Corn (Source: CME)
US corn futures finish limit down on forecasts for improved weather and heavy selling by commodity funds. Prices tumbled as forecasters predicted warmer, drier weather would allow farmers to plant corn after delays due to cool, wet conditions. Yet, analysts note conditions won't be perfect as it will take awhile for fields to dry and soils to warm up. Funds helped fuel the decline by selling an estimated 22,000 contracts, a large amount, traders say. CBOT July corn falls the daily 30c limit to a 4-week low of $7.29 1/4 a bushel. The limit Friday will be 45c.
Wheat (Source: CME)
US wheat futures close sharply lower, like corn, as talk of rain in the drought-hit southern Plains eases concerns about crop losses. The government's weekly drought monitor reports rains eased drought conditions across portions of central and eastern Oklahoma, although farmers warn the moisture is coming too late to reverse crop losses. "It might be too late, but the perception is that they're getting more precipitation down there," says Chad Henderson of Prime Agricultural Consultants.
Oats (Source: CME)
US oat futures tumbled to expanded exchange-imposed daily trading limits of 30 cents a bushel. Traders reducing risk exposure on a broader scale in grain futures, dropped prices to their lowest levels in a month. Exchange limits on oats will expand to 45 cents Friday. Oats for July delivery settled 30 cents or 7.9% lower at $3.50 a bushel.
Rice (Source: CME)
US rice futures fall under spillover pressure from sharp declines in the corn and wheat markets. Wheat tumbled more than 4%, dragging down rice because both grains are global food staples, a market analyst notes. Meanwhile, corn fell its daily exchange limit. Rice felt additional pressure from poor export demand, the analyst says. Weekly sales of 38,700 tons were down 41% from the previous week and 35% from the prior four-week average. CBOT July rice ends down 7 1/2c at $14.43/hundredweight.
Inflation, Higher Costs Squeeze Farmers As Food Prices Rise (Source: CME)
High inflation and falling numbers of workers meant U.K. farm incomes declined in real terms in 2010 despite the industry posting its best performance in 15 years, the U.K.'s farm ministry said. Total income from farming rose by 0.1% to GBP4.38 billion last year as a surge in food prices pushed up the value of agricultural products 5.3% to GBP20.7 billion, the survey by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs found. "The three years from 2008 to 2010 represents the best performance for the agricultural industry since 1996," said the report. But after adjusting for inflation, total income from farming is estimated to have fallen by GBP198.4 million, or 4.3%, including a 3.4% decline in total income per annual work unit--a measurement of returns for individuals working in the agricultural sector. "All the headlines are about booming prices and food inflation but the return for U.K. farmers is certainly not booming," said Phil Bicknell, chief economist at the National Farmers' Union.
"We're please to see in terms of gross value added that agriculture's contribution to the economy has continued to grow through 2010 but we can't shy away from the fact that the sector is under pressure." He said that while an 8.5% rise in the value of crops to GBP7.6 billion and a 3.8% boost in the value of livestock output to GBP11.2 billion showed better returns overall, individual sectors and farms were still suffering. And with the reduction in payments under the European Union support scheme continuing, a 4.8% rise in the cost of inputs like fertilizers, energy and feed meant that farmers will need to see high prices in the future to continue to improve output, he said. "We need to maintain a level of production and a continuation of strong prices for agricultural products if U.K. farmers are to survive," he said.
Obama Admin Wants To Curb Unhealthy Food Marketing To Kids (Source: CME)
Food companies should be marketing healthier foods to impressionable children, according to several U.S. government agencies that released a proposal asking industry to change its ways. Food companies are being asked to voluntarily replace advertising campaigns trying to sell candy, soda and chips to kids with foods that "make a meaningful contribution to the diet," according to the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Children need to eat less sodium, saturated fat, trans fat, and sugar, the government agencies said. "The proposed voluntary principles are designed to encourage stronger and more meaningful self-regulation by the food industry and to support parents' efforts to get their kids to eat healthier foods. While the goals they would set for food marketers are ambitious and would take time to put into place, the public health stakes could not be higher," the agencies said in a joint release.
"One in three children is overweight or obese, and the rates are even higher among some racial and ethnic groups."
Corn rises on Bernanke comments, wheat extends losses
U.S. corn futures rose 0.7 percent, while soybeans firmed as the dollar tumbled after U.S. Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke gave no sign the central bank was about to tighten monetary policy. "We are getting planting delays and the balance sheet even for the next season looks pretty tight," said Abah Ofon, an analyst with Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore.
