The country’s nickel output more than doubled last year from 2005 while copper was up 4 percent, data from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau showed. The bureau said the country’s production of nickel rose to 59,139 tons last year from the year-ago 26,636 tons after a local firm reopened its old mine in the south. It said copper output last year was up to 16,970 tons from the year earlier 16,323 tons. Gold production slipped about 4 percent to 36,101 kg while silver leaped 23 percent to 23,461 kg. The bureau said the operation of the Taganaan nickel project of Hinatuan Mining Corp. boosted the country’s production of the metal that adds sheen to stainless steel. Tagana-an sold ore containing 25,983 tons of nickel metal, it said. The rest of the production came from four other nickel mines. "Tagana-an in Surigao del Norte province is an old mine that was previously closed by the owner. It was reopened last year," Horacio Ramos, head of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, told Reuters. The bureau said the value of base and precious metals that the Philippines produced last year jumped about 48 percent to P55.14 billion ($ 1.14 billion) compared with P37.36 billion in 2005.

The National Food Authority (NFA) has set a tender for the importation of 580,000 metric tons (MT) of rice for March to June delivery to ensure a buffer stock is available even before local election occurs in May this year. NFA has set the public bidding of 550,000 MT of 25 percent brokens and a separate 30,000 MT of 15 percent brokens. The volume should augment the earlier import award by NFA to mostly Vietnamese suppliers for a total of 500,000 MT last month. Rice importation this year is estimated to reach to 1.8 million MT, higher than last year’s 1.65 million MT reportedly due to a bigger damage on rice production owing to a series of typhoon last year and likewise to the drought effects of El Niño this year. NFA has required that at least five percent of the 25 percent broken rice should arrive by March this year, at least 30 percent by April, at least 50 percent by May, and the balance by June 2007. The government has allocated P9.309 billion budget for the 25 percent brokens and another P524 million for the 15 percent brokens. The Department of Agriculture (DA) reported higher rice production in 2006 totalling to 15.33 million MT, up by 4.96 percent from the previous year. But the consistently high rice importation rate, despite earlier rice sufficiency program, has become a necessity due to the country’s growing population. (MMA)

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)—The Asian Development Bank may issue new baht-denominated bonds in Thailand this year despite the recent capital controls inposed there. "We are optimistic that there will be an opportunity this year," the ADB’s head of funding, Juan Limandibrata, said. He said the size of the new bond will probably be $ 100 million-$ 200 million, comparable to the Manila-based supranational’s sale of THB6.5 billion in five- and 10-year baht-denominated bonds last September. A 5-year issue "is a very likely maturity," Limandibrata added. The main investors in the issue would be Thai insurance companies and pension funds, he said. Thailand has seen some changes in its capital controls since a military coup toppled Thaksin Shinatwara as prime minister last year.

The country’s consumer prices should rise by a "benign" 4.0-5.0 percent this year and 4.0 percent in 2008, the central bank said Wednesday. Inflation hit a 39-month low of 3.9 percent in January, the government announced on Tuesday, which was at the lower end of the central bank’s 3.94.6 percent forecast range. Inflation averaged 6.2 percent in 2006. "Subsiding base (comparison) effects, the strengthening peso and generally lower retail prices of petroleum products helped keep inflation pressures at bay," it said in a statement. "Price data for January provide early indications of a generally benign inflation environment for 2007. Barring unforeseen external and domestic shocks, average inflation for the year is expected to settle within the government’s target range of 4.0-5.0 percent," it said. "Minimal inflation pressures from the demand side, as indicated by the still moderate improvements in demand indicators, and well-contained inflation expectations support this outlook. "The low-inflation environment is seen to continue well into 2008, when average inflation is forecast to fall within the government’s target of 4.0 percent plus or minus one percentage point."