INTRA DAY NIFTY FUT TIPS FOR 13TH DEC 2011

NIFTY FUTURE

INTRA DAY SUPPORT IS 4787

BELOW IT CAN TEST 4775,4770,4756,4744,4716.

Euro zone agreement only partial solution -IMF

By Tova Cohen and Ari Rabinovitch

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - An agreement reached by European countries for deeper economic integration was a step in the right direction but not a complete solution for the euro zone's debt crisis, International Monetary Fund chief economist Olivier Blanchard said on Sunday.

"I'm actually more optimistic than I was a month ago, I think there has been progress," Blanchard told the Globes business conference in Tel Aviv.

"What happened last week is important: it's part of the solution, but it's not the solution."

He did not say what further steps were needed.

European leaders agreed in Brussels on Friday to draft a new treaty for deeper euro zone economic integration, although Britain, the region's third-largest economy, refused to join the 17 euro states and nine other EU countries in the fiscal union.

Asked whether diverse statements from policymakers in Europe were causing volatility in markets, Blanchard said: "A lot of the volatility is coming from statements from Europe, showing the range of opinions and inability to get to a logical decision process."

EU leaders also agreed euro zone states and others should provide up to 200 billion euros in bilateral loans to the IMF to help tackle the crisis, with 150 billion euros coming from countries in the euro currency.

"The commitment to give us 200 billion euros makes a major difference in the sense that we can now go out and talk to other countries and say, 'the Europeans have given us money, can you help?," Blanchard said.

"Whether this gives us the whole bazooka or not, I hope so."

Asked by Reuters on the sidelines of the conference whether Britain's decision to isolate itself was right for its economy, he said: "I think that's an issue for the Europeans to decide."

Adding a tone of scepticism regarding the treaty's chances of success, Jim O'Neill, chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said the most important thing that happened this week is not "this bungled European deal", but the release of data that showed a slowing trend of growth in China, the world's number two economy.

"The problem in Europe, this isn't really a debt crisis, it's a crisis about the structure of leadership ... Europe needs to organise itself properly and show proper leadership," he said.

"Everything around the world is being driven by some idiotic statement from some policymaker in the EU."

But he added that now might be the best time in 20 years to invest in Europe, saying, "Never let a good crisis go to waste."

O'Neill and Blanchard had diverging forecasts for growth in the United States next year.

"I think 2012, in the end, will not be as good as 2011," IMF's Blanchard said. "Part of it is that 2011 came out a bit better than expected. I'm not sure this will be repeated."

O'Neill disagreed, saying he was optimistic on the U.S. economy and thinks growth will exceed 3 percent this quarter.

"I think that corporate America is in an exceptionally competitive position," he said.

(Reporting by Tova Cohen and Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by David Hulmes)

Government to free diesel, LPG prices after weighing impact

New Delhi, Dec 12 (IANS) The government would deregulate diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices only after considering their impact on the weaker sections of the society, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas R.P.N. Singh said Monday.

'We as policy makers and politicians have to mediate between the social, economic and environmental attributes of energy. We have to move cautiously to ensure that our decisions are equitable and lead to balanced growth,' said Singh, addressing the 10th Petro India conference here.

While the government had in June last year decontrolled petrol prices, it continues to dictate retail rates of diesel, cooking gas (LPG) sold to households and kerosene sold through the public distribution system (PDS).

The minister said that while the government was protecting consumers, it had to shield the state-run oil and gas marketing companies from the impact of selling subsidised products.

'We import about 75 percent of our crude requirement from overseas. The government therefore has the huge responsibility of protecting not only consumers but also our major oil and gas companies,' Singh said.

Singh said there was a need to target subsidies directly to the weaker sections of the society in the case of cooking gas.

'While certain subsidies may be necessary in view of the larger social objectives, they need to be administered directly to specific targeted end-users and provided in a transparent way through clear budgetary mechanism,' he added.

The minister also urged well-to-do sections to give up subsidised LPG voluntarily.

The government in the current fiscal will have to bear a energy subsidy burden of more than Rs.180,000 crore, which might increase due to a depreciating rupee.

Singh said there was a need to carry out energy pricing reforms across the segment of petroleum and gas products in order to attract investment and technology in the sector.

'Energy pricing reforms need to be carried out across the entire energy basket rather than segments of it so that there is neither inter-sectoral nor intra-sectoral cross- subsidization.'