Asia stocks slide on Greece discord, US slowdown
HONG KONG, June 16 (Reuters) - Asian stocks slid to their lowest level in nearly three months on Thursday and the euro wobbled as Greece's debt troubles deepened and fresh U.S. data indicated its economic "soft patch" could drag on longer than expected.
"We have got used to fairly disappointing data from the U.S., so I think today's fall is mostly prompted mostly by euro zone problems," said Takashi Ohba, a senior strategist at Okasan Securities.
U.S. corn steady after slide to 1-mth low, wheat ticks up
SINGAPORE, June 16 (Reuters) - U.S. corn futures were steady on Thursday, after being hammered down nearly 8 percent this week to a 1-month low on improved crop weather in the United States and concern that less grain will be used as a feedstock for ethanol production.
"There is massive fund positioning in July that needs to be unwound or moved forward," said Davis. "It is liquidation of July contracts and positioning in forward contracts, most of it going to the harvest contract, which is December."
Mexico coffee sector seeks more govt help to hedge
MEXICO CITY, June 15 (Reuters) - Mexico's coffee farmers are clamoring to expand an innovative government program to hedge commodity prices, increasing their participation in a scheme already making waves in other agricultural markets.
The national coffee association Amecafe wants a bigger government budget of up to $12.7 million dollars to subsidize arabica and robusta contracts in New York and London, says a proposal submitted this year now awaiting approval.
Brazil's crimson coffee crop to yield more milds
BRASILIA, June 15 (Reuters) - The lack of rain last year that seemed on track to harm Brazil's coffee crop has proven a blessing in disguise, as the evenly ripe crop that resulted helps raise output of sought-after wet-processed mild beans.
Importers will welcome any increase in mild coffee output after searching hard for it in Brazil in the months prior to the harvest as stocks ran low, while growers also benefit by pocketing a premium for milds of up to 70 reais ($44) a bag.
Morocco will not ease cereal import duties in 2011
RABAT, June 15 (Reuters) - Morocco will not ease import duties on cereals before the end of this year at the earliest, even after about six percent of the harvest was lost to bad weather, the agriculture minister told parliament on Wednesday.
"We will not ease custom (duties) on cereal imports before the end of 2011 at the earliest," Aziz Akhennouch said in response to questions on whether recent bad weather would mean a change in cereal supply policies.
Algeria buys 350,000T wheat, 50,000T barley - trade
PARIS, June 15 (Reuters) - Algeria's state grains agency OAIC has bought in a tender 350,000 tonnes of optional-origin milling wheat at $341 a tonne, including cost and freight, for shipment in July, European traders said on Wednesday.
The origin of the wheat would most likely be French, they said.
Oil rebounds on weaker dollar, lower U.S. crude stocks
SINGAPORE, June 16 (Reuters) - Oil rebounded on Thursday, with Brent up 1.4 percent, after the previous day's sharp drop and a falling dollar created buying opportunities against a backdrop of tumbling U.S. crude inventories and uncertainty over OPEC output.
"It's a little bit of buying on weakness after the significant fall overnight, and also dollar weakness is causing prices to rise," said Ben Westmore, a commodities analyst at National Australia Bank.
LME copper slips, U.S. data, Greek debt weigh
SHANGHAI, June 16 (Reuters) - London copper extended losses on Thursday as disappointing U.S. data and the unfolding Greek debt crisis weighed.
"As a widely used industrial metal, it is the most representative among the base metals in reflecting developments in the global economic outlook. And being in an overall supply deficit situation, it has also been attractive to speculators," he said.
China steel demand propped up by fixed asset investment -CISA
BEIJING, June 16 (Reuters) - Chinese steel consumption remained high in the first five months of the year, with strong fixed asset investment helping to offset weaknesses in consumer demand, the country's steel association said on Thursday.
However, the old problem of overproduction, together with high raw material costs, continued to weigh on the sector, the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) said in its latest monthly report.
Gold loses footing as U.S. dollar jumps
SINGAPORE, June 16 (Reuters) - Gold lost its footing on Thursday after the U.S. dollar jumped against other currencies, but euro zone debt jitters could limit losses as investors fretted about the lack of resolution to solve the crisis in Greece.
"Investors are skeptical that a new government will be able to convince the disillusioned masses to accept more austerity measures. Instead, much needed budget cuts could be delayed," said Ong Yi Ling, investment analyst at Phillip Futures.
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