HONG KONG, July 14 (Reuters) - The dollar fell , sending gold to a record high and yields on Japanese government bonds to eight-month lows, after Moody's warning that the United States may lose its top-notch credit rating spurred a rush towards safe-haven assets.
A standoff in the U.S. Congress over raising the country's debt ceiling while disagreements over a plan to reduce the ballooning deficit prompted the rating agency to place its Aaa rating on review for a possible downgrade for the first time since 1996.
Commodity investors seek ways to beat correlation
LONDON, July 13 (Reuters) - Investors may increasingly look to market neutral and managed futures strategies for their commodity exposure if they want to avoid the higher positive correlations that commodities have shown with other asset classes since 2008.
Pension funds have steadily increased their exposure to commodities since 2005, in some cases allocating as much as 5 percent of their overall portfolio.
Indonesia wheat ample, India seen as last resort
JAKARTA, July 13 (Reuters) - Indonesia has ample wheat for the festive season and will seek Indian supply only as a last resort, the head of an industry group said on Wednesday, dampening hopes that the major Asian buyer would take up exports from India.
Indonesia's wheat grain inventory is estimated at 1.5 million tonnes, enough for three months of consumption that includes the high-demand period during the Ramadan fasting month in August and Eid al-Fitr festivities, said Ratna Sari Loppies, executive director of the Indonesian Wheat Flour Mills Association.
U.S. corn, wheat steady near 4-week top, soy flat
SINGAPORE, July 14 (Reuters) - Chicago corn and wheat were steady , after a strong rally in the last two sessions drove prices to a 4-week top, supported by bullish fundamentals and the possibility of more U.S. Federal Reserve stimulus.
"The focus is on debt problems in the U.S. and Europe and what is happening in the equity markets," said Ker Chung Yang, analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
Brazil sugar cane crop to post 1st drop in a decade
SAO PAULO, July 13 (Reuters) - Sugar cane output in Brazil, the world's top producer and exporter, will post its first annual decline in a decade as industry group Unica on Wednesday slashed its forecast for the center-south crop in 2011/12 by 6.2 percent.
Analysts had revised down their production forecasts due to lower yields from aging plants and weather problems. Still, the new forecast, for 533.5 million tonnes, was at the lower end of market expectations.
Philippines may export 200,000T sugar on top of US quota
MANILA, July 13 (Reuters) - The Philippines says it can export up to 200,000 tonnes of raw sugar this year on top of its U.S. quota commitments, but it may not have a lasting impact on global prices as the shipments will only partly offset expected crop losses in Brazil.
The Southeast Asian country would start selling raw sugar this month to Japan and Indonesia, with committed shipments of 35,892 tonnes, Rosemarie Gumera, manager at the policy and planning unit of the state agency Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), told Reuters.
Brazil cocoa arrivals down 3 pct from last season
BRASILIA, July 13 (Reuters) - Cocoa deliveries to Brazilian traders' and grinders' warehouses in the last week were down about 3 percent from this time a year ago, data from Bahia Commercial Association showed.
Bahia-based cocoa analyst Thomas Hartmann said that technical problems reported by one large processor mean they may have under-reported deliveries for the period, which if confirmed, would be added to next week's figure.
European Q2 cocoa grindings seen slightly up on year
LONDON, July 13 (Reuters) - Second quarter European cocoa grindings are expected to be slightly up on the same period last year, as the temporary closure of capacity in top producer Ivory Coast continued to boost grindings in other regions in April and May, dealers said.
First quarter European grindings rose by 3.5 percent on the year earlier, partly boosted by the lack of activity in Ivory Coast.
Too early to call French grain exports-FranceAgriMer
PARIS, July 14 (Reuters) - FranceAgriMer said on Wednesday it would wait until September to assess France's wheat export potential this season as crop-damaging weather and the resumption of Russian exports made any early forecast hazardous.
France is largest grain producer and exporter in the 27-member European Union.
Cameroon cocoa grindings up 54 pct y/y
YAOUNDE, July 13 (Reuters) - Cocoa grindings in Cameroon increased by 54 percent in the 2010/11 season to 27,131 tonnes of beans ground by May 31, compared with 17,572 tonnes for the same period in previous season, data from two regulatory bodies showed on Wednesday.
