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Monday, March 30, 2009
Daily News Roundup - March 30 2009
Indian Oil Corp has set a target of commissioning projects worth Rs300bn during the next fiscal.(BL)
Reliance Industries formally signs gas sale and purchase agreements with 12 urea manufacturers in a move that may result in annual fertilizer subsidy savings of Rs30bn for the Centre.(BL)
Tata Motors looking to set up a truck manufacturing plant in Myanmar. (BS)
ONGC set to sign deal with Reliance Industries on rig utilization.(TOI)
Mahindra & Mahindra is working on the cargo version of its recently launched multi-purpose vehicle Mahindra Xylo.(BL)
Low-cost airlines SpiceJet and Jet Airways have reduced fuel surcharge on air tickets. (BS)
BHEL says it has received a Rs3.5bn contract from Nuclear Power Corp.(FE)
Central Bank of India reduces its benchmark prime lending rate by 0.50% to 12%. (BS)
Parsvnath goes slow on hotel expansion, pushes back its plans to buy new land for hotels and projects by 12-18 months. (BS)
Reliance Industries set to begin gas production from the KG basin in the next 24 to 48 hours. (ET)
Spice Group pulls out of Satyam bidding process.(BL)
DoT may undertake a special audit of Bharti Airtel’s accounts for the year 2007-08 to examine allegations of irregular revenue reporting by the company to pay lower fees to the Government.(BL)
SBI hints at rate cuts in next financial year.(FE)
TVS group plans to form new finance company.(BL)
Essar Oil will soon diversify into retailing of liquefied petroleum gas for automotives.(DNA)
Unitech reschedules, repays Rs6-7bn debt due by March.(BL)
Japanese two-wheeler major Honda says it will exit the geared scooter market in India.(FE)
Sun Pharma gets USFDA approval to market generic Topamax, topiramate tablets. (BS)
IL&FS Financial Services has acquired a14.5% stake in Maytas Infra. (ET)
Essar Oil fuel sales turn profitable for the first time. (BS)
SAIL, Tata Steel and JSW Steel, are witnessing a revival of demand following improved consumption from construction and automobile sectors. (ET)
Lupin has picked up 51% stake in Philippines’ Multicare Pharmaceuticals, a branded generic-drugs company with a presence in women’s health and child care.(BL)
Glaxo, Sanofi-Aventis to buy-out majority stake in Shantha Biotec. (ET)
Vishal Retail to raise Rs500mn through debt to invest in inventory and stock. (ET)
Jet Airways looking at leasing out more aircrafts. (ET)
Sophia Power, Adani Power, KSK Power and Monnet Ispat are in the race for participating in NMDC’s thermal coal venture. (BS)
CESC to complete land acquisition for its proposed 1,000 MW coal-based power plant at Neulapoi in Orissa’s Dhenkanal district within three months. (BS)
Gitanjali Gems scraps its plan to set up a SEZ in Nanded, Maharashtra. (BS)
Jet Airways, which had slashed 18-20% of its fleet capacity in the winter schedule (October-February), may look at reducing capacity if the current air traffic slips further.(DNA)
Matrix Labs likely to delist shares.(BL)
Walt Disney Company to hike its stake in UTV Global Broadcasting by purchasing additional 10% stake for Rs329.7mn. (ET)
GSPC to start scouting for LNG supplies by year-end.(BL)
MMTC to launch currency futures market in July.(FE)
Tata Tech eyes PE funds, may dilute 12%.(TOI)
Forex reserves rose by US$5bn to US$254bn in the week ended March 20.(BL)
Prime Minister has ‘advised’ the Reserve Bank of India to further cut interest rates.(BL)
TRAI has proposed that stake sale for new telecom licensees may be eased. (BS)
DoT seeks Finance Ministry’s views on stake sale by new telecom companies.(BL)
Ministry of civil aviation asks domestic carriers to pay Rs4900 per flight as common infrastructure charge to GMR Hyderabad International Airport. (ET)
Government asks automobile makers to roll back all price hikes announced during the last couple of months. (ET)
Central Board of Excise and Customs has proposed to end double taxation on software sales. (ET)
Container traffic fell 26% in Jan’ 09.(Mint)
Government may defer implementation of accounting standard-11.(BL)
India's infrastructure sector output grew 2.2% in February from a year earlier, above an upwardly revised 1.5% in January, according to government data.(FE)
Growth in the Rs450bn organized retail industry has slowed to 5% in the fourth quarter of 2008-09.(FE)
With just days left for fiscal 2008-09 to end, the Railways are unlikely to meet the freight loading target of 850mn tonnes.(FE)
PC sales see first yearly drop of 1% to 8mn units in CY08.(DNA)
Banks parked nearly two-thirds of the incremental deposits that flowed into the banking system in the last six months in investments (mostly Government securities) than lend it to the commercial sector, an analysis of RBI data reveals.(BL)
Banks have been prevented from charging any fee for cash withdrawals using ATMs issued by other banks from April 1 onwards.(FE)
Some softening in store
The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised.
