spiralling prices ~ Onion, Gold, Dollar all go up - Sensex falls !!

There are confusing signals ~ and some say that economy is not doing well…..cutting onions brings tear ~ now buying them too… there are reports that onion rates are coming down and presently they are selling around Rs.60 per kg in local markets.  It is stated that rains have started to recede in the western parts of the country;  the wholesale vegetable market at Koyambedu is receiving an additional supply of onions, bringing the prices down. The prices soared up recently – reportedly due to incessant rains damaging cultivated  onion crops in Bellary, Kurnool, Cuddapah, Dharwad and Hubli regions in neighbouring states.

The gold is more volatile… sale of jewellery in the city slowed as gold prices shot up by Rs 105 per gram. Worryingly, trade insiders say that there is little or no hope of prices coming down soon and that buyers should brace for a significant increase in prices over the next week.  The price of gold, which was selling at Rs 2,776 per gm on Wednesday evening, jumped to Rs 2,904 per gm on Friday morning, before settling at Rs 2,881 per gm. This is a whopping 3.8 per cent rise. The steep hike has been blamed on an increase in oil prices as a result of the turmoil in Egypt, which has sent international investors running to safe haven investments in gold.

For the day, the 24 Ct gold is selling at around 3150 per gram and 22 Ct at around 2947…… a far cry from below 2650 at the start of the month.  Here is a chart showing gold rates [24 ct] ~ in mid Apr it touched its low….

Away from onions and gold, the Indian rupee hit a new low [hitting a new low is becoming a ‘cliché’ as the rupee keeps falling !] – today is at 62.35 and the Nifty is also on a low.   The recent restrictions on the amount of money that can be sent out of the country seemingly has not had much effect.  There has been a sharp decline in the growth and the present trends depict lack of faith in the market.  

The weak rupee is bad for the Nation as the prices of imported items like Crude, chemicals, food stuffs and more will rise further. It is stated that the consumer durables [most of the imported ones] would cost more with the rise in dollar rate.  The sliding rupee would make the exporters make more money as also those earning abroad in dollars….

Not to conclude on a pessimistic note, the forest cover in Sikkim is growing ~ with a forest cover of 47.3 percent of its total geographical area — more than double the national average of 21 percent — Sikkim is India’s greenest state, official data shows.

“The forest cover in the state, based on the interpretation of satellite data, is 3,359 sq km, which is 47.3 percent of state’s geographical area,” a statement released by the Sikkim government claims.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar.