Monday, March 5, 2012

20120305 1815 FCPO EOD Daily Chart Study.

FCPO closed : 3246, changed : -13 points, volume : lower.
Bollinger band reading : pullback correction upside biased.
MACD Histrogram : weakening, buyer taking profit.
Support : 3200, 3150, 3100, 3070 level.
Resistance : 3250, 3270, 3300, 3350 level.
Comment :
FCPO closed lower with declining volume transacted. Soy oil price currently trading weaker after overnight closed recorded small loss while crude oil price currently falling.
Crude palm oil May 2012 contract trading lower ahead of palm oil conference outlook meeting while broad commodities traded lower after China target slower 2012 growth and higher U.S. Dollar.
Chart reading still suggesting a pullback correction upside biased market development with MACD indicator almost having negative cross down.
When to buy : buy at support or weakness with quick cut loss and profit target.
When to sell : sell at resistant or strength with quick cut loss and profit target.

20120305 1733 FKLI EOD Daily Chart Study.

FKLI closed : 1593 changed : +6 points, volume : higher.
Bollinger band reading : upside biased with possible pullback correction.
MACD Histrogram : rising, buyer in advantage.
Support : 1590, 1580, 1570, 1565 level.
Resistance : 1600, 1610, 1620, 1630 level.
Comment :
FKLI closed recorded gain for the 4th consecutive day with better volume changed hand doing 3.5 points premium compare to cash market that also closed little higher. Last Friday U.S. markets closed little lower and today Asia markets ended mostly lower while European markets currently trading in negative territory.
Global market traded lower after news on Europe area manufacturing and services output missed estimates and China official statement of targeting slower 2012 economic growth.
Technical chart reading remained suggesting upside biased market development with possible pullback correction.
When to buy : buy at support or weakness with quick cut loss and profit target.
When to sell : sell at resistance or strength with quick cut loss and profit target.

20120305 1657 Regional Markets EOD Daily Chart Study.

 DJIA chart reading : correction range bound upside biased.
 Hang Seng chart reading : correction range bound upside biased.
KLCI chart reading :  upside biased with possible pullback

20120305 1605 Global Market & Commodities Related News.

Shares ease as investors await more data
TOKYO, March 5 (Reuters) - Asian shares eased as investors turned cautious about riding further on liquidity-driven optimism without seeing more evidence of firmer global growth.
"Markets seem to be in a holding pattern. Investors are waiting for the next catalyst before committing to fresh positions," said Stan Shamu, a market strategist at IG Markets.

Soy ends 10-day rally, but still near 5-month top
SINGAPORE, March 5 (Reuters) - U.S. soybeans retreated after a 10-day rally although expectations that export demand will stay strong kept soy near five-month highs, while wheat and corn drifted lower.
"Oilseeds remain the most bullish of the agri-commodities, mainly because of recent downgrades to South American crop prospects and strong demand for U.S. supplies," said Luke Mathews, commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

POLL-Australia's 2012/13 wheat output seen down 15.3 pct
SYDNEY/SINGAPORE, March 2 (Reuters) - Australia's wheat output is likely to slide more than 15 percent in 2012/13 from a record-large crop this year as lower global prices may prompt farmers to shift to other crops such as canola and barley.
Wheat output is expected to fall to 25 million tonnes in the year to June 2013, down from an all-time high of 29.5 million tonnes which is estimated to have been produced this year, according to a Reuters survey of 10 analysts.

Tunisia grain crop hit by floods -- officials
TUNIS, March 4 (Reuters) - The grain harvest in Tunisia will be affected by recent floods, which destroyed about 14,000 hectares of land devoted to the cultivation of cereals, officials said on Sunday.
"About 14,000 hectares of grain area was damaged," Habib Jomli, a senior agriculture ministry official, said. "These floods will have a negative impact on the grain harvest this year ... The affected areas are Beja, Bizerte and Jendouba."

China 2012 rapeseed output 13-14 mln tonnes-COFCO chairman
BEIJING, March 4 (Reuters) - China's rapeseed output for 2012 is expected to be between 13 and 14 million tonnes, the chairman of the nation's top state-owned grains trader COFCO said on Sunday, marking a slight increase from its estimated 2011/12 harvest.
But Ning Gaoning said China's corn imports for 2012 are likely to hold steady or even slip from a year ago due to a bumper harvest at home, while soybean imports should rise further this year.

Bangladesh rice production rises over 3 pct in 2011
DHAKA, March 4 (Reuters) - Bangladesh produced a record 34.25 million tonnes of rice in 2011, 3.16 percent more than the previous year, helped by favourable weather and continued government support for the farming sector, a senior agriculture official said on Sunday.
"Bangladesh has now almost achieved self sufficiency in food grains (rice and wheat), with most farmers using high-yielding seeds," said the official, who requested not to be named.

Commodities to diverge as monetary stimulus ends
LONDON, March 2 (Reuters) - Commodities' price performances will increasingly diverge this year, with supply and demand fundamentals in each market exerting a stronger role, as economies start to recover and more than three years of monetary stimulus come to an end.
The European Central Bank announced its latest stimulus this week, providing half a trillion euros of cheap three-year loans to 800 banks. But the ECB also warned that no further injections were planned.

China cuts 2012 growth target to 7.5 pct, stability key
BEIJING, March 5 (Reuters) - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao cut his nation's growth target to 7.5 percent for 2012 to give the economy more room to slow down if needed while the government carries out promised economic and welfare reforms ahead of a looming leadership transition.
Speaking at China's annual parliamentary session, Wen nudged down the target from the longstanding goal of 8 percent annual growth, a move anticipated by investors expecting more focus on economic rebalancing and defusing price pressures.

Italy 2011 steel export up, lags import volumes
MILAN, March 2 (Reuters) - Steel exports from Italy, the European Union's second-biggest producer after Germany, rose 12.1 percent to 16.966 million tonnes in 2011, but lagged behind import volumes, industry body Federacciai data showed on Friday.
Italy's export-focused steel industry has come under growing pressure from non-EU rivals in the past few years and, facing modest demand on core markets, needs to rethink its product range and consolidate, analysts say.

METALS-LME copper clings to gains on China hopes
SINGAPORE, March 5 (Reuters) - London copper edged higher reflecting hopes that demand from top consumer China will pick up and that prices could rise further as the U.S. economy improves and global supplies remain tight.
"We don't see further big increases in Shanghai copper stocks because we're now coming into peak consumption season in China," said Matt Fusarelli, analyst at AME Group.

