Tuesday, July 5, 2011

20110705 1009 Global Commodities Related News.

U.S. corn extends fall, soy rebounds
KANSAS CITY, Mo., July 1 (Reuters) - Corn futures tumbled for a second day in a row, ending nearly 4 percent lower a day after a government report showed improved crop and supply prospects in the United States.
"News that China came in ... is helping to hold the values. And you might see some end-user buying. This seems to be fair value," he said.

Risk of more state intervention pushes up Thai rice price
BANGKOK, July 4 (Reuters) - The export price of Thai rice rose on Monday because of the likelihood of aggressive intervention by a new government to push up domestic prices to help farmers, which has already encouraged traders to hoard rice, resulting in tight supply.
Benchmark 100 percent B grade white rice was offered at $545 per tonne, up 3.8 percent from last week's $525 per tonne, exporters said.

Bulgaria sees 2011 wheat crop up to 4.1 mln T
SOFIA, July 1 (Reuters) - Bulgaria expects a 2011 wheat crop of up to 4.1 million tonnes following favourable weather, up from 4.0 million tonnes harvested last year, the agriculture ministry said on Friday.
"The relatively favourable weather conditions gives us a reason to forecast that grain production will be in the range of 3.9-4.1 million tonnes," it said in a statement.

Coceral cuts 2011 EU wheat, barley crop estimates
BRUSSELS, July 1 (Reuters) - European Union grain trade lobby Coceral cut its forecast for the EU's soft wheat harvest by 3.7 percent to 126.53 million tonnes in 2011, following widespread drought conditions in much of western Europe.
Coceral said on Friday it now expects Europe's top producer, France, to harvest 32.7 million tonnes of soft wheat this year -- 10 percent less than its previous estimate in March -- after unusually dry weather earlier in the season damaged crops.

Rice May Rally 56% as Pro-Thaksin Party Sweeps to Power in Thai Elections (Source: Bloomberg)
Rice prices in Thailand, the biggest exporter, may rally 56 percent by yearend as the party that won parliamentary elections implements a policy to buy the crop from farmers above current rates, according to a survey. The export price may climb to $810 per metric ton by Dec. 31, according to a median forecast of six millers, exporters and traders today and yesterday, who commented after Pheu Thai won a majority in yesterday’s contest.

Sugar eases, concern over Brazil crop; coffee firms
LONDON, July 4 (Reuters) - London white sugar futures eased in light early trading and stood near four-month highs, underpinned by concerns over the size of top producer Brazil's crop, while coffee and cocoa firmed.
Agricultural markets trading on ICE Futures U.S. are shut on Monday for the Independence Day holiday, and will reopen on Tuesday, July 5.

Vietnam cuts 2011 coffee export forecast to 1.26 mln T
HANOI, July 4 (Reuters) - Vietnam has lowered the annual coffee export forecast for calendar 2011 by 3 percent to 1.26 million tonnes, or 21 million bags, based on a low level of stocks in the country, the agriculture ministry said on Monday.
The lower projection would not help lift coffee prices much as traders have forecast the Southeast Asian nation's output from its 2011/2012 harvest to rise to 23-24 million bags, from 21-22 million bags in the current season.

Physical sugar-Demand slows as Ramadan window closes
LONDON, July 1 (Reuters) - A sugar price rally to four-month highs has deterred cash buyers and the window for shipping the sweetener to Muslim countries in time for Ramadan in August is closing, dealers said.
They noted, however, pent-up demand by North African and Middle Eastern countries that had experienced disruption during the "Arab Spring" uprisings.

Europe cash coffee: Not enough Vietnam supplies
HAMBURG, July 1 (Reuters) - Continued low sales by Vietnam slowed robusta trade in Europe's cash coffee market this week and robusta price differentials for physical delivery remained at high levels, dealers said on Friday.
"There is still a lot of demand around for Vietnamese coffee which is not being met because of the low volume of sales offers coming out of origin," one cash trader said. "The Vietnamese are simply not selling."

Kenya coffee agency warns thrips could hit crop
NAIROBI, July 1 (Reuters) - Thrips, tiny insect pests that are hard to detect, may attack Kenya's coffee farms this year and cut output, state-owned Coffee Research Foundation (CRF) of Kenya said on Friday.
Kenya is a relatively small grower but its specialty beans are famous for their high quality and are valued for blending with those from other countries.

India coffee rises on demand from exporters
MUMBAI, July 1 (Reuters) - Coffee prices in India rose at this week's auction on demand from exporters, trader said on Friday.
"Coffee prices have increased on improved demand from exporters; concerns over Brazil's production on reports of frost might have led to the increase," said Divakaran P.K. of UTC Traders in Coorg in Karnataka.  