The recent rally has caught most market players by surprise, especially after the crash that preceded it. Risk aversion has receded a bit, underscored by the spike in emerging market currencies and commodities. FIIs have turned net buyers in the past few days. All this has happened on the back of a few encouraging news, particularly in the US. Back home too, few positive signs are emerging like the increase in sales of auto, cement and steel sectors.
However, one should not get fooled by the slight improvement in sentiment. A sustained recovery is still far away. What we have witnessed is just a pull-back rally in a bear market. There has to be incremental positive news, both locally and globally, to fuel further advance. April is likely to be critical in this context what with polls and earnings lined up as key events. Today, we expect some cooling as global cues are negative. Technically, 3150 (Nifty) is seen to be a crucial near-term level.
US stocks retreated on Friday at the end of what had been an otherwise strong week, extending the recent rally to three consecutive weeks. Investors chose to step back a bit after the recent spike.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 148 points, or 1.9%, to 7,776.18. The S&P 500 index lost 17 points, or 2%, to 815.94. The Nasdaq Composite index dived 42 points, or 2.6%, to 1,545.20.
Gains earlier in the week were enough to boost the weekly tally. The US stock benchmarks have now posted gains for three consecutive weeks, the best stretch since May last year.
While the market could advance a little more from here, it is likely to soon fizzle out, especially if there is no further good news on the economy or corporate profits. There could be momentum in the short run, but this is a classic bear market rally, nothing more than that.
Financial and technology shares, which led the advance on Thursday, led the fall on Friday. But declines were broad based and 24 of 30 Dow stocks fell.
President Barack Obama met with executives from JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America and other large banks to discuss the financial crisis. The bankers gave their approval of Treasury's plan to strip bad assets off bank balance sheets. They also discussed the recent proposal to overhaul financial regulations.
On the downside, executives at JPMorgan and Bank of America said that March business conditions weakened after a more encouraging start to the year.
Since falling to more than 12-year lows on March 9, the Dow has gained 18.8% and the S&P 500 has rallied 20.6% as of Friday's close. Also on March 9, the Nasdaq touched a more than six-year low. Since then, it has gained 21.8%.
Better-than-forecast economic reports on housing and durable goods orders last week added to optimism about the state of the world's largest economy. Investors have also responded well to the latest plans from the government to stabilise the financial system.
On Thursday, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner outlined a huge overhaul of the regulatory system. On Monday, he detailed plans to purge bank balance sheets of up to $1 trillion in bad debt that is limiting lending.
In the day's big economic news, personal income fell 0.2% in February after rising 0.2% in January. Economists had forecast a fall of 0.1%. Personal spending rose 0.2% in February after rising 1% in January. Economists had predicted a rise of 0.2%.
The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index rose to 57.3 in March from 56.3 in February, versus economists' forecasts for a reading of 56.8.
In corporate news Google said late on Thursday that it was cutting just under 200 sales and marketing positions worldwide. It is the second round of layoffs in Google history.
General Motors (GM) shares gained on published reports that the government could extend the automaker's restructuring deadline, giving it more time to gain concessions from unions and qualify for more taxpayer help.
The Wall Street Journal said that the government could extend the March 31 deadline by 30 days. On Thursday, GM said that 12% of its US workforce has taken its latest buyout offer. However, the company is still looking to work with the union to alter retiree health care benefits, among other things.
Treasury prices fell, raising the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 2.76% from 2.73% on Thursday.
Lending rates declined. The 3-month Libor rate fell to 1.22% from 1.23% on Thursday. The overnight Libor rate fell to 0.28% from 0.29%. Libor is a bank-to-bank lending rate.
