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Baht/$ 33.49/53
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14,000
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IN Brief
TRADE :Deputy Commerce Minister Wiroon Techapaiboon will lead a trade mission to Madagascar in mid-July, with the African nation's ban on exports of gems and precious rough stones high on the agenda.
Mr Wiroon said that the ban, which took effect in February, delivered a big blow to Thai jewellers as they were facing a shortage of raw materials.
The Thai jewellery industry depends mostly on imported raw materials. Most of the rough stones and gems imported from Madagascar are sapphires and rubies.
Daniel E.H. Dele'vauz, the honorary consul of Madagascar said that lifting the ban just for Thailand was unlikely, but he said joint ventures between the two countries to set up cutting factories in Madagascar were highly viable.
Rubber rebounds
COMMODITIES :Natural rubber futures in Tokyo rose yesterday for a second day to a one-week high as rising crude oil boosted the appeal of commodities as an inflation hedge.
Futures gained as much as 1.3% to the highest since June 17. Oil in New York advanced as Opec's secretary-general said the group would not increase production. Futures often move in the same direction as oil as competing synthetic rubber is made from naphtha, which is distilled from petroleum.
"Rubber has solid fundamentals," said Mac Sugitani, head of commodity sales at Newedge Japan Inc in Tokyo. "Oil prices provided a positive momentum."
Rubber for November delivery settled up 0.4% at 346.2 yen a kilogramme ($3,207 a tonne) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange after nearing a 28-year high of 354 yen for the most-active contract set on June 12.
Futures also advanced as the falling dollar against the euro raised speculation that investors may pour more money into commodities as an alternative to US financial assets.
Futures have gained 31% in the past year as growth in demand outpaced supply of the commodity used to make car tyres.BLOOMBERG
Soco ready to pump
PETROLEUM :Soco International Plc, a UK oil explorer with operations in Africa and Asia, said output from operations in Thailand would start next month.
Production would begin from the Bualuang field, in the Gulf of Thailand, Soco said. No information was given on daily output.BLOOMBERG
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