MTECHTIPS COMMODITY MARKET NEWS 2

MTECHTIPS:-Gold keeps tumbling below USD1,650 an ounce

Gold futures extended declines from Mondays U.S. session during Asian trading Tuesday as technical pressure continued to build with the yellow metal languishing below USD1,650 per troy ounce.On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for March deliver slipped 0.31% to USD1,644.05 per troy ounce in Asian trading Tuesday. Gold settled down 1.27% at USD1,645.65 a troy ounce in U.S. trading on Monday.Gold futures were likely to test support USD1,643.25 a troy ounce, the low from Jan. 7, and resistance at USD1,685.65, the high from Feb. 5.Trade was quiet again today as markets in China, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea and other nations will be closed for all or part of this week due to Chinese New Year festivities. To this point in February, 1.2 tons of gold have been pulled from the SPDR Gold Shares, the worlds largest exchange traded fund backed by holdings of physical gold.The Lunar New Year celebrations are seen as reducing gold liquidity in the financial markets and are also viewed as a catalyst for weak demand in the physical, particularly because China is among the worlds largest gold consumers.Elsewhere, press reports noted today that over the past decade, Russias central bank acquired 570 tons of gold, making it the worlds largest buyer of bullion over that time frame. Global central banks have been stepping up gold purchases in recent years as a means of diversifying their holdings, particularly after the U.S. has moved to weaken the dollar.

MTECHTIPS:-Crude gives back some of U.S. gains during Asian trade

Oil futures fell modestly during Tuesdays Asian, paring gains notched during U.S. trade Monday European Central Bank official said the euro wasn't overvalued.On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for March delivery dipped 0.1% to USD96.94 per barrel in Asian trading Tuesday. Crude settled up 1.03% at USD96.71 a barrel on Monday in the U.S. On Monday, oil also got a lift from some positive French economic data. France's industrial output contracted by 0.1% in December from the month before, less than market calls for a 0.2% contraction though still down from November's 0.5% gain. France is the euro zones second-largest economy behind Germany. Comments from Jens Weidmann, European Central Bank member and president of Germany's central bank, regarding the euro not being overvalued also helped drive oil on Monday, narrowing the gap between West Texas Intermediate and Brent, the global benchmark.Traders will now turn their attention to some key data points due out of the U.S. later this week. Weekly supply data will be released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday followed by the weekly jobless claims number on Thursday. January retail sales and the initial reading on February consumer sentiment are also due out this week, which could put oil futures in play as the U.S. is the worlds largest oil consumer.

MTECHTIPS:-Comex Gold prices near one-month low; MCX Gold down

Investor interest has been waning in gold ETP holdings and with macro economic situation around the globe improving, especially in US, gold prices dropped to lowest in more than a month.Gold ETP holdings fell 0.14 percent to 2,611.41 metric tons yesterday as per Bloomberg data; the dip is the biggest since January 24.Theres more confidence in the dollar compared to other trading currencies,Theres more confidence in what were seeing coming out of the U.S., particularly the private sector, in terms of growth. he added. He also cited decline in ETP holdings causing a dip in gold prices.Gold futures on the Comex for delivery on April 13 was spotted trading at $1647.25 an ounce, a loss of $1.85 or 0.11% as of 10.18 AM IST. On India's MCX,

futures for delivery on April 5 was seen trading at Rs.30560, a loss of 0.26% in the opening minutes.Meanwhile a top US treasury official said Group of 20 nations or G20 must avoid currency devaluations.

MTECHTIPS:-India Mining, Manufacturing sectors decline further, IIP falls 0.6% in Dec
Indias Index of Industrial Production (IIP) for the month of December has fallen by 0.6% on a year-on-year basis while the cumulative growth during April to December FY 2012-13 has been 0.7% compared to previous year, government data showed.The Indices of Industrial Production for the Mining, Manufacturing and Electricity sectors for the month of December 2012 stand at 131.3, 191.3 and 157.6 respectively, with the corresponding growth rates of (-) 4.0%, (-) 0.7% and 5.2% as compared to December 2011The cumulative growth in the three sectors during April-December 2012-13 over the corresponding period of 2011-12 has been (-) 1.9%, 0.7% and 4.6% respectively.The IIP data which shows a declining trend has come close on the heels of 2012-13 GDP growth rate estimated by Central Statistical Organsiation (CSO) to fall to 5% from 6.2% the previous year. Industry bodies have appealed to the Finance Ministry to introduce urgent tax relief measures to boost industrial production in a sagging economy.