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To: George Castilarin who wrote (17339)	9/3/1998 9:05:00 AM
From: Giraffe	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116779

MARKETS: Jump in copper stocks on LME By Robert Corzine and Agencies London Metal Exchange warehouse stocks of copper rose 16,150 tonnes to 323,550 tonnes yesterday, the largest one-day increase for over a year. Traders suggested it was the result of action by a commercial trader who was being squeezed. While the rise had little impact on the benchmark LME three-month price, the September-October backwardation evaporated. Backwardation occurs when prices for immediate delivery are higher than those for future delivery. At the kerb close, three-month copper was unchanged at $1,642 compared with Tuesday. Oil prices softened yesterday after tropical storm Earl passed through the main US offshore oil producing area in the Gulf of Mexico, apparently without causing any significant damage. Brent Blend for October delivery was quoted at $12.55 a barrel in late trading on London's International Petroleum Exchange, 4 cents down on Tuesday's close. Yesterday afternoon oil companies began sending crews back to offshore platforms that had been evacuated on Tuesday as the storm approached the area. The US government's Minerals Management Service reported that 60 per cent of the Gulf's oil capacity, equivalent to 658,000 barrels a day of output, had been shut in as a result of the hurricane precautions. The markets were also affected by the latest figures on US crude and refined product stocks. The American Petroleum Institute reported the third consecutive weekly draw-down in crude inventories, although US oil stocks are still 30m barrels higher than at this time last year. Financial Times

To: George Castilarin who wrote (17339)	9/3/1998 9:08:00 AM
From: Giraffe	Respond to of 116779

Potentially significant for gold demand ... India on track for record harvest By Kunal Bose in Calcutta India is on track for record food grains production in the 1998-99 season. Favourable weather and a rise in the amount of land under crops mean the harvest is likely to total more than 207m tonnes, according to Dr Mangla Rai, deputy director general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. That compares with 194m tonnes last season and the previous record of 199.3m tonnes in 1996-97. However, the size of the harvest still depends on the progress of the monsoon this month, and the even distribution of rain in the big growing centres. Agriculture ministry officials are confident of a rise in production because 32 of the 35 meteorological sub-divisions in India have received normal or more than normal rain. Some of the earlier deficit areas, such as eastern Madhya Pradesh, western Orissa and parts of Bihar, have also seen higher precipitation. Improved surveillance systems and high day temperatures mean the crops have remained largely free from pests and diseases. Rice, the biggest food grain crop for the kharif (summer monsoon) season, has so far been sown over 28m hectares, up 800,000 hectares over last season. A bigger volume of food grains is harvested during the kharif season than the rabi (winter) season. Experts say if the monsoon does not falter there will be a long winter, which will boost the rabi food grains production. The expected bumper production will allow the government to maintain a large buffer stock and control price rises. However, in the Indian Economic Survey 1997-98 the government has warned that "yield rates appear to have plateaued in major wheat and rice growing areas". "Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Orissa should be the target areas, where higher investment in rural infrastructure by way of improved water conservation and delivery system, fertiliser use and credit availability should receive special focus."