In currency trading, the dollar gained against the euro and fell against the yen.
US light crude oil for May delivery fell $1.96 to settle at $52.38 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
COMEX gold for June delivery fell $16.90 to settle at $925.30 an ounce.
Indian markets extended their winning streak to fifth straight trading session as the BSE benchmark Sensex and the NSE Nifty index ended the week above the 10,000 and the 3,100 levels. The rally could be attributed to some short covering as the Nifty April Futures ended with a premium of 18 points.
The BSE Sensex gained 45 points to close at 10,048 and the NSE Nifty was up 26 points at 3,108.
Among the 30-components of Sensex, 23 stocks ended in positive terrain and only 7 stocks ended in red. Among the top gainers were Tata Steel, Tata Motors, RCom, Hindalco and Acc. On the other hand, top losers in the Sensex were, HDFC, Infosys, Reliance Industries and BHEL.
Among the BSE Sectoral indices BSE Metal index was the top gainer, the index surged 5%. Among the other major gainers were BSE Pharma index (up 3.1%), BSE Bankex index (up 2.6%) and BSE Auto index (up 2.2%).
Market breath was positive, 1,522 stocks advanced against 1,027 declines, while, 105 stocks remained unchanged.
After starting off with smart gains, the stock was unable to hold on to its gains and plunged sharply. The stock plummeted by over 86% to end at Rs19.9 from its high of Rs106 and recorded volumes of over 10.1mn shares on NSE.
Brandhouse Retails Ltd. (BHRL), a leading fashion retailer has received the permission for listing of its shares from BSE and NSE and the shares commence trading from 27th March. The Company’s shares listed are 5,19,94,195 equity shares of the face value Rs10 each.
Shares of ONGC slipped by 0.5% to Rs808 after reports stated that the January strike would impact the company’s output in the fourth quarter. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs819 and a low of Rs795 and recorded volumes of over 0.42mn shares on BSE.
Shares of SAIL surged by over 7% to Rs102 after reports stated that the company would not go slow on its plans to invest Rs500bn in increasing capacity by 10mn tones. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs103 and a low of Rs95.4 and recorded volumes of over 5.3mn shares on BSE.
Shares of HCL Tech advanced by 3% to Rs104 after the company announced that it got three-year contract from third-party logistics solutions player, MJ Logistics, for implementing integrated software solutions. The scrip touched an intra-day high of Rs105.8 and a low of Rs102 and recorded volumes of over 0.2mn shares on BSE.
The coming week is a holiday-shortened week. The start will hinge on how global markets behave. Thereafter, the market will take a closer look at the numbers of auto sales and cement dispatches. A negative inflation and expectations of a positive IIP augur well for sentiment though most people doubt the reliability of these base effect figures.
Corporation Bank
Investors with a two-three year horizon can buy the Corporation Bank stock as it trades at a low valuation, though the bank has clocked a higher rate of earnings growth than most of its PSU peers, over the past five years. At the current market price of Rs 174, the stock trades at a trailing one-year PEM of 3 and at just half its December 2008 book value.
At this valuation (P/BV), the stock trades at a discount to most of its peers. The dividend yield for the stock is 6 per cent. The large valuation discount already factors in the possibility of moderation in profits in future (likely due to rising credit costs and falling advances growth). The bank’s earnings may, however, outperform peers beyond CY09.
The South-based Corporation Bank, with 67 per cent of its branches in South India and Maharasthra, was the first PSU bank to completely implement core banking solutions (CBS) at all its branches. Superior asset quality, high proportion of non-operating income (54 per cent of net revenues), high loan-loss provision coverage (73 per cent), higher operating efficiencies (cost-income ratio of 40 per cent) are key positives on the business.
Corporation Bank’s advances book grew at 26 per cent compounded annually in the last four years. In the same period, the net profit grew by 22 per cent annually. Corporation Bank’s advances continued to grow, recording 30 per cent growth for the period ended December, 2008.
The bank’s loan book is well-diversified and comprises of corporate loans (30.6 per cent), retail loans (20 per cent), SMEs (10.4 per cent) and agricultural loans (9.2 per cent) as of December. High growth in the past year was contributed by corporate advances (46 per cent year-on-year) and agricultural advances (39 per cent year-on-year).