Cotton, turmeric area down in India's Andhra Pradesh
HYDERABAD, July 1 (Reuters) - A continued monsoon lull over India's southern Andhra Pradesh state has slowed down cultivation of cotton, turmeric and corn in the state, a government official said on Tuesday.
Farmers have cultivated cotton on 476,200 hectares as on June 29 against 605,000 hectares a year ago, while corn on 71,500 hectares, down from 117,000 hectares a year ago.

India coffee exports jump on global shortage
MUMBAI, July 1 (Reuters) - India's coffee exports since the beginning of the marketing year in October doubled on year in value terms to $ $836.86 million and jumped 45 percent in volumes to 286,135 tonnnes, exhausting almost all available surplus from 2010/11 crop.
The exports in Jan-June period jumped 44 percent on year to 220,072 tonnes due to strong demand from importing countries amid a rally in global prices, data with the state-run
Coffee Board showed on Friday.

Kenya coffee agency says pest could cut output
NAIROBI, July 1 (Reuters) - Kenya has warned farmers that thrips, deadly and difficult to detect pests, may attack coffee farms this year and cut production of the beans, the state-owned Coffee Research Foundation (CRF) of Kenya said on Friday.
Kenya is a relatively small grower of the commodity but its speciality beans are famous for their high quality and are much sought after for blending with those from other countries.

Indonesia cocoa output may fall to 420,000 T
SINGAPORE, July 4 (Reuters) - Indonesia, the world's third-largest cocoa producer, may see this year's output fall to its lowest since at least 2004 at 420,000 tonnes due to erratic weather and a fungal disease, the Indonesian Cocoa Association (Askindo) said on Monday.
Concerns about supply from Indonesia, which accounts for 10 percent of global output, could offer support for New York cocoa futures , which have dropped from a 32-year peak hit in March partly due to the return of peace in top grower Ivory Coast.

Oil Trades Near $95 in New York After Greek Loan; IEA Sales ‘Successful’ (Source: Bloomberg)
Oil traded near $95 a barrel in New York, after advancing 4.2 percent last week, as most European stocks climbed after officials approved an aid payment to Greece to prevent a default. Futures were little changed today after climbing the most in almost three months last week. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.2 percent as more than two stocks gained for every one that fell. U.S. markets were closed for the Independence Day holiday. The sale of U.S. emergency crude oil reserves as part of a stockpile release program has been “very successful,” the International Energy Agency said.

Zambia coal power plant construction to start in 2011
LUSAKA, July 2 (Reuters) - Singapore's Nava Bharat Pte plans to start construction of a 300 megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in Zambia by the end of 2011 and complete it by 2014, company director Ashwin Devineni said on Saturday.
"We have finalised the detailed layout of the power plant initially for 300 MW and later for an additional 300 MW," Devineni said in a statement.

Euro Coal-Indians buy more S.African prompt cargoes
LONDON, July 1 (Reuters) - Prompt European physical coal values were stable again on Friday despite a lack of buying interest from utilities.
Visible bids, offers and trades at prices little changed from earlier this week give the impression the market is steady but weak demand ought to trim a few dollars from prices, utilities and traders said.

U.S. coal use unchanged from previous week-Genscape
HOUSTON, July 1 (Reuters) - U.S. coal consumption was unchanged in the past week, Genscape said Friday, as weather, nuclear plant restarts and low gas prices cut demand for coal-fired power.
Use of coal for the week ended Thursday fell 8 percent from the same week in 2010, the power industry data monitor said. Natural gas prices are lower than the same week last year.

Huge rare earth deposits found in Pacific -Japan experts
TOKYO, July 4 (Reuters) - Vast deposits of rare earth minerals, crucial in making high-tech electronics products, have been found on the floor of the Pacific Ocean and can be readily extracted, Japanese scientists said on Monday.
"The deposits have a heavy concentration of rare earths. Just one square kilometre (0.4 square mile) of deposits will be able to provide one-fifth of the current global annual consumption," said Yasuhiro Kato, an associate professor of earth science at the University of Tokyo.

Philippines says can ship more nickel to China
MANILA, July 4 (Reuters) - The Philippines has a strong potential to increase its nickel exports to China as an initial study showed high-iron, low-nickel laterite ores produced locally can be converted into marketable iron products, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) said on Monday.
The Southeast Asian country, which exports most of its nickel output to China, was the world's third-biggest producer of nickel ore last year, behind Russia and Indonesia.

