June 2017 was diamonds worth USD 514,823.

“The Panel reiterates that the jewellery items listed in paragraph 1 of annex IV to resolution 2094 (2013) correspond to HS codes beginning with 71 and calls upon Member States to exercise vigilance with regard to any exports of goods classified under that code,” it said.

The report also includes a letter dated July 14, 2017 from the Permanent Mission of India to the UN that states that “During the period of March 2 2016 (date of adoption of resolution 2270) to November 30 2016 (date of adoption of resolution 2321), there was no clarity regarding the scope of the measures related to iron and iron ore since there was on elaboration/explanation of the word iron’ and iron ore’.

Till date there is no implementation assistance notice issued by the UN that stipulates a practice for identifying an item as iron’ or ‘iron ore’, ” the Indian Mission said in the letter.

The Mission further wrote that “pending clarity on this issue”, national implementation of the measures contained in UNSC resolutions 2270 and 2321 relating to iron and iron ore was nevertheless carried out by the Government of India through a notification issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) on March 21, 2017.

The Mission said that for these reasons, there was no restriction on the import of iron ore and iron into India from North Korea during the period March 2, 2016 to March 20, 2017.

The report also said that North Korea exported a total of USD 305,713 of products of iron and steel to China, Egypt, France, India, Ireland and Mexico between October 2016 and May 2017.

“These exports constitute a violation of paragraph 26 of resolution 2321 (2016) unless an exemption is made by the importing Member State under paragraph 26 (c) of the resolution,” it said.

North Korea exported USD 215,782 worth of gold in October 2016 to India in violation of paragraph 30 of resolution 2270 (2016).

India requested “clarity” on the scope of measures relating to iron and iron ore, saying in the letter that it “stands ready” to share its national experience on implementation of the measures related to iron and iron ore, sectoral bans and luxury goods ban covered in resolutions 2270, 2321 which have entered into force vide the aforesaid notification issued by the DGFT on March 21 2017.

“India would request that this submission be included in the next mid-term review of the UNSC 1874 Panel of Experts,” it said in the letter.

In March this year, India had imposed fresh restrictions on trade with North Korea in line with the restrictions imposed by the United Nations.

As per a notification of the DGFT in the commerce ministry, “supply, sale, transfer or export” of crude oil will be subjected to the restrictions imposed by the UN Security Council. Certain curbs have also been imposed on export of industrial machinery, iron, steel and other metals, the notification had said.

In October last year, the DGFT had imposed restrictions on trade in condensates and natural gas liquids, refined petroleum products.

The bilateral trade between India and North Korea declined to USD 133.43 million in 2016-17 from USD 198.78 million in the previous fiscal.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Eye on Q4 earnings: Experts discuss what to expect from Pharma, FMCG & other sectors

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The fourth quarter results season will begin in a few days. It has an advantage of the low base of the demonetisation quarter but it also has the disadvantage of some continued GST adjustment and weakness in corporate banks.

To discuss what should one expect from different sectors like IT, FMCG, autos, capital goods, oil & gas, pharma, cement, metals, realty, power, telecom etc., CNBC-TV18 spoke to their in house research team and market experts Nischal Maheshwari, Head – Instl Equities, Edelweiss Securities Gautam Duggad, Head-Institutional Equities, MOSL and Sanjiv Bhasin, Executive VP-Markets, IIFL who know the numbers like the back of their hand.

Cement Sector: 

The fourth quarter of FY 18 has traditionally been ideal for cement companies, but this time around cement prices failed to rise in the busy season, despite rising cost pressures, Edelweiss said in a note, expecting that the cement industry will be a disappointment in the quarter.

Also Read: Cement has had its challenges in the fourth quarter

Metal Sector:

In terms of the fourth quarter of 2018, the ferrous stocks may report a better-than-expected quarter owing to the sharp price increase, while from non-ferrous space, Nalco is likely to deliver strong results owing to the surge in alumina prices.

Also Read: Metal sector may report better results owing to surge in prices

Power Sector:

Fuel wise, while the coal-fired plants reported a moderate growth given the shortage of coal supply, hydro generation was a bit weak given lower snowfall. While the early onset of summer might create challenges for distribution companies, it augurs well for consumer durable players like Voltas, Havells etc.

Also Read: Early onset of summer: Someone’s pain is someone else’s gain

Industrial and Infrastructure Sector:

Fourth quarter is seasonally strong for industrial and infrastructure companies. Margins are expected to remain stable while order-books are expected to burgeon given the flush of order inflows especially for roads and transmission and distribution space.

Also Read: Execution ramp up to drive Q4 earnings in the infra sector

Pharmaceutical Sector:

For pharma companies, domestic markets should perform better though. Expect up to 10% growth due to normalising of operations post GST and a favourable year-on-year base due to demonetisation.

Also Read: Pharma poised for another painful quarter

Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) Sector:

FMCG sector earnings were most impacted by demonetisation & Goods and Services Tax (GST) related hiccups last year. GST rates for a large swathe of daily consumption items were revised lower in November 2017, so Q4 FY 18 will have the first full quarter impact of lowered prices and higher off-take.

Also Read: FMCG Q4 FY18: Sector Expectations – The Hope Of Sustained Recovery

Telecom Sector: 

The average revenue per user (ARPU) will continue to slip in the upcoming quarter, despite strong subscriber addition on account of migration of Aircel and Reliance Communications’ (RCOM) subscribers, Edelweiss said in a note. Jio has signalled cut throat competition will continue, with the company providing free prime services for its subscribers for another year, contrary to market expectations that it will start monetising its users.

Also Read: In telecom sector, ARPU to continue to slip in Q4 FY18, says Edelweiss

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Metal sector may report better results owing to surge in prices

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

In terms of the fourth quarter of 2018, the ferrous stocks may report a better-than-expected quarter owing to the sharp price increase, while from non-ferrous space, Nalco is likely to deliver strong results owing to the surge in alumina prices.

From the FERROUS pack:

Sales Volumes from Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) and Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) will be strong, Citi Research said in a client note.

JSPL in March 2018 has posted its highest ever monthly crude steel production followed by the ramp up of its Angul unit in Odisha.

Tata Steel’s volumes were impacted due to the repairs undertaken in a blast furnace at the Kalinganagar plant in Odisha.

Brokerages expect a strong surge in EBITDA per tonne for ferrous players:

Morgan Stanley said there was a surge in prices in the fourth quarter factoring in a rate hike of Rs 4,500 per tonne for flat products and about Rs 5,500 per tonne for long products from end of Dec 2017 to end of Mar 2018.

Citi expects a sharp surge in EBITDA per tonne across the sector.

Besides strong expansion in EBITDA per tonne, Street is awaiting a fine-print on stress steel asset sales like Tata Steel’s bid for Bhushan Steel.

The NON-FERROUS space

Hindalco’s standalone revenue is expected to improve marginally with improved aluminium & copper realizations but this will be partly offset by lower copper volumes.

EBITDA could get impacted by the higher input costs in the aluminium segment. However, profit after tax (PAT) will get cushioned due to lower interest costs.

Nalco could be the star as its results will be driven by the sharply higher profitability of alumina segment.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow