• International Sugar Organisation said that sugar deficit will reach
7.8 million tonnes this year, the highest in a decade and more than the estimate of 4.3 million tonnes made in February 2009. Even a bumper harvest in Brazil has not improved the situation.

• International Energy Agency said that the annual global oil demand will be 83.2 million barrels per day, 3% lower than in the previous year. This is also the sharpest decline for oil demand in the past 28 years.

• Vegetable oil imports more than doubled in April due to lower-than-expected production of oilseeds and rise in consumption. Solvent Extractors Association of India said that edible oil import rose to 6.99 lakh tonnes in April against 3.47 lakh tonnes in April last year.

• The Kotak group will launch the country’s fifth national commodity exchange in association with the Ahmedabad Commodity Exchange in which it is picking up a majority equity stake as an anchor investor. Indiabulls has already got approval in-principle for launching an exchange with the public sector trading firm Minerals and Metals Trading Corporation.