PRECIOUS-Gold holds ground at $1,710; dollar strength weighs
SINGAPORE, March 5 (Reuters) - Gold prices hovered largely unchanged around $1,710 an ounce after suffering their biggest weekly loss in more than two months, supported by resilient demand for bullion while the strong U.S. dollar put off some investors.
"There isn't much room on the downside for gold, because the sharp fall last week was an over-reaction to an unfulfilled expectation," said Hou Xinqiang, an analyst at Jinrui Futures in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

FOREX-Dollar off 9-month high vs yen on profit-taking
SINGAPORE, March 5 (Reuters) - The dollar eased against the yen on profit-taking in the wake of its rise to a nine-month high late last week, but dollar-buying by Japanese importers helped to limit its losses.
"If the jobs data comes in strong, we could see the dollar rise another 1.5 yen or so," said Daisuke Karakama, market economist for Mizuho Corporate Bank in Tokyo, adding that the dollar may rise toward 83 yen in that scenario.

Brent back near $124 on supply concerns over Iran
SINGAPORE, March 5 (Reuters) - Brent crude climbed back near $124, rebounding from a drop of 2 percent the previous session as another refiner announced cuts to Iranian imports, feeding fears of a supply crunch as the West presses ahead with sanctions on Tehran.
"There's no other alternative to Iranian oil except for Saudi oil and they have already increased exports last month," he said, adding that global oil consumption is increasing on the back of growing demand for oil in Asia.

China 2012 coal output to slow, oil seen flat-NDRC report
BEIJING, March 5 (Reuters) - China's raw coal output is expected to rise 3.7 percent from a year ago to 3.65 billion tonnes, slowing sharply from a year ago, while crude oil production by the world's No. 2 consumer is forecast unchanged at 204 million tonnes in 2012, the government said in a work report on Monday.
The report, issued by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), also said growth in total electricity output was expected to slow from double-digit rates to 7.5 percent this year to hit 5.05 trillion kilowatt hours.

China to "push forward" building oil reserve tanks -official
BEIJING, March 5 (Reuters) - China will "push forward" with building phase-two strategic oil reserve sites, Liu Tienan, head of the China National Energy Administration told reporters on Monday.
Liu didn't give further details when asked about progress on the reserve bases. Industry officials have said China is expected to complete building the phase-two tanks around the end of this year, after kicking off construction in early 2009.

Enbridge U.S. oil line to be shut for four more days
NEW LENOX, Illinois, March 4 (Reuters) -   A key segment of Enbridge Inc's  oil pipeline system in the U.S. Midwest will remain shut down for up to four more days after a deadly vehicle accident in Illinois caused an oil leak and fire, likely squeezing supplies for refiners in the region, the company said on Sunday .
The shutdown of Enbridge's 318,000 barrel a day Line 14/64, part of a network that carries oil produced in Canada to Griffith, Indiana, from Superior, Wisconsin, is also expected to pressure already-weak prices for Canadian crude this week as supplies back up in Alberta, market sources and analysts said.

Iran discovers huge oil field in south-report
TEHRAN, March 3 (Reuters) - Iran has discovered one of its biggest oil fields with high quality crude in a southern province, the semi-official Mehr news agency quoted an official as saying on Saturday.
"The preliminary studies show enormous crude reserves in this oil field, which can be considered as one of Iran's biggest fields," Mahmoud Mohaddes, head of the exploration office at the state National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) told Mehr.

PetroChina not seeking extra Russian oil via pipeline - chairman
BEIJING, March 5 (Reuters) - PetroChina , Asia's largest oil and gas producer, will not buy extra Russian crude oil via the Russia-China pipeline, the company chief said on Monday, after the two sides recently resolved a price dispute.
Jiang Jiemin, chairman of PetroChina, also said China and Russia still differed on prices in protracted gas supply talks, under which Russia aimed to eventually sell up to 68 billion cubic metres of gas per year to China under a 30-year deal.

LME copper clings to gains on China hopes
SINGAPORE, March 5 (Reuters) - London copper edged higher, reflecting hopes that demand from top consumer China will pick up and that prices could rise further as the U.S. economy improves and global supplies remain tight.
"We don't see further big increases in Shanghai copper stocks because we're now coming into peak consumption season in China," said Matt Fusarelli, analyst at AME Group.

Iron ore exports to China up at Australia's Port Hedland
SYDNEY, March 4 (Reuters) - Iron ore shipments to China through Australia's Port Hedland rose modestly in February compared with January, according to data released by the port authority, suggesting steady demand from the world's largest steel industry after signs of a weak start to 2012.            
A cloudy outlook for steel demand curbed China's appetite for iron ore recently as mills opted to run down inventories instead of booking new orders, according to commodities traders.

Gold holds ground at $1,710; dollar strength weighs
SINGAPORE, March 5 (Reuters) - Gold prices hovered largely unchanged around $1,710 an ounce after suffering their biggest weekly loss in more than two months, supported by resilient demand for bullion while the strong U.S. dollar put off some investors.
"There isn't much room on the downside for gold, because the sharp fall last week was an over-reaction to an unfulfilled expectation," said Hou Xinqiang, an analyst at Jinrui Futures in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

20120305 1106 Global Market & Commodities Related News.

GLOBAL MARKETS-Shares ease as investors await more data
TOKYO, March 5 (Reuters) - Asian shares eased on Monday as investors turned cautious about riding further on liquidity-driven optimsm without seeing more evidence of firmer growth and remained watchful of developments in the euro zone's debt crisis and oil market.
"The main risks to our cautiously constructive outlook continue to be Europe, weaker-than-expected Chinese data and higher oil prices," Barclays Capital anlaysts said.

COMMODITIES-Metals, oil drop as firm dollar sparks risk selling
NEW YORK, March 2 (Reuters) - Oil slid more than 2 percent on Friday, and copper and gold fell too as Spain's challenge to a new fiscal pact from the European Union triggered a dollar rally, prompting investors to sell dollar-denominated commodities.
"Although the oil complex is responding to some softening in  the euro and the equities, the main source of selling has   been a disgorgement of risk premium following yesterday's   frenzied price advance (on) reports of Saudi pipeline   explosions," Jim Ritterbusch, president at Ritterbusch &   Associates, said in a research note.

Oil falls, posts weekly loss after Saudi supply scare
NEW YORK, March 2 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell 2 percent on Friday after Saudi Arabia eased investor concerns about a reported pipeline explosion that had pushed Brent to the highest level since 2008.  
"There were no acts of sabotage in the kingdom yesterday," Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki told Reuters. He did not elaborate.

NYMEX-Natural gas ends up, shorts cover ahead of weekend
NEW YORK, March 2 (Reuters) - Front-month U.S. natural gas futures, underpinned by short-covering after Thursday's steep slide, ended modestly higher on Friday but gains were limited by mild late-winter weather forecasts and bloated supplies.
"I think the market was just consolidating today after breaking down yesterday, but it looks like the first two weeks of March are going to be really mild," said Steve Mosley at SMC Advisory Services in Arkansas.

Euro Coal-Prices hold steady despite gas, oil falls
LONDON, March 2 (Reuters) - Prompt physical coal prices were little changed on Friday after a day of quiet trading and little direction from either the oil or gas markets.
"There's been very limited appetite to trade. People are unsure," one European trader said.