Ukraine lifts grain crop figure, sees export jump
KIEV, April 28 (Reuters) - Ukraine's Agriculture Ministry has raised its 2011 grain harvest forecast to "up to 45 million tonnes" from 42-43 million and expects a jump in exports, a senior ministry official said on Thursday.
"We see (2011/12) exports at 19-20 million tonnes including 8-9 million tonnes of wheat, 4 million tonnes of maize and 5-6 million tonnes of barley," Anatoly Rozgon, the head of the ministry's planting department, told reporters.
U.S. grain exports face hurdle if floods worsen
CHICAGO, April 27 (Reuters) - High water on the Mississippi River has slashed grain shipments by about 40 percent and could pose a threat to exports from the U.S. Gulf, the main exit for agricultural products to world markets, industry sources said Wednesday.
Grain exporters have for the moment been able to continue loading vessels at Gulf terminals, drawing from supplies they have on hand and from river elevators not yet hit by flooding, which in some areas of the Midwest was the worst in more than 70 years.
No beneficial rain seen in key French grain areas
PARIS, April 27 (Reuters) - The key grain-growing regions in northern France will receive virtually no rainfall that could relieve drought-hit grain plants, weather forecaster Meteo France said on Wednesday.
"For the northern regions there will be no beneficial rain in the coming seven days," Meteo France forecaster Dominique Raspaud told Reuters.
Rains save Algeria grain harvest-minister
MEKNES, Morocco, April 27 (Reuters) - Rainfall in the past few days has saved Algeria's grain harvest after drought threatened to ruin it, Algerian Agriculture Minister Rachid Benaissa told Reuters on Wednesday.
"The recent rains have saved us. The rain fell in the regions where it was most needed," Benaissa said on the sidelines of an agriculture conference in the Moroccan city of Meknes.
Wheat Declines 0.8% to $7.71 a Bushel, Extending Yesterday’s 4.3% Slump (Source: Bloomberg)
Wheat for July delivery fell 0.8 percent to $7.71 a bushel after dropping as much as 1.5 percent to $7.66 a bushel. The contract extended a 4.3 percent decline yesterday. Corn lost 0.1 percent to $7.285 a bushel after slumping 4 percent yesterday and soybeans retreated 0.3 percent to $13.4975 a bushel.
Arabicas firm, eye 34-year peak; sugar dips
LONDON, April 28 (Reuters) - ICE arabica coffee futures rose in early trade and were within reach of a 34-year high, while sugar dipped in sight of a six-month low, pressured by ample supplies from Brazil and Thailand. Arabica coffee futures on ICE firmed, supported by a weaker dollar and tight supplies of mild washed arabicas, and were close to a 34-year peak above the psychological $3 a lb level touched on April 20.
ANRPC cuts 2011 rubber output f'cast to 10.025 mln T
SINGAPORE, April 28 (Reuters) - Global natural rubber production for 2011 may come in at 10.025 million tonnes, lower than an earlier forecast of 10.060 million tonnes due to output revisions in member countries, the ANRPC said on Thursday.
Despite the revision, the global output for the commodity mainly used in tyre was still higher than 9.473 million tonnes in 2010, according to the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC).
Brazil CS cane crush seen up after rains - Datagro
SAO PAULO, April 27 (Reuters) - Plentiful rain has helped cane growth in Brazil's center-south, raising the amount of cane available for crushing in 2011/12 to 561 million tonnes from 550 million tonnes seen in February, Datagro analysts said on Wednesday.
But sugar output will likely total 35.15 million tonnes, up just slightly from the 35.10 million tonnes seen in February as production stands close to mills' capacity in the region.
Europe's sugar beet crop seen developing well
LONDON, April 27 (Reuters) - Sugar beet crops across Europe are developing well, although adverse weather delayed sowing in Russia and Italy, beet industry officials said.
In France, sugar beet plants are benefiting from favourable sowing conditions, with no adverse impact so far from the dryness that has been stressing winter grains.
Burkina Faso cotton growers protest low prices
BOBO-DIOULASSO, Burkina Faso, April 27 (Reuters) - Hundreds of cotton farmers marched in Burkina Faso's second-largest city on Wednesday, demanding better prices for cotton and subsidies to help them ahead of the 2011-2012 planting season.
The march in Bobo-Dioulasso follows a wave of violent protests for higher pay by soldiers and demonstrations by angry students, business people and residents against rising food prices, police brutality and crime.
Indonesian cocoa industry calls for sustainability system
JAKARTA, April 27 (Reuters) - The Indonesian Cocoa Association (Askindo) has called for government backing to regulate and promote sustainable cocoa in the world's No.3 producer, the group's chairman said on Wednesday.
