Friday, May 20, 2011

20110520 1453 Global Market & Commodities Related News.

Weak dollar stokes equity gains, outlook wary
HONG KONG, May 20 (Reuters) - The dollar looked set to post its first weekly loss in three weeks as investors increased bets on risky assets like equities on expectations the United States would take a long time to raise interest rates after posting weak economic data.  While equities and the euro posted small gains on Friday, commodity markets were still finding their feet after sharp drops this month with disappointing U.S. data weighing on sentiment.

US corn up on exports, wheat headed for biggest weekly gain
SINGAPORE, May 20 (Reuters) - Chicago corn rose around half a percent on Friday, trading close to a three-week top as strong U.S. exports supported the market, while wheat dipped for a second day after climbing to a three-month high in the previous session.  "We did see demand return quite significantly as U.S. export
sales were particularly strong and what that signals to us is that significant pent up demand remains in the global feed grain market," said Luke Mathews, an agricultural commodities strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Vietnam rice exports rise 20.6 pct in year to date
HANOI, May 20 (Reuters) - Vietnam's rice exports so far this year have reached 2.87 million tonnes, a rise of 20.6 percent from a year ago, the Vietnam Food Association said.
That reflects deals Vietnam signed earlier this year with the Philippines, Indonesia and several African countries. However, rice prices in Vietnam and elsewhere in Asia may ease in coming weeks as demand has now slowed and supply is rising.

Argentine soy yields low as harvest nears end
BUENOS AIRES, May 19 (Reuters) - Argentine farmers made good progress to bring in 2010/11 soybeans over the last week, but yields were unexpectedly low, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said on Thursday.
Dry, hot weather in March affected soy crops in the South American country, the world's top supplier of soyoil and soymeal, hampering the development of late-planted beans.

Argentina holds corn, soy output forecasts
BUENOS AIRES, May 19 (Reuters) - Argentina's 2010/11 soy harvest is expected to come in at 50.4 million tonnes, the government said on Thursday, holding its previous estimate as harvesting nears its end.
Argentina, the world's No. 3 soybean supplier and the leading exporter of soyoil and soymeal, produced a record 52.7 million tonnes in the previous campaign. Dry weather this season trimmed initial expectations for another record harvest.

Brazil begins harvesting high-quality coffee crop
BRASILIA/SAO PAULO, May 19 (Reuters) - Brazil's coffee pickers are heading back to the fields to gather the world's largest coffee crop now turning ripe and showing high quality, signaling relief for a coffee trade juggling low stocks.
Agronomists and traders at three cooperatives and one broker contacted by Reuters were much more optimistic about the crop's prospects than at the outset of the previous two crops, dogged by weather-related quality problems early on.

Oil recovers close to $99 as Thursday's dip lures buyers
SINGAPORE, May 20 (Reuters) - Oil prices recovered as traders saw the previous session's dip as an opportunity to snap up cargoes amid expectations that concerns over supply disruption from the Middle East would continue to support the market.
"Traders are seeing yesterday's slide as a buying opportunity," Victor Shum, an analyst at Purvin & Gertz, said in Singapore. "We are not likely to see an aggressive exit by participants from oil as there is no sign of a quick resolution to the geopolitical

Gold regains strength on bargain hunting,silver steadies
SINGAPORE, May 20 (Reuters) - Gold bounced as bargain hunters resurfaced after prices slipped in the previous session, while silver could be struggling to sustain early gains following a drop in exchange-traded fund
holdings.
"The long-term uptrend for gold is still intact. If gold moves above the  resistance of $1,500, then I think it could go higher. As the commodity markets start to stabilise, investment demand for silver could return. It has a strong positive correlation to gold and is a cheaper alternative," said Ong Yi Ling, investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.

China's Q1 gold output up 4.6 pct y/y at 73.412 T - ministry
BEIJING, May 20 (Reuters) - China's gold output in the first three months of 2011 totalled 73.412 tonnes, up 4.63 pct from the same months of 2010, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on Friday.
It said gold mining output was 60.262 tonnes, up 5.18 percent, while another 13.15 tonnes was obtained from smelting base metals, up 2.21 percent from a year earlier.

Copper ticks up after selloff on bearish U.S. data
SINGAPORE, May 20 (Reuters) - London copper rose around half  a percent regaining some ground after losses in the  previous session triggered by another round of weak data that suggested the U.S. economic recovery could be stalling. "The concentrates market is tight but it is focusing purely on the surplus for the time being and the fact that China is not consuming that much," said Jonathan Barrat, managing director of Commodity Broking Services."Remember we are still not getting growth out of the United States."

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