China's growing strategic stake in the Middle East
--John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own--
LONDON, March 2 (Reuters) - China's growing demand for imported oil, coupled with the development of new oil and gas supplies in North America, is set to transform the international security situation in the Middle East over the next 20 years.
That is the inescapable conclusion from an arresting slide in a presentation given by Maria van der Hoeven, executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), at a seminar on the future of energy in Mexico City on Feb. 29.
 
Indonesia's proposed fuel subsidy cut needs encouraging
-- Clyde Russell is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own. --
SINGAPORE, March 2 (Reuters) - It's encouraging to see Indonesia taking tentative steps towards cutting its overly generous fuel subsidies, a move that will hopefully inspire other Asian nations to do the same.
While China grabs the headlines as the main driver of rising global oil consumption, demand in other Asian nations is also climbing in contrast to steady-to-lower usage in North America and Europe.

China to "push forward" building oil reserve tanks -official
BEIJING, March 5 (Reuters) - China will "push forward" with building phase-two strategic oil reserve sites, Liu Tienan, head of the China National Energy Administration told reporters on Monday.
Liu didn't give further details when asked about progress on the reserve bases. Industry officials have said China is expected to complete building the phase-two tanks around the end of this year, after kicking off construction in early 2009.

Enbridge U.S. oil line to be shut for four more days
NEW LENOX, Illinois, March 4 (Reuters) -   A key segment of Enbridge Inc's  oil pipeline system in the U.S. Midwest will remain shut down for up to four more days after a deadly vehicle accident in Illinois caused an oil leak and fire, likely squeezing supplies for refiners in the region, the company said on Sunday .
The shutdown of Enbridge's 318,000 barrel a day Line 14/64, part of a network that carries oil produced in Canada to Griffith, Indiana, from Superior, Wisconsin, is also expected to pressure already-weak prices for Canadian crude this week as supplies back up in Alberta, market sources and analysts said.

20120305 1058 Malaysia Corporate Related News.

Sources said that a commercial study by Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) on the viability of the proposed high speed rail (HSR) project connecting KL and Singapore has found that it may cost RM30bn. The feasibility study will be completed this month, followed by a technical study. SPAD aims to complete the entire feasibility study by year end or 1Q2013. The HSR will have two services. First is an express service linking KL to JB and Singapore. Secondly, a service that transits at KLIA, Seremban, Muar, Melaka and Batu Pahat before stopping at JB. The project is expected to 1.5 years to design and 3-4 years to complete. Target is to launch the project in 2018. To make the project viable, the HSR needs 8m passengers p.a. (Edge Weekly)

The power assets of T. Ananda Krishnan have been sold to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) – the biggest asset sale in the country and probably the region. Sources say the deal was closed last Friday with the assets being sold for US$3.2-3.6bn (RM9.9-11.2bn). (Star Biz)

Volkswagen (VW) AG, Europe’s biggest carmaker, has identified its VW Polo marque as the best fit for Proton Holdings Bhd. BT understands that VW has formed a special team headed by Soh Wei Ming, its operations head for Asia Pacific, to look into the possibility of remodelling the Polo as the national car.

VW has done this successfully before when it turned around the Czech Republic’s then loss-making Skoda Auto in the early 1990s. Today, Skoda, which mainly sells compact cars, is a profitable entity with plants in Europe and Asia. Skoda is selling some 879,200 units globally. The Polo currently costs above RM100,000 but the plan put forward by VW to Proton’s ultimate owner, DRB-Hicom Bhd, would see Polo, produced locally with German technology, priced competitively at below the RM70,000 mark. Since DRB-Hicom's emergence in Proton, some of VW’s top group directors have visited the Proton plant, as well as reviewed all the existing Proton models.Following the review and a meeting in Hong Kong last month between Soh and DRB-HICOM’s chief operating officer, Datuk Lukman Ibrahim, it was decided that the Polo would be the best fit for Proton. VW and DRB-Hicom is assemblingthe 1.8-litre engine Passat sedan at its plant in Pekan, Pahang. The launch of the locally assembled models is expected to take place this month. VW has been scouting Asia for a base to build a small turbo-based compact car ever since its 2009 partnership with Suzuki Motor Corp, Japan’s number one minicar producer, failed to complete any joint projects. (BT)

The government has started gazetting land stretching from Banting in Selangor to Taiping in Perak but landowners along the proposed RM7.1bn West Coast Expressway project are largely believed to be unaware of the move. The project will be undertaken by Europlus's 64%-owned subsidiary, West Coast Expressway Sdn Bhd and will be backed by a government support loan of RM2.24bn. (Malaysian Reserve)

Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd and Guinness Anchor Bhd (GAB) are taking divergent routes to seek further value growth for their shareholders. Carlsberg will bank on its overseas operations, in particular the growth from Asean markets, to drive its profits as it aims to transform Kuala Lumpur into its manufacturing hub, while GAB intends to continue its streak on focusing on the local market. Meanwhile, Carlsberg, which is beginning to reap the fruit of the consolidation of its Carlsberg Singapore Pte Ltd as a wholly-owned subsidiary, sees future growth coming from outside of Malaysia instead of from within the country due to the local market being already “saturated”. “Next year we expect that Singapore will grow twice as fast as Malaysia, and Malaysia will see single-digit growth. Market growth this year will only be a couple of percent (while) Singapore will grow around 6%,” Carlsberg Managing Director Soren Ravn says. On this note, Carlsberg intends to eventually transform Kuala Lumpur as its regional manufacturing hub to cater for all of the Asian region. “Asia is quickly becoming a global leader and the Asean region holds significant potential due to burgeoning economic prosperity. Focus is on Asia and how it can contribute towards global growth, on this score, we are strategically increasing the number of brands to be manufactured in Malaysia,” Ravn said. “To produce here is a lot more profitable. We are looking to be a regional hub but we will take this step by step. We will start with Singapore, which is under me now,” Ravn said. “Last year, we produced almost 1.4m hectolitres and we can still expand on that and we still have some exports that we can manage without having any capacity issues to supply to the domestic market in the next five years,” Raven adds. GAB's managing director Charles Ireland says the company will continue to focus on the Malaysian market and is confident of it because of growing wealth which will eventually translate into higher disposable income for the populace. “We will keep aiming to grow at our past five years' compounded annual growth rate of 11.5%. Some say that the market is saturated but we still see it otherwise and we can prove it with our track record in the past 10 years,” Ireland says, adding that GAB continues to see the Malaysian market as its future due to the potential upside growth from very low levels of per capita consumption of beer. GAB also sees the domestic market recording a mid single-digit volume growth for the next five years and expects sufficient capacity to meet demand. (Starbiz)

India, the world’s biggest palm oil buyer, should more than double the tax on imports to guard domestic refiners from cheap supplies, a processors’ group said. Duty on imports of refined palm oil should be increased to 16.5% from 7.5%, the Solvent Exractors’ Association of India said. India should raise the benchmark price for calculating tax on refined palm oil to US$1,200 a ton from US$484 and ban imports of edible oil in consumer packs, the association said. (Bloomberg)

