MTECHTIPS COMMODITY MARKET NEWS 2

MTECHTIPS;-Gold likely to trade flat as investors await data releases Thursday

Gold prices are likely to trade flat for the day as investors await ADP nonfarm payrolls data scheduled to be released on Thursday.A data point higher than the forecast of 135K would prove to be bullish for the dollar and thereby bearish for gold.The actual government data would be released on Friday and along with initial job-less claims data (scheduled Thursday) and and ISM manufacturing data may prove to award volatile sessions in gold for tomorrow.Gold on the Comex is trading flat at $1712.15 with neither gains nor loss as of 10.03 am IST Thursday.Hurricane Sandy meanwhile has wreaked havoc across the East Coast and ultimately resulted in the weakening of Dollar.A weaker dollar will support prices, said Nick Trevethan, senior commodities strategist at Australian & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in Singapore. The market got a little ahead of itself with expectations for QE and overshot to the upside. It is back down to levels where perhaps we ought to be.

MTECHTIPS:-China Crude Oil demand to stage modest recovery: Barclays

Barclays expects Chinas oil demand to stage a modest recovery on the basis of stabilised margins, healthier product stocks and gradual improvements in underlying macro activity. Although downside risks remain, Chinas demand troughed earlier in the year and is likely to rise modestly.Chinas apparent oil demand, calculated by throughput and net product imports, rose 9% y/y, to 9.7 mb/d, in September after months of sluggish growth.The uptick took the YTD average to 9.3 mb/d and pushed demand up 220 kb/d for the year. In the first eight months of 2012, apparent demand averaged 9.25 mb/d and hovered around the 9 mb/d mark from June to August, making this the slowest period of growth in years. The muted demand was particularly puzzling when juxtaposed against strong crude imports, which rose 530 kb/d in the January-July period from a year ago.Lacklustre demand earlier in the year was a result of both the slowing economy, which cut industrial demand, and refiners deliberate efforts to destock products. As product stocks are now back to historical averages and margins have improved, demand may have bottomed out in the summer and now appears on the path to modest recovery.

MTECHTIPS:-Gold to snap 4-month winning run; US jobs data, election eyed

Gold edged up on Wednesday but was poised to snap a four-month winning streak, with investors staying on the sidelines ahead of key U.S. employment data and in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Spot gold was moving in a range of about $3, after trading little changed in thin volume in the previous session

when Sandy wreaked havoc on much of the eastern United States. The precious metal is likely to remain stuck in a tight band in the coming days, ahead of the release of a key U.S. payrolls report and next week's U.S. presidential election, traders and analysts said. "There are a lot of event risks -- nonfarm payrolls, the U.S. election, a change of power in China, plus the routine policy meetings of various central banks," said a Singapore-based trader. Economists expect U.S. job growth to have picked up slightly in October, but not enough to prevent the unemployment rate from rising off a four-year low. Spot gold had inched up 0.2 percent to $1,711.76 an ounce by 0319 GMT, on course for a monthly drop of more than 3 percent, its biggest one-month decline since May. U.S. gold was trading nearly flat at $1,712.50. Technical analysis suggested spot gold could rebound to $1,730 an ounce as it has climbed above a falling channel, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.FISCAL CLIFF Investors are waiting for the result of next week's presidential election to get a fuller picture of what the next government will do to help economic growth.

MTECHTIPS:-Nickel futures up on spot demand, global cues

Supported by strong domestic demand from alloy-makers and a firming trend overseas, nickelprices moved up by 0.48 per cent to Rs 879.10 per kg in futures trade today. At the Multi

Commodity

Exchange, nickel for delivery in November rose by Rs 4.20, or 0.48 per cent, to Rs 879.10 per kg, with
a business turnover of 1,221 lots. Similarly, the metal for delivery in October traded higher by Rs 4.20, or 0.46 per cent, to Rs 868.40 per kg, with an open interest of 1,638 lots. Marketmen said besides pick-up in demand from alloy makers in the domestic spot markets, a firming trend in base metals overseas mainly pushed up nickel prices at futures market.

MTECHTIPS:-Crude mixed in aftermath of superstorm Sandy

Oil prices were mixed in Asia today as traders reviewed damage along the US East Coast caused by superstorm Sandy amid expectations of a rebound in energy demand, analysts said. New York's benchmark oil futures contract, light sweetcrude for delivery in December, gained 13 cents to USD 85.81 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for December delivery fell 19 cents to USD 108.89. "As the storm looks to pass over the (US) East Coast, worries about a significant battering to demand seem to have been overblown," IG Markets Singapore said in a report. Oil prices tumbled this week as the massive storm forced the closure of refineries, roads and airports on the US East Coast, sparking fears it would dent energy demand in the world's biggest oil consuming nation. But hours after the storm tore through the US' most populous state New York, energy demand worries appeared to take a backseat as businesses were already making plans to raise their shutters soon. John F Kennedy Airport was set to reopen today together with the New York stock exchange and the Nasdaq exchange, which had been suspended since Monday in the markets' first closure since the 9/11 attacks of 2001, officials said. New York's iconic Broadway theatre district was also set to reopen most of its shows today, the Broadway League said.

MTECHTIPS:-Brent hovers near $109; recovery eyed post Sandy Brent crude held steady near $109 a barrel on Wednesday after the huge storm Sandywhiplashed
the U.S. East Coast, reducing fuel demand even as refineries in the region gradually resumed operation. Fuel supply in the storm-hit region is expected to bounce back quickly as most refineries emerged unscathed, but demand was likely to take a much bigger knock as roads and airports remained shut. Brent crude for December delivery was down 1 cent at $109.07 by 0441 GMT. The front-month contract is set to post its largest monthly fall since June as concerns about a global economic

slowdown outweighed supply risks in the Middle East. U.S. crude for December edged up 19 cents to
$85.87, on track for the biggest monthly loss since May. "We may have a rapid return of supply but the demand will be slower to recover," Tony Nunan, a risk manager at Mitsubishi Corp, said. Millions of people were left reeling in the aftermath of the winds and heavy rains of the massive storm on Tuesday, as New York City and many parts of the eastern United States struggled with flooding and extensive power outages. "This is really the last thing that the U.S. needed," Nunan said, adding that Americans without insurance to cover storm damages would have less spare cash to spend just as the world's

largest economy was showing signs of recovery. The region's biggest refinery, in Philadelphia, and several others, were ramping up operations on Tuesday after escaping damage. But flooding at the region's second-largest refinery, PhillipsBSE 1.60 % 66's 238,000 barrel-per-day plant in Bayway, New Jersey, plus power glitches at two other plants and a key New Jersey terminal hub, slowed the recovery in fuel supplies.