A sustainable cocoa system would look at cultivation, land use practices and include traceability certificates, Zulhefi Sikumbang, chairman of Askindo, told a news conference.
China seeks Vietnam pepper, coffee growers cut trees
HANOI, April 27 (Reuters) - Chinese buyers have been in Vietnam seeking to buy black pepper at high prices, raising expectations of good gains that have prompted some coffee farmers to switch to growing pepper instead, a state-run newspaper and traders said on Wednesday.
Pepper prices in Vietnam, the world's largest producer and exporter of the spice, have more than doubled to as high as 120 million dong ($5,825) a tonne this week from 52 million dong a year ago due to production falls in many producing nations.
Silver Rally No Bubble as Price Will Top Record, Coeur d’Alene Chief Says (Source: Bloomberg)
The rally in silver to a 31-year high in New York shows no sign of ending because tight supply and robust demand will send the metal to a record, according to Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp. (CDE), the largest U.S. producer. “We’re in a legitimate market driven by financial interest in silver and strong industrial demand,” Chief Executive Officer Dennis Wheeler said today at the Bloomberg Link Precious Metals Conference in New York. “Supplies are relatively inelastic.”
Gold for Immediate Delivery Climbs to Record $1,540.45 an Ounce in Asia (Source: Bloomberg)
Gold for immediate delivery advanced as much as 0.3 percent to an all-time high of $1,540.45 an ounce in Singapore today.
Gold Rises to Record for Second Day as Fed Maintains Rate, Dollar Slumps (Source: Bloomberg)
Gold futures surged to a record for the second straight day after the U.S. Federal Reserve pledged to keep borrowing costs low, eroding prospects for the dollar and boosting demand for the metal as an alternative investment. Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke signaled yesterday that the central bank will maintain monetary stimulus. The Fed kept its target rate for overnight lending between banks at zero percent to 0.25 percent, while saying it will end $600 billion of bond purchases on schedule in June. The dollar fell to the lowest in more than two years against a basket of currencies.
PRECIOUS-Gold strikes record as dollar wilts
LONDON, April 28 (Reuters) - Gold hit record highs on Thursday as the dollar's three-year low against a basket of major currencies attracted non-U.S. investors, after the United States signalled it would retain accommodative monetary policy.
Spot gold ascended to a lifetime high of $1,534.30 an ounce, breaking records for the second straight session. It traded at $1,530.54 an ounce at 1116 GMT, up from $1,526.40 late in New York on Wednesday.
METALS-Copper up on Bernanke; building inventories a concern
LONDON, April 28 (Reuters) - Copper climbed on Thursday after U.S. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke signalled interest rates would stay low, which dented the dollar and underpinned metals, although rising inventories continued to pressure sentiment.
Benchmark copper on the LME traded at $9,400 a tonne at 1001 GMT, up from a close of $9,321 on Wednesday.
Brazil aluminum use seen rising 13 pct in 2011
BRASILIA, April 27 (Reuters) - Brazilian consumption of aluminum products should rise around 13 percent from 2010's 1.3 million tonne total, the Brazilian Aluminum Association, ABAL, said on Wednesday.
Production of aluminum cables and wires alone should rise 58.4 percent, the association said.
Shanghai bonded copper stocks seen falling on investors - trade
HONG KONG, April 28 (Reuters) - Investors are selling more Shanghai bonded copper stocks into the local market, which could dampen domestic prices in the near term, but also help re-open the spot import arbitrage window in the coming months, trading sources said on Thursday.
The world's top copper buyer, China has bought less from the international spot market this year since bonded stocks more than doubled from December, driving down quarterly imports by 21 percent.
China Apr 11-20 daily steel output down 1.5 pct
BEIJING, April 28 (Reuters) - China's daily output of crude steel stood at 1.904 million tonnes over the April 11-20 period, down 1.5 percent compared with the previous 10 days, data from the China Iron and Steel Association showed on Thursday.
CISA said daily output over the first 20 days of this month stood at 1.918 million tonnes, suggesting that it had revised down its estimates for the first 10 days from 1.979 million tonnes to 1.933 million tonnes, according to Reuters calculations.
Crude Oil Futures Retreat From 31-Month High in N.Y. as Dollar Pares Drop (Source: Bloomberg)
Oil rose to a 31-month high in New York as the dollar weakened to its lowest level since 2008 against other major currencies and gasoline futures jumped. Crude gained 10 cents as the Dollar Index, which tracks the currency against six others, fell after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said yesterday that the central bank will keep record-low interest rates in place. Gasoline supplies dropped to the lowest level since 2009 in a government report yesterday.
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