Parts shortage will affect China output, says Honda
19 April 2011;business-standard.com:Shanghai: Honda Motor Co's production in China will be affected by Japan's part supply shortage, its China head Seiji Kuraishi said on Tuesday. Honda said the parts shortage due to Japan's quake would only start to affect China customers by around late June or early July, thanks to current inventories. "We expect to be able to produce in China without stopping the lines until the end of May," Kuraishi told a small group of reporters at the Shanghai auto show.
Vedanta buys shares in Cairn India in market deals - source
19 April 2011;deccanherald.com:Mumbai: India-focused miner Vedanta Plc has bought shares in Cairn India through block market deals, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday. Cairn Energy agreed in August to sell a majority stake in Cairn India to Vedanta, but the deal has been delayed due to a dispute over royalty payments by Cairn India's partner, state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp. One television channel said that Vedanta had bought 7.5 percent stake in Cairn India through the block deals, while another said the London-listed firm has taken an 11 percent stake through the market transaction. Cairn India saw 283 million shares, or 14.9 percent of the share capital, changing hands in block share market deals on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Tuesday, and TV channels said Malaysia's national oil corporation Petronas was the seller.
18 April 2011;deccanherald.com:Bangalore:International automotive supplier and world’s fourth largest tyre manufacturer Continental has signed an agreement with Modi Rubber Ltd (MRL), for acquisition of 100 shareholding in Modi Tyres Company Limited (MTCL), a subsidiary of MRL. The deal depends on fulfillment of several conditions. Once through, MTCL will become fully owned subsidiary of Continental Corporation. The company will focus on local production and distribution of bias and radial truck/bus tyres as well as radial passenger car tyres for the Indian market.
Provisional local fuel sales in March up 3.9% y-o-y
18 April 2011;business-standard.com:New Delhi: India's local oil product sales in March rose an annual 3.9%, higher than the previous month, provisional government data showed on Monday, as elections in some states spurred demand for petrol and diesel. Local oil product sales, a proxy for domestic oil demand in Asia's third-largest oil consumer, rose to 12.16 million tonnes in March, compared with February's 3.5% annual rise to 11.66 million tonnes. During the 2010-11 fiscal to end-March, fuel sales rose an annual 2.9% to 134.38 million tonnes, the data showed, lower than the government's 4.7% growth estimate at 144.35 million tonnes. Demand for petrol and diesel is expected to soften in May with the conclusion of key state elections this month and on a probable normal monsoon, which would crimp gas oil demand from the agriculture sector. India is expected to present its first official monsoon forecast on Tuesday, while the South Asia Climate Outlook Forum has said South Asia is likely to receive normal monsoon in 2011. Diesel sales, which make up over a third of refined products consumption, rose an annual 6% in March to 5.45 million tonnes while petrol sales rose 9.8% to 1.27 million tonnes during the month, the provisional figures showed. Cumulatively, diesel sales rose an annual 6.6% in the last fiscal to 59.87 million tonnes while petrol consumption was up 10.8% to 14.20 million tonnes. Consumption of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in March rose an annual 28.3% to 804,200 tonnes, but fell 2.3% in 2010/11 from a year ago to 8.04 million tonnes. Kerosene consumption in March declined an annual 5.8% to 716,700 tonnes as it is being gradually replaced by a cleaner liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). In 2010/11, kerosene consumption fell by 4% to 8.93 million tonnes. LPG usage rose 11.5% in March to 1.26 million tonnes from a year ago and 9.3% in the last fiscal to 13.68 million tonnes. Naphtha consumption during the fiscal declined 0.7% from a year ago following the commissioning of state-run Indian Oil Corp's Panipat naphtha cracker. In March, naphtha consumption rose 3.1% on low availability of gas from Reliance Industries-operated D6 block in India's east coast. Jet fuel consumption during March rose an annual 13.5%, propping up the aviation fuel's consumption during the last fiscal year to 9.7% from a year ago.
