New Delhi, July 25
Surpassing all previous records, gold soared to an all-time high of Rs 23,620 per 10 grams by adding Rs 200 in the national capital today on increased buying by stockists and investors, driven by a record rally in global markets. Silver also moved up by Rs 500 to Rs 59,500 per kg on increased offtake by industrial units and coin makers. Silver coins followed suit and jumped by Rs 1,500 to fresh high of Rs 65,500 for buying and Rs 66,500 for selling of 100 pieces.

Trading sentiment turned bullish as gold marched to a record of $1,624.30 an ounce by adding 1.4 per cent overseas, after US lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on raising the federal debt limit, increasing concerns of a US default and boosting demand for the metal as a safe haven. The white metal also gained 1.5 per cent to $40.74 an ounce in the global markets, the highest level since July 19.

On the domestic front, gold of 99.9 and 99.5 per cent purity shot up by Rs 200 each to fresh high of Rs 23,620 and Rs 23,500 per 10 grams, respectively. Sovereigns followed suit and added Rs 50 to Rs 18,950 per piece of eight grams. In line with a general firming trend, silver ready rose by Rs 500 to Rs 59,500 per kg and weekly-based delivery gained Rs 805 to Rs 60,270 per kg.— PTI

New Delhi, July 25
Reliance Industries today said its net profit rose nearly 17 per cent during the quarter ended June 30 as better refining margin and higher yield on its cash deposits offset fall in gas output from its showpiece KG-D6 fields.

Net profit soared 16.7 per cent to Rs 5,661 crore in April-June quarter this fiscal compared to Rs 4,851 crore in the same period the previous year, RIL said in a statement.

It said natural gas output at its eastern offshore KG-D6 gas fields fell 18 per cent to 156.2 billion cubic feet in the April-June quarter but did not elaborate on the reasons.

Output at KG-D6 has dropped from 61.5 million cubic meters per day achieved in March 2010 due to increased water flow and drop in reservoir pressure at the limited wells in production as the company deterred from drilling more wells.

The production numbers reported by RIL translate into an average output of about 48.6 mmscmd in Q1 as opposed to an about 58 mmscmd average in the same period a year ago.

Also, crude oil output from MA field in the same KG-D6 block also fell 41 per cent to 1.41 million barrels in Q1.

The 16.5 per cent drop in revenues from oil and gas was offset by 45.8 per cent jump in earnings from oil refining and 32.1 per cent increase in revenue from petrochemical business.

RIL, which operates the world's largest refining complex at Jamnagar in Gujarat, said it earned USD 10.3 for turning every barrel of crude oil into fuel as opposed to $7.3 per barrel gross refining margin in Q1 of 2010-11.

Also contributing was a 49 per cent rise in other income helped by higher yields on its cash balance. RIL had a cash balance of Rs 45,775 crore which yielded Rs 1,078 crore in other income in Q1 as against Rs 722 crore last fiscal.

RIL said it earned Rs 3,894 crore from selling oil and gas in Q1 as opposed to Rs 4,665 crore in last fiscal.

"Lower production from KG-D6 and Panna/Mukta and Tapti blocks resulted in lower oil and gas revenue and was partly offset by higher crude oil price realisation," it said.

Revenues from oil refining business jumped to Rs 73,689 crore from Rs 50,531 crore in Q1 last year on higher international oil prices.

"Increase in volumes accounted for 6.5 per cent growth in revenue while higher prices accounted for 39.4 per cent growth in revenue," RIL said.

RIL exported $10.2 billion worth of refined products as against $6.3 billion in Q1 of FY11. Higher prices helped the firm see revenues from petrochemical business soar to Rs 18,366 crore from Rs 13,903 crore last fiscal. As a whole, the company turnover was up 37.2 per cent to Rs 83,689 crore.

RIL CMD Mukesh D Ambani said: “The growth in earnings was driven by strong refining margins and sustained performance in the petrochemicals business. Our cash flows give us the unparalleled opportunity to allocate capital to higher-margin resource plays in leading markets around the world” — Agencies

Chandigarh, July 25
With an eye on big-ticket customers, Punjab National Bank (PNB) will now start doorstep banking in Chandigarh. Under this service, to be launched later this week, the bank will start collecting cash and making payments to their customers at the latter’s office/ residence.

Rohtash Kumar, general manager — marketing, head office, PNB, said that this service will be offered in case the cash to be collected /paid is over Rs 1 lakh and less than Rs 2 crore.

“We have launched this service in major metros, and will be launching this in Chandigarh this week. This will be partly outsourced, and we have already tied-up with three agencies to offer doorstep banking in the city,” he said.

After having started a system of collecting dues for Haryana Urban Development Authority from any of its branches in the state, the bank is also looking at starting this system with the Haryana Agricultural Marketing Board and the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan.

New Delhi, July 25
The country's largest power producer NTPC today posted a nearly 13 per cent jump in net profit to Rs 2,075.78 crore for the quarter ended June, 2011. The thermal power major had posted a profit of Rs 1,841.89 crore for the April-June period a year ago.

NTPC's sales shot up to Rs 14,524.23 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal from Rs 13,006.26 crore in the year-ago period, it said in a statement.

Chandigarh, July 25
VE Commercial Vehicles, a joint venture between the Volvo Group and Eicher Motors Ltd, plans to expand. The company that sells trucks and buses, is all set to venture into designing and developing engines.

The company will be setting up two green-field projects at Pithampur near Indore, at Rs 590 crore.

While a new engine division will be set up in Pithampur with an investment of Rs 450 crore, the company is also planning to set up a new paint shop with a capital outlay of RS 140 crore.

Vinod Aggarwal, CEO, VECV, said that both the new plants will be built through internal accruals.

“The engine division will have a capacity to manufacture 85,000 to 1 lakh units per annum, and will be commissioned by year 2013. With the commissioning of this plant, we will not just cater to the domestic market, but also target the European market, through Volvo’s distribution network there,” he said.

“Last year, we sold over 39,000 commercial vehicles. This year (till June), we have already sold 24,000 units, thus showing a growth of 27 per cent. Though the interest rates on vehicle loans have gone up and diesel prices have gone up, sales have not impacted. This is mainly because of tremendous discipline enforced against overloading of commercial vehicles,” he said.

New Delhi, July 25
The government today said it would meet all the needs of procuring grain for the FCI and the state procurement agencies. The amount is Rs 95,311 crore for 2011-12 fiscal, a statement said “Action is being taken to meet this additional requirement of the FCI,” the statement said.

The fund requirement of the FCI and state procuring agencies has shot up due to a bonus incentive of Rs 50 per quintal for wheat, additional food grains allocation for APL and BPL families and hike in MSP by Rs 80 per quintal in paddy. Around Rs 7,635.84 crore was released on July 21 to the FCI. — TNS