Palm oil imports by Pakistan, the third-largest buyer, may plunge 22 percent this quarter after a transporters’ strike closed factories, a refiners’ group said. Shipments may decline to about 343,000 metric tons in the three months ending March 31 from 442,000 tons a year earlier, Abdul Rasheed Janmohammad, vice chairman of the Pakistan Edible Oil Refiners Association, said. Imports may rebound to the normal level of 150,000 tons to 175,000 tons a month from April, he said. (Bloomberg)

Top palm oil producer Indonesia's growing refining advantage will dominate an annual gathering of world's palm oil business in Kuala Lumpur next week as traders examine shifts in demand. Planters, refiners and bankers gather for the Bursa Malaysia Palm Oil Conference from Monday to Wednesday as the market for the tropical oil grows this year at the expense of soy oil, with the South American sou crop damaged by draught. (StarBiz)

IOI Properties will be kept extremely busy over the next two years as its revenue looks set to top the RM1bn mark again for its financial year 2013. “We are actually very optimistic. Based on our planned launches, both for residential and commercial, you will see that we are pretty confident of the demand we are likely to garner. The trend we see now is that there are a lot of parents buying houses for their children,” says IOI Properties Bhd senior general manager Lee Yoke Har. (StarBiz)

Malaysia's No.3 palm oil firm KL Kepong will build three refineries in Indonesia to tap higher margins after Jakarta lowered its processed edible oil export taxes, a senior company official said. (StarBiz)

Felda D'Saji is optimistic about achieving 10% growth in revenue for this year, compared with RM50m last year. It has been achieving strong growth in recent years as revenue in 2010 was RM40m, said Felda director-general Datuk Dzulkifli Abd Wahab at the launch of D'Saji Kitchen. Felda D’Saji started as a catering organisation and is fully owned by the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) & Koperasi Permodalan Felda Bhd. (Bernama)

SP Setia Bhd sees southern Johor as the company's fixed deposit in view of the development and progress taking place in Iskandar Malaysia. President and chief executive officer Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin said the company would continue looking for more land in Iskandar Malaysia and outside Johor Baru, adding that there were still large tracts of land available in Johor for township. (StarBiz)

UEM Land expects to achieve higher sales of RM3bn in 2012 despite stringent loan guidelines, driven by existing projects and new launches as well as unbilled sales of RM1.85bn, said its CEO Datuk Wan Abdullah Wan Ibrahim. UEM Land plans to launch new projects with GDV of RM4.5bn this year, including RM1.7bn in Nusajaya. (The Sun)

Boustead Heavy Industries (BHIC) chairman Tan Sri Lodin Wok Kamaruddin has again denied recent news reports that the company will be taken private. Lodin, who is also LTAT chief executive and Boustead Holdings group MD, said LTAT has no intention whatsoever to take BHIC private. (Bernama)

Dijaya Corp Bhd’s majority shareholder, Danny Tan Chee Sing is injecting his personal assets into flagship property company, Dijaya, to enlarge the size of the company and unlock further value for shareholders, said sources close to the company. These personal assets are currently privately held by Tan and consists of land-banks nationwide as well as investment properties. While the size of the assets are not known, sources said the injection of the assets would result in Dijaya’s market capitalisation increasing from RM766.4m to about RM1bn. Sources said: “The intention is to create a bigger company and grow more aggressively, moving forward. The investment properties will also provide some form of recurring income for the company.” The acquisition was likely to be satisfied by a combination of cash and a corporate exercise, the sources added. (Starbiz)

Datuk Robin Tan Yeong Ching, CEO and interim chairman for Berjaya Corp Bhd (BCorp) is confident that the board of BCorp will continue to drive the group forward by expanding its existing businesses. "We will not consolidate but simply expand all the group's existing businesses. We will retain my father's (Tan Sri Vincent Tan) legacy... his entrepreneurial spirit and drive," Tan said. Speaking to BT, he said, "My dad's plan to step down from BCorp board was not really a surprise as he will have to do it one day. The surprise is the early timing. I have been running BCorp as a CEO for the past one year, so there will be no major changes but internally, we are setting up certain policies for everyone within the group." Tan, 37, has been involved in various aspects of businesses within the group for the past 17 years. He has been a board member for many listed entities under Berjaya Group for 14 years.(BT)

Print media will continue to be an important medium as long as it is able to provide relevant news, said Star Publications (M) Bhd executive deputy chairman Datuk Vincent Lee. “If you look at The Star (newspaper), it's a 40-year-old mainstream medium, but if you check last year's advertising expenditure (adex), the bulk of it went to print,” he said. Adex rose 12% to RM10.8bn in 2011, with newspapers retaining the lion's share at 40.5%. “Print has been the mainstream news for decades but consumers are still willing to pay for (printed) news content,” Lee said, adding that print would continue to be relevant to the consumer as long as it provided quality news.“It's about creative storytelling. There are 8.1m English literate Malaysians, (so) the market is still there and we can still grow side by side with the digital medium,” he said. Lee, however, said newspaper companies needed to evolve to stay competitive. “We need to be brave and transform ourselves constantly.” Meanwhile, OMD and PHD managing director Andreas Vogiatzakis in his presentation, “Will Print Media Survive in the Digital Era?” said that consumers still placed high value on the insight and analysis provided by newspapers. Citing renowned newspaper designer Jacek Utko, he also said newspapers should leverage on its headlines, text and photos to pull in readers. “Non-linear, bite-sized chunks of information are better digested. “Produce less news and more knowledge and make the reader smarter!” (Starbiz)

Envair Holding Bhd has proposed a private placement of up to 35.5m new shares, representing 30% of its issued and paid-up capital. The exercise is part of the firm's plan to venture into the distribution and trading of oil and gas products. The shares will be placed out to major shareholder Deepak Jaikishan, Envair directors Mohd Anuar Mohd Hanadzlah and Mohd Shukri Abdullah, as well as an independent investor to be identified at a later date. Based on the indicative issue price of RM0.275 per placement share, the exercise will raise a gross proceed of up to RM9.8m. (BT)

Reclusive tycoon Tan Sri A.P. Arumugam has increased his shareholding in Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd from 6.4% to 8.8% via an off-market deal, said sources. On Wednesday, 4m shares were transacted at an average price of RM1.78, while on Friday, another 6m shares were crossed at the same price. The stock closed on Friday at RM1.80 on volume of 2.7m shares. Arumugam first emerged in the company last July when his son Roushan Arumugam was announced to have bought 23m shares or a 5.5% stake in the company. Back then, he made the indirect purchase via Littleton Holdings Pte Ltd, of which he owns 90%. While no price was disclosed, it was believed that Littleton took up part of the placement of Hibiscus' initial public offering shares at RM0.75. Arumugam is the chairman and founder of Sri Inderajaya, which has significant investments in six major industries globally and consisting of agriculture technologies, consumer products, education, industrial technologies, property, telecommunications and travel and tourism. (Starbiz)