Financials
For the nine months ended December 2008, the bank’s net profit grew by 19.44 per cent primarily boosted by a 33 per cent growth in non-interest income. The net interest income growth of 18 per cent is on the low side due to contraction in net interest margin (NIM) from 2.81 to 2.53 per cent over a year; pressured by higher cost of deposits. Corporation Bank’s CASA ratio has tended to be much lower than other PSU peers at 25.2 per cent and actually fell from 30 per cent last year.
Corporation Bank has leveraged on its first-mover advantage in being CBS-enabled, by generating fee-based income; non-interest income contributed 32 per cent of total income (16 per cent of total income comes from core non-interest income). Core non-interest income grew by 34 per cent year-on-year boosting the total income. Cost-income ratio of the bank stands at 40 per cent though higher provisions were provided for AS-15 and employee wage revision.
Though the bank has one of the lowest net non-performing assets (NNPA) proportions in the banking space, it is exposed to higher slippages due to its exposure to slowdown-sensitive sectors such as commercial real estate, exports, SMEs and textile sector. The retail side of the loan book may also see higher slippages. In terms of asset quality, the bank’s provisions for bad loans remained flat for the first nine months of this year. Provision coverage fell from 80 per cent last year to 73 per cent, but remains healthy enough to shield the bank from any slippages in the coming quarters.
Gross NPAs of the bank stood at 1.24 per cent of the total advances and the net NPA remained flat at 0.33 per cent of the total advances. The bank may not need re-capitalisation from the government in the near future as it has a capital adequacy ratio of a comfortable 12.76 per cent. The Government of India holds 57 per cent in the bank. Though the bank is raising Tier-2 capital to maintain its capital adequacy, with Tier-1 capital of 9.68 per cent, there is no urgency for the bank to raise money from equity markets.
Outlook
The credit-deposit ratio of the bank stands at 72 per cent and is expected to come down due to moderation in the credit offtake. Given the low CASA ratio, margin pressures for the bank may continue for a few quarters. Deposit rates may not fall as sharply as lending rates over the next few quarters. On the asset quality front, the current slippages from rate sectors may show up in the coming quarters, but restructuring measures and interest rate cuts may alleviate these concerns over the medium term.
The bank’s presence in rural areas and branchless banking provide opportunities to access untapped potential customers. The bank’s tie-up with automobile manufacturers for vehicle financing may aid growth in the loan book in the secured mode.
JSW Steel
JSW Steel shareholders can hold on to the stock, as the coming quarters may bring improved financial performance, on the back of volumes from newly-commissioned capacities and lower input prices. At Rs 231, a trailing price-earnings multiple of five times, the stock’s valuation is at a discount to steel sector peers.
However, the company’s relatively high overseas exposure, the vulnerability of its US operations to recessionary trends and the debt on its consolidated balance-sheet leading to losses in the recent quarter, appear to justify a valuation discount to peers such as SAIL.
The company’s moves to increase its domestic exposure, aggressive retail expansion plans and steps to reduce interest costs may help improve performance, with a lag of a few quarters. The debt-to-equity ratio stands at a high 1.75 (as against 0.18 of SAIL).
Business overview
With steel plants in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, JSW Steel produces around 6.8 million tonnes of steel per annum. The company produces hot and cold rolled steel products with galvanised sheets, plates and pipes. The company’s market is concentrated in India with 85 per cent of revenues coming from West and South India.
Even as JSW Steel shifts focus to the domestic market, steel demand has been showing signs of improvement in recent months. CMIE sees steel production growing by 6.5 per cent in 2009-10 as falling interest rates stoke growth in the construction sector, thus increasing demand for long steel products.
An improvement in the passenger vehicle numbers also augur well for steel demand. JSW Steel is looking to capitalise on these trends by turning to value-added products, aggressively expanding its retail presence. The company plans to open another 50 outlets across the country and have a pan-India presence.
The improvement in sales for JSW Steel in the ongoing March quarter (relative to December) may be quite sharp, given the plant shutdowns in the preceding quarter and the commissioning of expanded capacity at Vijayanagar. The company expects its March quarter 2009 sales to expand to 1.2 million tonnes from 0.7 million tonnes recorded in December quarter of 2008. The re-opening of two blast furnaces that were temporarily shut in November and December and the commencement of production at the Vijayanagar works in February may aid volumes.