The data showed that the country's only cocoa grinder SIC-Cacao, a Barry Callebaut subsidiary, bought 842 tonnes of beans in the month of May, up from 255 tonnes in April.
India rushes for sugar sales as world market rallies
MUMBAI, July 13 (Reuters) - Indian sugar traders are asking $775 per tonne free on board (FOB) as they take advantage of record-high international prices to sell 500,000 tonnes of exports approved three weeks ago, three dealers and one analyst told Reuters.
Good demand from neighbours and Gulf countries will mean exporters can easily ship out the quota, allowed under the Open General Licence scheme, by mid-August even at the higher prices, they added.
Oil steady after Moody's warning on U.S. rating
SINGAPORE, July 14 (Reuters) - Oil paused after Moody's placed the credit rating of top consumer the United States under review for a downgrade, putting the brakes on a rally sparked by the possibility of a new round of economic stimulus.
"People are still skeptical about Bernanke's comments," said Tony Nunan, a risk manager with Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Corp.
US crude and gasoline stocks fall as imports drop-EIA
NEW YORK, July 13 (Reuters) - U.S. crude and oil product stocks fell last week as crude imports fell, U.S. Energy Information Administration data showed on Wednesday.
Crude stocks in the United States fell a bigger-than-expected 3.12 million barrels to 355.46 million barrels in the week to July 8, EIA said. Analysts polled by Reuters had projected a 1.8 million barrel drawdown on average.
World oil demand to strain supply in 2012-IEA
LONDON, July 13 (Reuters) - World oil demand growth will accelerate next year, adding to the pressure on available supplies, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday, contradicting a more conservative outlook from producer group OPEC.
In its first 2012 forecast in a monthly report, the IEA said oil use would grow by 1.47 million barrels per day (bpd) to 91 million bpd. The agency also trimmed its estimate of demand growth this year to 1.20 million bpd.
Fire prompts shutdown at BP oil platform in North Sea
OSLO, July 13 (Reuters) - BP halted oil output from the Valhall field in the North Sea on Wednesday after a fire on its production platform forced the evacuation of hundreds of workers, but the company said there was no risk of oil spills.
"Production is shut in and there is no risk for an oil spill," BP spokesman Jan Erik Geirmo told Reuters. "It is serious when you have a fire on a production platform and the cause of this is something we need to investigate... and it's too early for us to speculate."
LME copper steady, weak dollar supports
SHANGHAI, July 14 (Reuters) - London copper steadied, supported by a retreating dollar and the possibility of more Federal Reserve stimulus, but Moody's warning on U.S. credit rating checked gains. "Shanghai copper is going through a technical correction after a big rise yesterday compared to London. This overrides the positive influence of the dollar's weakness today," Great Wall Futures analyst Li Rong.
China's June steel, metals output at record as power returns
SHANGHAI, July 13 (Reuters) - China ramped up production of a range of commodities in June and hoisted the output of refined copper, nickel, aluminium, iron ore and steel to record highs, as returning power supplies allowed plants to run their smelters nearly at full-steam.
Weeks of heavy rain across China unleashed crucial hydropower supplies and higher tariffs finally encouraged utilities to restart idled generators, which pushed the country's power generation to a record high of 396.8 billion kilowatt hours.
Indonesia's Timah sees lower exports, higher revenue-paper
JAKARTA, July 14 (Reuters) - Indonesia's Timah , the world's largest integrated tin miner, expects a slight decline in sales this year, but revenue could rise on higher tin prices, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Thursday.
Production and sales of refined tin were forecast to reach 40,000 tonnes in 2011, down slightly from 40,413 tonnes in 2010 due to tough competition from illegal miners in the main producing island of Bangka and Belitung, Chief Executive Wachid Usman was quoted as saying on Wednesday.
Gold hits record, extends gains to 9th day
SINGAPORE, July 14 (Reuters) - Spot gold hit a record high above $1,589 , buoyed by a sharp drop in the dollar after Moody's warned the U.S. may lose its top credit rating, the possibility of more Federal Reserve stimulus and Europe's deepening debt crisis.
"Lacking a really reliable destination, a lot of the funds leaving the bonds market are going into precious metals on the notion that their value will be retained even if policymakers are pressured to go to further extremes to work against contagion."
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