ACE Market-listed eBworx Bhd has received a potential takeover offer from Hitachi Ltd, at an indicative RM0.90 per share. That means a complete takeover of eBworx could cost Hitachi RM184.2m. Hitachi or its affiliate may propose to make a conditional voluntary general offer to eBworx shareholders, with a minimum level of acceptances of 85%. eBworx said the proposed offer was subject to conditions including completion of due diligence by Hitachi and the retention of certain key personnel.The board of eBworx has agreed for Hitachi to proceed with the due diligence. The latter is expected to make an offer in April. The eBworx group is a regional financial solutions specialist that provides digital commerce solutions to the financial services industry. It provides solutions for credit management, delivery channel (cash management, Internet banking and branch delivery) and trade finance. Its main revenue stream comes from systems maintenance and enhancement services. StarBizWeek recently reported that eBworx was targeting to secure contracts valued at about RM80m. “We brought over RM70m worth of jobs from last year that would only be translated into revenue this year,” said group CEO Tan Suan Fong recently.(Starbiz)

20120305 1057 Global Economic Related News.

China’s non-manufacturing sector Purchasing Managers Index fell to 48.4 in Feb from 52.9 in Jan on the back of soft demand for services after the early Spring Festival. The sub-index of new orders fell to 46.1 in Feb from 48.5 the previous month. (Reuters)

Home prices in China fell an average of 0.3% mom to Rmb8,767 psm in 100 major cities across the country in Feb as government measures to cool the domestic property market continue to work. (Shanghai Daily)

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) estimates that Indonesia will post a deflation in Mar, as in previous years. The new government floor price for rice, up 25%, will not accelerate inflation. (IFT)

Indonesia’s government is planning to provide Rp25tr in a temporary direct cash assistance (BLSM) for the poor who would be affected by the increase in fuel oil prices. the assistance would be provided to about 30% of the population or 18.5m families who would be affected by the price hikes. (Antara News)

Thailand’s rice exports have plunged 41% yoy between 1 Jan and 23 Feb due to the rice mortgage scheme implemented by the Pheu Thai Party-led government to replace the Democrat Party’s price-guarantee scheme, according to the Thai Rice Exporters Association. (Bangkok Post)

Thailand’s House of Representatives approved the financial decrees that enable the Finance Ministry to raise as much as THB350bn for the government’s water resource management and rehabilitation plans as well as allow the transfer of full repayment responsibility for the THB1.14tr bailout debt from the Asian Financial Crisis from the Finance Ministry to the central bank. (Thai Financial Post)

Thailand’s Customs Department expected to achieve a tax revenue collection of THB105bn in 2012 as targeted despite the financial aftermath of last year’s floods and Thailand’s participation in the ASEAN Economic Community and ASEAN Free Trade Area. (Thai Financial Post)

Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance removed the 5% import tariff on gas after the price of domestic cooking gas was hiked by a record VND52,000/12 kg cylinder. (Vietnam News)

IMF Deputy Managing Director Min Zhu said a renewed drop in housing prices could thwart the US economic recovery in the short term while Washington's lack of a "credible, comprehensive" fiscal plan poses a major medium-term risk. He added that China’s growth could decline by up to 4% if the European crisis took a sharp turn for the worse. (Reuters)

Greece’s long-term foreign currency debt was downgraded to C from Ca, with Moody’s Investors Service saying that investors who participate in the nation’s debt exchange will get about 70% less than the face value of their holdings, thus the deal constitutes “a distressed exchange, and hence a default.” (Bloomberg)

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda reiterated the urgent need to implement pay cuts and a thinning of the bureaucracy and legislature to win public support for doubling the 5% consumption tax. (Bloomberg)

Euro area producer prices rose 0.7% mom in Jan. Median forecasts had foreseen a more modest 0.3% monthly rise. (Reuters)

US light-vehicle sales in Feb accelerated to a 15.1m, exceeding the 14.2m pace that was the average of analysts’ estimates. (Bloomberg)

20120305 1049 Soy Oil & Palm Oil Related News.

Soybeans (Source: CME)
US soy futures rallied for the tenth consecutive trading day, fueled by expectations smaller South American crops are generating more US export demand. USDA reinforced that trend Friday, announcing fresh sales to unknown destinations for both the current marketing year and upcoming year, which starts in September. The "day in and day out" announcements of export sales of soybeans solidified trader ideas that government forecasters may be underestimating US soy demand forecasts, said Terry Reilly, analyst with Citigroup in Chicago. Soybean market has jumped 12% since Jan 30. CBOT May soybeans ended 10 1/2 cents higher at $13.33/bushel.

Soybean Meal/Oil (Source: CME)
Soy-product futures end mixed, with a big push in traders buying soymeal against soyoil on spreads action. Soymeal is rallying in step with soybeans as increased export demand tightens soy supplies, making soymeal more expensive to produce. But soyoil fell, succumbing to broader weakness in the energy pits. CBOT May soymeal ends up $3.60 at $359.10/short ton while May soyoil drops 0.19c to 54.08c/pound.

Informa Cuts Brazil Soybean Crop Estimates (Source: CME)
Private analytical firm Informa Economics on Friday lowered its outlook for the Brazilian soybean harvests, according to traders. Informa cut its forecast for soybean output in Brazil, the world's second-largest producer of the oilseed, because of dry conditions stressing soybeans as they were blooming and filling pods in the southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul in February. The closely watched agricultural forecaster lowered its estimate for Brazil's soybean crop to 68 million tons from its previous estimate of 70 million tons, traders said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture last month projected the crop at 72 million tons. Informa also cut its forecast for Paraguay soybean output by 2.4 million tons from last month to 4 million, traders said. Tempering the reductions in Brazil and Paraguay soybean crop estimates was Informa's 1-million-ton increase in Argentina's soybean crop estimate to 47.5 million tons, traders said. USDA's February estimate was 48 million tons.
The increase is due to above-normal February rains which were timely for the late-planted single crop and double crop soybeans, traders said. Argentina's crop production is important to global agricultural markets as it is also the world's third-largest soybean exporter, and the leading exporter of soy products. Informa forecast Brazil corn production at 61.5 million tons, unchanged from its previous estimate. Informa pegged corn production in Argentina, the world's second-largest corn exporter, at 22.5 million tons, unchanged from its previous estimate and above USDA's February estimate of 22 million tons, traders said. Informa also pegged world cotton production at 123.5 million bales, down 60,000 from last month, traders said. Reduced production forecasts in Brazil and Australia due to excessive February rains were tempered by a 300,000 bale increase in Pakistan, Informa noted in the report according to traders. The USDA is scheduled to release updated figures on Friday March 9, at 8:30 a.m. EST.

