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Gold/Mining/Energy : Donner Minerals (DML.V) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Abbeydale who wrote (4266)	4/30/1998 2:52:00 PM
From: VAUGHN	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 11676

Hello Abbeydale Some news of interest on Commodity Price trends: SCOTIABANK COMMODITY PRICE INDEX EASES IN MARCH TORONTO, April 30 /CNW/ - The Scotiabank Commodity Price Index, which measures price trends in Canada's major exports, fell by 0.6 per cent in March after picking up in February. Lower oil and forest product prices more than offset a slight improvement in metal and agricultural prices. ''Despite this month's decline, commodity prices are bottoming,'' stated Patricia Mohr, Vice-President and commodities specialist for Scotiabank. ''Prices will be bolstered later in the year by a 12 trillion yen (US$ 92.3 billion) Japanese stimulative package including tax incentives for housing purchases and public works.'' The Forest Product Index weakened in March with lower lumber and pulp prices and largely unchanged newsprint prices. Western Spruce-Pine-Fir 2x4 lumber prices eased to US$288 per mfbm, but have edged up to US$297 in late April alongside buying for the spring building season. ''Northern bleached softwood kraft pulp prices dipped in March, but are now recovering. A major Canadian pulp producer intends to boost prices worldwide to US$600 in June -- a level which would generate moderate profit margins for many Canadian producers,'' stated Mohr. Papermakers in the United States, Europe and Asia are rebuilding pulp inventories, recognizing that prices have bottomed. However, pulp demand could slow again once inventories are replenished. ''The Metal and Mineral Index inched up in March and probably rose further in April,'' observed Mohr. ''Zinc prices have climbed to US$0.49 per pound, buoyed by good demand in the United States and Europe and a balanced global market.'' London gold prices have rallied from US$269 per ounce in March to US$310.70 in late April as hedge funds anticipate an end to central bank selling and a larger-than-expected reserve role for gold in the new European Central Bank. West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell to a four-year low of US$14.94 per barrel in March and remains a weak US$15.26 in late April. The market was disappointed with the final agreement on oil production cutbacks by OPEC and non-OPEC countries, believing that the cuts will be insufficient to tighten market conditions in the near term. In contrast, natural gas prices delivered to pipelines in Texas and Louisiana remain robust at US$2.39 per mmbtu in late April, well above year-ago levels. ''Expectations of a return to more normal weather conditions after El Nino -- a hotter summer and colder winter -- have been a factor boosting prices,'' Mohr said. ''The Agricultural Index strengthened in March. Wheat prices should be boosted in the coming crop year by a ten per cent drop in US plantings.'' Regards