Australia Lifts Commodities Exports Estimate

Chandrasekhar Atreya
21 Sep, 2010
New York City

The benchmark index in Sydney closed lower giving up earlier gains in trading on the worries that interest rates may be on the rise. Australia lifted its commodity exports forecast for the current fiscal. Victoria plans to back 345 gigawatts solar power plant.

[R]6:00 PM Sydney, Australia – The benchmark index in Sydney closed lower giving up earlier gains in trading on the worries that interest rates may be on the rise. Australia lifted its commodity exports forecast for the current fiscal. Victoria plans to back 345 gigawatts solar power plant.[/R]

Stocks in Sydney declined in volatile trading as investors focused on the prospects of rising interest rate.

The ASX 200 Index dropped 0.30% or 13.80 to close at 4,617.50.

Australia raised its forecast for commodity exports this fiscal year to a new record amid increasing demand and climbing prices.

Exports may reach to A$214.9 billion in the year ending June 2011, compared to A$170.6 billion in the year ago, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics Bureau of Rural Sciences said in Canberra today.

Premier John Brumby of Victoria said his government would back a bid by TRUenergy to develop the Mallee Solar Park south of Mildura in the state’s northwest with A$100 million for the project.

The largest solar energy plant in Australia would generate 345 gigawatt hours of electricity each year that can power 60,000 homes.

Western Australian government said Tuesday it will foot one-third of the cost for the nation’s largest grid-connected solar power plant to be built in the state’s mid west. Speaking at the annual Energy in WA Conference, Energy Minister Peter Collier announced the A$58 million photovoltaic energy project to produce 10 megawatt hours of electricity each year, would be built in Geraldton.

BP Solar will partner with Verve Energy as the lead contractor to build the project, with construction to start in 2011.

The Transcity Consortium was selected through the bidding process to design, construct, maintain and operate Brisbane’s Northern Link tunnel, which will link the city’s western growth areas with the northern and eastern parts of the city.

Mayor Campbell Newman said the appointment of Transcity, comprising Acciona, Ghella, and Brisbane-based BMD Constructions would deliver the best plan for local motorists and the local community.

The South Australian government intends to grant major project status to Arafura Resources’ Whyalla rare earths processing complex, the explorer said.

The decision was announced by the Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Paul Holloway on Friday, when the explorer confirmed that it would buy land at Whyalla from OneSteel for the propsed complex.

The Australian Securities Exchange said Tuesday it would launch an equity volatility index, to be known as the S&P/ASX 200 VIX, to track changes to investor sentiment.

New Hope Corp, the miner that holds a 17% stake in Dart Energy, said it will have surplus cash after the takeover of Arrow Energy Ltd by Royal Dutch Shell Plc and PetroChina Co.

“New Hope recognized the likelihood of coal-seam gas having a greater role in the energy equation in eastern Australia and that turned out to be correct,” Robert Neale, Managing Director of the miner said in an interview.

Resource News

Buccaneer Energy said mud logs of the Alexander I well in Texas indicated additional two fracture zones have been intersected.

Roc Oil said it completed drilling of the Castanha-2 appraisal well in the onshore Angola to a total measured depth of 2448 meters.

Golden Rim Resources said it received significant new gold results from its recent program of reverse circulation drilling and trenching at the Sepola project in Mali.

Avanco Resources reported high copper grades from its drilling at its Rio Verde project in Brazil.

Gainers & Losers

Ausenco Ltd led the gainers in the ASX with a of 4.94% to A$2.76 followed by SMS Management & Technology Ltd 3.54% to A$6.73 and Iress Market Technology Ltd 3.28% to A$8.5.

TPG Telecom Ltd led the decliners in the index with a drop of 9.81% to A$1.7 followed by Lynas Corp 8.58% to A$1.225 and Isoft Group Ltd 7.14% to A$0.13.