Iron Ore-Shanghai rebar hits near 3-week top, gains seen capped
SINGAPORE, July 4 (Reuters) - Shanghai steel futures rose more than 1 percent to their highest in nearly three weeks on Monday, chasing gains in Chinese equities, even as the outlook for steel demand remained bleak.
The most briskly traded October rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange  rose 1.4 percent to close 4,792 yuan per tonne, just off the day's peak of 4,798 yuan, its highest since June 15.

Speculators cut gold, silver net length, up copper
NEW YORK, July 1 (Reuters) - Managed money sharply cut their bullish bets in COMEX gold futures and options, as bullion prices tumbled 3 percent during the period, futures regulator Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed Friday.
Speculators in silver futures and options also slashed their net long positions in the week ended June 28, as metals prices fell along with weak energy and commodity prices, according to the latest report from the U.S. regulator.

METALS-Copper up on positive market sentiment
London Jun 6 (Reuters) - Copper rose to its highest in more than two months on Monday as market sentiment improved after data last week showed U.S. manufacturing grew at a surprisingly strong pace in June, easing concerns over an economic slowdown.
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange  rose 1.41 percent to $9,483.50 a tonne by 0915 GMT from $9,435 a tonne at the close on Friday.

PRECIOUS-Gold up 0.5 pct as weak dollar fuels bargain hunting
LONDON, July 4 (Reuters) - Gold prices rose 0.5 percent in Europe on Monday, supported by a rebound in the euro versus the dollar, and as investors took advantage of the metal's dip to six-week lows last week to buy into the market.
Comments from Standard & Poor's that Greece would likely be in default if it follows a debt rollover plan pushed by French banks also stoked lingering concerns over the stability of the euro zone.

Gold Gains on Buying After Drop to Lowest Price in Six Weeks, Lower Dollar (Source: Bloomberg)
Gold gained for the first time in three days in London as some investors bought the metal after its drop to a six-week low and as a weaker dollar spurred demand for an alternative asset. The dollar was little changed after earlier today touching a three-week low versus the euro on speculation the European Central Bank will raise interest rates this week. European finance ministers on July 2 authorized an 8.7 billion-euro ($12.6 billion) loan payout to Greece by mid-July after the nation’s parliament passed austerity measures.

FLOATING STORAGE ENQUIRY GROWING IN U.S. GULF-TRADE
LONDON, July 1 (Reuters) - Enquiry to store crude oil on tankers at sea in the U.S. Gulf is rising, although actual bookings have yet to be finalised, shipping and trade sources said on Friday.
While speculation has been growing in the past three days about potential floating storage deals, the U.S. Department of Energy on Friday listed what it termed as the "apparently successful" bidders for 30 million barrels of crude that it will release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) over the next month.

SHIP INDUSTRY CONFIDENCE HITS 2-YEAR LOW - SURVEY
LONDON, June 29 (Reuters) - Confidence in the shipping industry has fallen to its lowest level in two years as vessel oversupply issues and rising bunker fuel costs have taken their toll, a survey showed on Wednesday.
The latest quarterly shipping survey by accountancy and advisory firm Moore Stephens for the period to the end of May 2011 showed confidence in the sector had fallen for the fourth successive quarter and was at its lowest since May 2009.

CHINA SHIPPING EXCHANGE LAUNCHES FIRST FORWARD FREIGHT
SHANGHAI, June 29 (Reuters) - The Shanghai Shipping Freight Exchange Co (SSEFC) has launched China's first forward freight container contract, allowing local exporters and shipping companies to manage growing volatility in freight rates.
The forward contracts are based on shipping rates for the China-Western America route and the China-Europe route, it said on its website on Wednesday.

MAERSK SEES BUMPER GROWTH IN ASIA-AFRICA COMMODS TRADE
SINGAPORE, June 17 (Reuters) - Maersk Line, the world's top container shipping firm, sees double-digit growth for its Asian shipments of palm oil, sugar and rice to Africa this year as demand for food commodities surges in frontier markets, an executive said on Friday.
Maersk , France's CMA CGM, Japan's Nippon Yusen Kaisha , and other top shipping companies have introduced either new African-bound trade routes or added ships to already established lines this year to take advantage of growth in the region.

Baltic index firmer, Russia grains trade watched
LONDON, July 1 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates to ship dry commodities, turned positive on Friday,  with the market watching Russian grains exports after a ban was lifted.
The overall index rose 0.64 percent or 9 points to 1,422 points after falling for three sessions previously. Prior to the drop, it had risen for four sessions. The index has declined over 20 percent this year.

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