The new Vijayanagar facility has expanded the production capacity of the steel maker to 6.8 million tpa from 3.8 mtpa earlier. JSW Steel is further looking to expand the capacity to 10 mtpa by 2011.
Subsidiary drags profits
In 2007, the company acquired three plate and pipe mills in the US for a consideration of $940 million. These companies had a capacity of producing 1.2 million tonne of plates, 0.55 million tonne of pipes and 0.35 million of double jointing and coating lines and are under JSW Steel (US). The strategy behind the acquisition was to ship the excess one million tonne of slab produced in the Indian facilities to the acquired US operations for value-addition and subsequent marketing in that region. It was also hoped that the acquisition would be a stepping stone to catering to the oil and gas sector in North America, a key driver of plate and pipe demand.
But recessionary trends in the US markets and the collapse in oil prices have hit the subsidiary’s operations. In the December quarter alone, the company saw sales volume of plates decline by 53.6 per cent and that of pipes by 20.5 per cent sequentially in the December 2008 quarter; the subsidiary reported a net loss of $2.8 million for the quarter.
As demand may take time to recover in North America, the US subsidiary may continue to weigh on numbers for some more time.
JSW Steel has substantial debt outstanding in its book, with long-term loans at Rs 14,153 crore as at end-December 2008. This takes the debt-to-equity ratio of the company to a high 1.75. With the company eyeing another expansion of capacity to 10 mtpa by March 2011, there remains a risk of further addition to these borrowings.
JSW Steel’s consolidated performance in the December quarter of 2008 was hit by interest costs (Rs 330.19 crore) which more than doubled and from forex losses of over Rs 181 crore on FCCBs with the rupee depreciating sharply against foreign currencies.
Last week the company made an announcement stating that it had repurchased its FCCBs to the extent of US $ 47.80 million. However this is only a small amount when compared to the total outstanding dues in the balance sheet.
Relief on input costs
Though factors such as leverage and challenges for overseas operations remain, the company may see substantial relief in input costs.
The company has recently succeeded in negotiating the prices on long-term coking coal contracts downward to $175 per tonne from $300 per tonne, which may provide substantial margin relief in the coming quarters. (Coking coal prices had shot up to $300 in 2008 from $98 in 2007). The company has also locked into lower prices by taking delivery of 2,00,000 tonnes of coal at the negotiated price.
Overall, while JSW Steel’s efforts to increase its domestic presence may pay off only over time, the March and June quarter numbers may see improvement with the prospect of higher sales and lower input costs.
Praj Industries
We recommend a buy on the Praj Industries stock. Praj Industries is in a structural bear market since the lifetime high of Rs 273 recorded in late-2007. This long-term downtrend has, however, lost momentum since October 2008 and the stock is attempting to consolidate sideways since then. The lower end of this consolidation range is around Rs 50 that corresponds with the trough formed in February 2006. A falling wedge pattern, which is a bullish reversal pattern, is also apparent in the daily charts.
Investors with a three-month horizon can buy this stock with a stop-loss at Rs 49. The medium-term outlook is encouraging and an up move to Rs 70 levels is possible in this period. Long-term investors can also consider investing in this stock, while retaining the stop-loss at Rs 44. Following a likely sideways consolidation in the range between Rs 55 and Rs 70, the stock has potential to reach Rs 110 over a longer time horizon.
HDIL
We recommend buying the Housing Development and Infrastructure stock at current levels. The stock spiralled downward from its life-time high of Rs 1,112 recorded in January 2008 to Rs 69 in December 2008. Though the stock encountered selling pressure close to Rs 200, the decline is tapering in the zone between Rs 60 and Rs 70, leading to the expectation that a long-term trough is possible in this zone. Positive divergence in the monthly relative strength index supports this view. The range for the stock over the next 12 months is likely to be between Rs 70 and Rs 200. Investors can buy the stock as it moves closer to the lower boundary and book profits near the upper boundary.
The short-term view for this stock has turned positive since it has moved above its 50-day moving average as well as the previous trough at Rs 75. Investors with a greater penchant for risk can buy at current levels with a stop loss at Rs 74 and with the target of Rs 108.