Palm Oil Seen Rising 7% to Year High as Drought Wilts South American Crops (Source: Bloomberg)
Palm oil may advance 7 percent to the highest level in a year by mid-April as cooking-oil demand outstrips supply, according to TransGraph Consulting Pvt Chairman Nagaraj Meda, who’s forecast prices for 13 years. Stockpiles of soybeans, crushed to make an alternative oil, will decline after dry weather hurt crops in Brazil and Argentina, said Meda, who’s also managing director of Hyderabad, India-based TransGraph, which advises the industry. Palm oil may climb to 3,500 ringgit ($1,165) from 3,259 ringgit on March 2, before sliding to 2,800 ringgit after July as prospects for the U.S. soybean harvest become clearer, he said.  Palm oil, used in everything from candy bars to biofuel, rallied last month by the most since December 2010 after drought cut South American crops. Meda’s forecast for a near-term gain is less bullish than a prediction from industry veteran Dorab Mistry, who’s set to update his outlook at a conference starting tomorrow in Malaysia, the second-largest producer.
There was positive price momentum following damage to the soybean crop, Meda said in a phone interview on March 1. Economic-stimulus packages in developed nations including Europe had also helped to boost demand, he said.

Palm oil drops as soy, crude-oil driven rally pauses
KUALA LUMPUR, March 2 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures fell  as traders booked profits from a rally driven by surging crude oil prices and prospects of tighter soyoil supplies from South America.
"In general, demand is strong because people will buy more palm oil than soyoil due to the South American drought but Malaysia may not be capturing demand because of Indonesia," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage in Kuala Lumpur.

Rains help Argentina's soy, corn crops recover
BUENOS AIRES, March 1 (Reuters) - A leading Argentine grains exchange held its soy and corn harvest estimates steady on Thursday, saying the rains that soaked fields over the past week have improved the outlook for soybeans.
Buenos Aires Grains Exchange forecast soy production at 46.2 million tonnes and expects a corn harvest of 21.3 million tonnes. Argentina is the world's no. 3 supplier of soybeans and the second-biggest corn supplier after the United States.

Argentine grains ports hit by dock workers' strike
BUENOS AIRES, March 1 (Reuters) - Argentine dock workers went on strike for better conditions on  Thursday, slowing the country's ports just ahead of corn and soybean harvests key to world grains markets and the local economy.
"At this time we are not mooring ships, and this will continue until we reach a deal with the port authorities," Omar Suarez, spokesman for the SOMU harbor workers' union, told Reuters.

China to partly lift ban on Canada canola imports-trade
BEIJING, March 1 (Reuters) - Chinese quarantine authorities will allow imports of Canadian canola by some selected crushers located in major growing areas, partially lifting a ban it imposed because of fungal disease concerns, traders said on Thursday.
The import relaxation, likely to be cleared in the second half of the year, would further boost canola imports from the world's largest exporter of canola/rapeseed to China later in the year.

Malaysia's KLK eyes Indonesian palm oil refineries for growth
KUALA LUMPUR, March 2 (Reuters) - Malaysia's No.3 palm oil firm, KL Kepong , will build three refineries in Indonesia to tap higher margins after Jakarta lowered its processed edible oil export taxes, a senior company official said on Friday.
With 56 percent of KL Kepong's 248,498 hectares of total landbank in Indonesia, the firm has "little choice" but to build refineries there to enhance the value of its crude palm oil from these estates, the firm's plantations director, Roy Lim, said.

Indonesia refining advantage to dominate palm oil meeting
KUALA LUMPUR, March 2 (Reuters) - Top palm producer Indonesia's growing refining advantage over No. 2 supplier Malaysia will dominate an annual gathering of the world's palm oil business in Kuala Lumpur next week as traders examine shifts in demand.
Planters, refiners and bankers gather for the Bursa Malaysia Palm Oil Conference from Monday to Wednesday as the market for the tropical oil grows this year at the expense of soyoil, with the South American soy crop damaged by drought.


Palm Oil Seen Climbing 7% to Year High as Inventories Decline
By Ranjeetha Pakiam
    March 5 (Bloomberg) -- Palm oil may advance 7 percent to the highest level in a year by mid-April as cooking-oil demand outstrips supply, according to TransGraph Consulting Pvt Chairman Nagaraj Meda, who’s forecast prices for 13 years.     Stockpiles of soybeans, crushed to make an alternative oil, will decline after dry weather hurt crops in Brazil and Argentina, said Meda, who’s also managing director of Hyderabad, India-based TransGraph, which advises the industry. Palm oil may climb to 3,500 ringgit ($1,165) from 3,259 ringgit on March 2, before sliding to 2,800 ringgit after July as prospects for the U.S. soybean harvest become clearer, he said.

    Palm oil, used in everything from candy bars to biofuel, rallied last month by the most since December 2010 after drought cut South American crops. Meda’s forecast for a near-term gain is less bullish than a prediction from industry veteran Dorab Mistry, who’s set to update his outlook at a conference starting tomorrow in Malaysia, the second-largest producer. There was positive price momentum following damage to the soybean crop, Meda said in a phone interview on March 1. Economic-stimulus packages in developed nations including Europe had also helped to boost demand, he said. Palm oil climbed 6.2 percent in February, touching 3,321 ringgit on Feb. 28, the highest level since June, as soybeans and crude oil rallied. The global soybean harvest may drop by 19 million tons in 2011-2012, the most ever, after the dry weather, Hamburg-based researcher Oil World said on Feb. 28.

                       Bull-Market Call

    Mistry, director of Godrej International Ltd., has said palm oil may advance to 4,000 ringgit. Michael Coleman, managing director at Aisling Analytics Pte., who is also addressing the two-day meeting in Kuala Lumpur, said last month the commodity may climb to $1,300 (3,905 ringgit) a ton by midyear.  Shifts in palm-oil prices help to influence global food costs, which have tumbled 10 percent since reaching a record in February 2011, according to a United Nations’ gauge. Higher prices boost profits at producers including Kuala Lumpur-based Sime Darby Bhd. and Singapore-based Golden Agri-Resources Ltd. Palm-oil prices would be supported by lower global reserves of oilseeds, including soybeans, as well as increased cooking- oil imports by India after local production dropped, Meda said. The country is the world’s biggest palm-oil buyer.

    Edible-oil shipments into India may rise as much as 11 percent to 9.3 million tons in the year that began Nov. 1, he said. Imports of crude palm oil and refined palm olein may account for as much as 76 percent of the total, he said. Total cooking-oil production in the world’s second-most populous nation may drop 10 percent to 6.88 million tons in 2011-2012 from 7.67 million tons the previous year as oilseed crops were damaged by excessive rain and dry weather, said Meda. Palm oil may perform “very well over the coming months,” Coleman, co-founder of the Merchant Commodity Fund, told a conference in Singapore last month.

20120305 1049 Global Market Related News.