18 April 2011;business-standard.com:London: Brent crude fell to $123 on Monday and US crude dropped by more than $1 on fears that high prices were hurting demand, after a cut in output from oil exporter Saudi Arabia, which said the market was over-supplied. The kingdom reduced output by 800,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 8.292 million bpd in March from February, Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said on Sunday. "The market is over-balanced," he said. The Kuwait oil minister on Monday added that high oil prices could form a significant economic burden for many import-dependent countries. ICE Brent crude was down 55 cents at $122.90 a barrel by 0830 GMT while US crude fell 70 cents to $108.96 a barrel. Earlier it had fallen over $1 to $108.55. Carsten Fritsch, an analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt, said the market was down in reaction to the Saudi statement. "They said they made the cut because of over-supply and weak demand. That should further the discussion as to whether high oil prices are starting to dampen oil demand," Fritsch said. On Monday, Naimi warned of continued weakness in the global economy: "The recovery remains patchy," he said. Oil prices fell early last week on concern demand may be eroding under pressure from high prices, but rebounded on Friday following encouraging US economic data. Brent has retreated from a 32-month peak of $127.02 hit earlier this month. The conflict in Libya escalated over the weekend, after Muammar Gaddafi's forces fired rockets on Sunday at rebels stationed along the edge of Ajdabiyah, sending some residents fleeing from the eastern town, witnesses said. The oil market is still seeking a close replacement for very high quality Libyan sweet crude oil lost due to the conflict in the North African nation, OPEC Secretary General Abdullah Al-Badri said on Monday. Refiners have shown little appetite for a replacement blend offered by Saudi Arabia to plug the gap. Euro bailout fears The dollar strengthened against the euro after Finnish voters handed the anti-euro party True Finns a crucial role in parliament and possibly government. A stronger dollar makes oil more expensive for buyers using other currencies. The True Finns have said they will oppose a bail out for Portugal, and Finland requires parliamentary approval to participate in any bail out package. "It shows rising resistance in countries that are supposed to give the money," said Fritsch. "Finland is one of only four countries in the eurozone that are supposed to be payers." Eurozone consumer confidence figures for April are due later on Monday. "If it is down sharply, it could be seen as further confirmation that higher oil prices are starting to weigh on sentiment and will hurt demand going forwards," said Fritsch. China raised banks' required reserves on Sunday for the fourth time this year to curb inflation, but the impact on oil prices was muted as further tightening in Chinese monetary policy was widely expected, analysts said. The market will be closely watching a clutch of key US corporate earnings during this holiday-shortened week to gauge the impact of high oil and commodities prices on the world's biggest energy consumer.
17 April 2011;hindustantimes.com:Mumbai: With a less than 5% marketshare and in the face of stiff competition from Ford and Volkswagen, General Motors India is set to play the alternative fuel game. GM’s upcoming half a dozen joint venture products with China’s SAIC will have 14 variants. Apart from the conventional diesel and petrol varian ts, they will have LPG and CNG versions, said Sumit Sawhney, vice-president, sales and marketing, GM India. GM India, a 50:50 joint venture between GM and SAIC, had earlier announced its plans to launch six new vehicles by 2012, including three mini vans and two cars. GM has already stepped into the alternative fuels space. It already offers LPG variants of its small cars Chevrolet Spark and Beat. Maruti Suzuki has the widest gas-run car portfolio with CNG-run Alto, Wagon R, Eeco, Estilo and SX4. The higher purchasing cost of gas-run vehicles is more than compensated by their lower environmental cost and better mileage. It is anticipated that by 2015-16, one fifth of cars in India will run on gas. GM sees virtue in turning green and wants to do it fast as competition is hotting up among emerging players. Riding on the back of its successful small car Figo, Ford has edged past GM to occupy the fourth slot. In 2010-11, Ford’s market share rose to 4.81% while GM’s slipped to 4.4%. VW is also catching up fast with a 2.6% marketshare.
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