Punj LLoyd
We recommend a buy in Punj Lloyd stock from a short-term trading perspective. It is apparent from the charts of Punj Lloyd that it was on an intermediate-term downtrend from a significant resistance level of Rs 310 encountered in late September 2008 to March low of Rs 66.
The March low is also a 52-week low for the stock. However, the stock reversed its trend triggered by the positive divergence displayed in the daily relative strength index (RSI) and the daily moving average convergence and divergence. The stock breached its intermediate-term down trend-line in the recent time and has been on a short-term uptrend since its 52-week low.
While trending up, the stock crossed over the 21 and 50-day moving averages. On March 27, the stock gained 10 per cent, accompanied with heavy volume. The daily RSI has entered in the bullish zone and the weekly RSI is rising in the bearish zone towards the neutral region. From a short-term perspective we are bullish on the stock.
We expect it to rally further until it hits our price target of Rs 100 in the upcoming sessions. Traders with short-term perspective can buy the stock while maintaining a stop-loss at Rs 85
Bullion metals shed some glaze
Strong dollar takes some shine off precious metals
Bullion metal prices ended lower on Friday, 27 March, 2009. The strong dollar was the main reason for precious metals ending lower on that day.
Generally, a stronger dollar pressures demand for dollar-denominated commodities, such as crude oil and gold, which become more expensive for holders of other currencies and also vice versa.
On Friday, Comex Gold for April delivery fell $16.7 (1.8%) to close at $923.2 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. For the week, gold ended lower by 3.5%. For the month of February, gold ended higher by 7.4%. For January, 2009, gold had gained 3.9%. Year to date, gold prices are higher by 12%.
On 17 March, 2008 prices had skyrocketed to a high of $1,034/ounce. But prices have dropped somewhat (7.9%) since then.
On Friday, Comex silver futures for May delivery fell 35.7 cents (2.6%) to end at $13.263 an ounce. In February, 2009, silver had rose 4.3% after climbing 14% in January. Year to date, silver has climbed 21.7% this year. For 2008, silver had lost 24%.
In the currency market on Friday, the dollar moved higher against most major rivals as a budget warning from Germany's finance minister pressured the euro.
In 2008, gold prices ended higher by 5.5%. The dollar index had gained 12% that year.
Last year, the weakening dollar and higher global demand for raw materials had led to records for commodities including gold. Gold reached a record in March 2008 as a U.S. housing slump and credit crisis spurred the Federal Reserve to slash borrowing costs. In the last move, the Federal Reserve has cuts its target bank lending rate to 0.25% from 5.25% in September, 2007. The Fed did it in nine steps.
Prior to 2008, gold had witnessed the greatest annual gain in twenty eight years by gaining $200/ounce (31%) in FY 2007 as lower interest rates had sent the dollar tumbling, and crude-oil prices rose to a record. Silver had climbed 16% in FY 2007. In 2006, silver had jumped 46% while gold gained 23%.
Crude oil drops
Oil prices end marginally higher for the week
Demand concerns and strong dollar took crude prices lower on Friday, 27 March, 2009. With Friday's drop, crude just ended marginally higher for the week.
On Friday, crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for May delivery closed at $52.38/barrel (lower by $1.96 or 3.6%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. For the week, crude ended higher by 0.6%. For the month of February, crude prices had ended higher by 1.5%.
Oil prices had reached a high of $147 on 11 July, 2008 but have dropped almost 62% since then. Year to date, in 2009, crude prices are higher by 17.6%. On a yearly basis, crude prices are lower by 48%.
In the currency market on Friday, the dollar moved higher against most major rivals as a budget warning from Germany's finance minister pressured the euro.
The EIA had reported earlier during the week that crude inventories rose 3.3 million barrels last week (for the week ended 20 March, 2009), more than the 1.4 million barrels expected. At 356.6 million barrels, stocks are at the highest level since July 1993. U.S. refineries operated at 82% of their operable capacity last week, down slightly from a week ago. This also pressured crude prices on Friday.
Also at the Nymex on Friday, April reformulated gasoline fell 2.8% to $1.4879 a gallon and April heating oil rose 1.1% to $1.4813 a gallon.
Natural gas for April delivery gave up 0.2% to $3.947 per million British thermal units.
Crude prices had ended FY 2008 lower by 54%, the largest yearly loss since trading began at Nymex.
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