Asia Stocks Fall After Record Win Streak (Source: Bloomberg)
Asian stocks fell, paring gains from last week that saw the benchmark index post its longest weekly winning streak on record, after China said it will target the slowest economic growth since 2004. BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP), the world’s No. 1 mining company, fell 1 percent in Sydney as metal prices dropped, and was the biggest drag on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. China Construction Bank Corp., the nation’s second-largest lender by market value, slid 0.9 percent in Hong Kong. LG Chem Ltd. (051910), a South Korean supplier of batteries for General Motors Co., slid 4 percent in Seoul after the U.S. automaker said it will temporarily stop making the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid car.
“Asia is all about moderation now,” said Andrew Pease, Sydney-based chief investment strategist for the Asia-Pacific region at Russell Investment Group, which manages about $150 billion. “It’s a much more challenging market to be bullish in. While the risk of financial Armageddon in Europe is gone, Europe is still going to have a large recession. Europe is China’s biggest export market. That tempers optimism on how much the risk rally can continue.”

Nikkei Slips From Seven-Month High as Oil Prices Weigh on Energy Companies (Source: Bloomberg)
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average (NKY) slipped from a seven-month high as falling oil prices weighed on shares of energy companies and gains in the yen clouded the earnings outlook for exporters to Europe. Shares also slipped after China’s government targeted the slowest economic growth since 2004. Inpex Corp. (1605), Japan’s top energy explorer by market value, dropped 2.1 percent. Sony Corp., which depends on Europe for about one fifth of its sales, fell 1.8 percent. Tokyo Electric Power Co. paced gains among utilities on a report it will raise power rates. “Japanese stocks have had a strong rally and technical indicators suggest some overheating,” said Yumi Nishimura, analyst at Daiwa Securities Group Inc. “Sectors that have been performing strongly are slipping back a little, while investors are buying defensive shares that have gained a little less.”
The Nikkei 225 fell 0.2 percent to 9,761.15 as of 10:20 a.m. in Tokyo, retreating after the gauge rose last week to its highest level since Aug. 2. The broader Topix (TPX) lost 0.1 percent to 837.38 today.

U.S. Stocks Advance for Third Week as Data on Housing, Jobs Market Improve (Source: Bloomberg)
U.S. stocks rose this week, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index completing its best February since 1998, as data on housing and the jobs market improved and monthly sales from Gap Inc. to Ford Motor Co. (F) beat estimates. Equities trimmed their advance March 2 after the S&P 500 climbed to the highest since 2008 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 13,000 for the first time in nearly four years during the week. Consumer and financial stocks rose the most among 10 S&P 500 industries this week, each rising 1.4 percent as a group. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) added 6.1 percent as an analyst said it would be worth more if broken up. Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (ANR) fell 15 percent, leading a drop in energy shares. The S&P 500 added 0.3 percent to 1,369.63, a third straight weekly gain. The benchmark measure rallied 4.1 percent last month, and has risen for eight out of nine weeks in 2012.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) fell 5.38 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 12,977.57,  its first retreat in three weeks. The gauge closed at 13,005.12 on Feb. 28.

European Stocks Gain on ECB Bank Loans, U.S. Confidence; Veolia, C&W Surge (Source: Bloomberg)
European (UKX) stocks climbed this past week as the European Central Bank lent to the region’s banks and consumer confidence and jobless claims in the U.S. added to optimism that the world’s largest economy continues to recover. Veolia Environnement SA, the world’s biggest water utility, jumped 22 percent after saying it’s in exclusive talks to sell its Transdev mass-transit unit. Cable & Wireless Worldwide Plc soared 20 percent as Tata Communications Ltd. said it may make a cash offer for the company. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.9 percent this past week to 267.21. The benchmark measure climbed 3.9 percent last month and rose 8.1 percent from the beginning of the year through the end of last month. That was the biggest January- February increase since 1998 as investors speculated that the euro area will contain its sovereign-debt crisis and as U.S. economic reports beat estimates.
“The global backdrop is improving with the ECB’s action coming in the context of a wide range of easing moves from other central banks around the world,” said Trevor Greetham, the head of asset allocation at Fidelity Worldwide Investment which manages 135.3 billion pounds ($214.5 billion). “There are increasing signs that stimulus is starting to take effect and a U.S.-led upswing in global growth is underway.”

Yen slips broadly, nears 9-month low vs dollar
SINGAPORE, March 2 (Reuters) - The yen slipped broadly and neared a recent nine-month low versus the dollar, retreating due to yen-selling by Japanese importers and as traders took aim at stop-loss levels.  
"As you can see in yen crosses for example, there is now a strong trend of betting that market strains will calm down, and U.S. economic data has been recovering to some extent as well," Okagawa said.

Treasuries Snap Advance Before Reports on U.S. Services Industry, Jobs (Source: Bloomberg)
Treasuries snapped a gain before a private report that analysts said will show the U.S. services industry, which makes up almost 90 percent of the economy, grew at almost the fastest pace in a year. U.S. government securities have handed investors a 0.5 percent loss in the past month as the world’s biggest economy showed signs of improving, based on Bank of America Merrill Lynch indexes. The Institute for Supply Management’s non- manufacturing index was probably 56.2 in February, versus 56.8 the month before, according to a Bloomberg News survey of analysts before the report today. The January figure was the most since February 2011. “The U.S. economy is expanding,” said Hiroki Shimazu, an economist in Tokyo at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc., a unit of Japan’s third-largest publicly traded bank by assets. “I don’t recommend longer-term U.S. Treasuries.”

Treasuries’ Yield Difference Widens on Bernanke Stance, Economic Strength (Source: Bloomberg)
The difference between yields on two- and 10-year notes increased for the first time in three weeks amid better-than-forecast economic data and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s failure to indicate the central bank will boost stimulus. U.S. 10-year note yields rose Feb. 29 and March 1 as Bernanke’s two days of congressional testimony damped speculation the central bank would engage in a third round of buying Treasuries, known as quantitative easing. Two-year note yields fell for the first time in five weeks on concern that measures to increase lending in the euro region won’t boost economic growth, spurring safety demand. A government report next week is forecast to show February jobs gains exceeded 200,000 for a third straight month.
“The economic data has continued to come in better than expected and there was no announcement on QE3,” said Larry Milstein, managing director in New York of government- and agency-debt trading at R.W. Pressprich & Co., a fixed-income broker and dealer for institutional investors.

Bullard Says Fed Should Forgo Additional Easing While U.S. Economy Expands (Source: Bloomberg)
The Federal Reserve should hold off on additional accommodation because the U.S. economy is growing moderately and risks from the European debt crisis have eased, said St. Louis Fed President James Bullard. “I wouldn’t take anything off the table,” Bullard said yesterday in an interview with BNN Television in Vancouver. “For now things are looking better for the U.S. economy and it is a good time to wait and see.”
Bullard said in a speech that he expects the U.S. unemployment rate to drop to 7.8 percent by year’s end, as a “moderate expansion” spurs improvement in the labor market. His comments echoed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, who said in congressional testimony last week that maintaining monetary stimulus is warranted even as the unemployment rate falls and rising oil prices may push up inflation temporarily. The central bank could damage its credibility by signaling policy that will stay unusually easy for a specified time frame, Bullard said at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver.

Payrolls to Rise Again: U.S. Economy Preview (Source: Bloomberg)
Employers probably added more than 200,000 workers for a third straight month in February amid optimism about the U.S. expansion, economists said before a report this week. Payrolls increased by 210,000 last month after rising 243,000 in January, the most in nine months, and 203,000 at the end of 2011, according to the median projection of 55 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. It would mark the strongest three- month stretch in almost a year. The jobless rate probably held at an almost three-year low of 8.3 percent. Bigger employment and wage gains would go further in bolstering household spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the economy and is threatened by higher fuel costs. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said last week that while the labor market is making progress restoring the 8.7 million jobs lost as a result of the recession, it’s “far from normal.”
“There is a much more encouraging labor-market backdrop for the consumer in early 2012,” said Conrad DeQuadros, senior economist at RDQ Economics LLC in New York. “But economic growth is moderate, which leaves the unemployment rate fairly elevated by year-end, and that’s the Fed’s main focus.”

Intervention Call by Asia Executives as Currencies in Best Start Since ’06 (Source: Bloomberg)
Asian exporters, battling a slump in demand, are calling for their central banks to intervene after capital inflows contributed to the best start to the year since 2006 for the region’s currencies. Executives at LG Chem Ltd., South Korea’s biggest chemicals maker, and Bangkok-based Chengteh Chinaware (Thailand) Co. said policy makers should curb volatility, while TLtek Co., an exporter of auto-part making machines based on the outskirts of Seoul, cites the won’s strength against the euro for its currency losses. The chairman of the Malaysian American Electronics Industry, which represents U.S. companies such as Motorola Inc., and Dell Inc., said the central bank should “stabilize the ringgit.”
Asian policy makers switched focus to spurring economic growth after slowing inflation prompted Indonesia (IDBIRATE), the Philippines and Thailand to cut interest rates in the past six months. The ringgit, won and Chinese yuan climbed more than 5 percent against the euro in the past year, making exports less competitive as Europe’s debt crisis damps demand. The Bloomberg- JPMorgan Asian Dollar Index (ADXY) tracking regional currencies against the greenback rose 2.1 percent this year.

China Targets 7.5% Growth in 2012 as Euro Crisis Slows Exports (Source: Bloomberg)
China’s government will target economic growth of 7.5 percent this year, the lowest goal since 2004, suggesting leaders will tolerate slower expansion while they try to reduce the nation’s reliance on exports. Officials also set an inflation target of 4 percent, unchanged from last year’s goal, according to a state-of-the- nation speech that Premier Wen Jiabao will read to about 3,000 lawmakers at the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress in Beijing today. By cutting the 8 percent goal maintained from 2005 to 2011, Wen, 69, is signaling the ruling Communist Party is determined to shift the makeup of growth toward consumption and away from from exports and investment. Wen and fellow officials are also preparing to begin a once-in-a-decade handover of power later this year to a new set of leaders.
A lower target “would reduce the likelihood of a large- scale stimulus package, as authorities show that they understand that potential growth is declining,” Zhang Zhiwei, chief China economist at Nomura Holdings Plc in Hong Kong, said in a March 2 research note. “In the long run, it would help to reduce macro risks in China and make growth more sustainable.”

Myanmar Nearing Currency Float in Policy Shift (Source: Bloomberg)
Myanmar is nearing a decision to dismantle its fixed exchange rate, which risked holding back trade and investment as the country seeks economic ties with western nations after five decades of military rule. Authorities will soon announce a shift to a managed float of the kyat, and seek to keep it from rising beyond the informal rate of about 800 per dollar, a person familiar with the discussions said. Officials will then activate an interbank exchange market, in which the central bank will intervene to influence the kyat’s value, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are private. The step would mark President Thein Sein’s biggest economic shift since he began removing the remnants of military rule after taking office last year. With the U.S. and European nations pledging to review sanctions after April 1 by-elections involving dissident leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the change would lay the groundwork for reconnecting Myanmar to global commerce.
“It would be a considerable victory for the reformers,” said Sean Turnell, a professor at Macquarie University in Sydney who conducts research on Myanmar’s economy. “The people who would lose out the most would be the inner core of the highest echelons of the military, which used the old rate to accumulate reserves that were used to do what the military wanted to do.”

Noda Says Deal Possible With Japan’s Opposition to Double Consumption Tax (Source: Bloomberg)
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda reiterated yesterday the need to trim the scale of government to win public support for doubling the nation’s 5 percent consumption tax. “This is the first step to a politics considerate of future generations, from one valid only for the present,” Noda said in an interview on Nippon Television last night. He also pledged support for more reconstruction efforts in areas hit by last year’s earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis. Japan’s sixth prime minister in five years is pushing pay cuts and a thinning of the bureaucracy and legislature to make a tax increase more palatable. Noda said earlier he thinks a deal is possible with the opposition on raising the tax to shore up the social security system. “I believe we can come to an understanding,” he told journalists in Tokyo on March 3.
An aging society and a declining birthrate have put Japan in an “unprecedented situation” as the government seeks to rein in soaring welfare costs, Noda said. Political parties all recognize the urgency and must cooperate “to secure stable financing for a sustainable social security system.”

Greece Debt-Swap Deadline This Week to Show If Europe Moving Past Crisis (Source: Bloomberg)
The European Union faces a first test in its attempt to turn the page on the two-year debt crisis when Greece’s private creditors decide this week whether to sign off on the biggest sovereign-debt restructuring in history. The success of the 106 billion-euro ($140 billion) debt swap, confirmed on the eve of last week’s European Union summit, depends on how many investors agree to the writedown by the March 8 deadline. Euro-area finance ministers will hold a teleconference on March 9 to review the deal’s outcome. “The European crisis is not quite over yet,” Erik Nielsen, chief global economist at UniCredit SpA in London, wrote in a note to clients yesterday. He said enough creditors will probably participate in the writedown to avoid triggering so-called collective action clauses, which could be used by Greece to compel investors to participate and roil markets by triggering credit-default swap insurance contracts.
The Greek government has set a 75 percent participation rate as a threshold for proceeding with the transaction, in which investors will forgive 53.5 percent of their principal and exchange their remaining holdings for new Greek government bonds and notes from the European Financial Stability Facility. Euro- area finance ministers last week authorized the EFSF to issue bonds for the swap.

Greece Ratings Cut to Lowest Level by Moody’s (Source: Bloomberg)
Greece’s credit rating was cut to the lowest level by Moody’s Investors Service after the country began the biggest sovereign debt restructuring ever. Greece’s long-term foreign currency debt was downgraded to C from Ca late yesterday, with Moody’s saying in a statement that investors who participate in the nation’s debt exchange will get about 70 percent less than the face value of their holdings. The deal constitutes “a distressed exchange, and hence a default,” the New York-based rating company said. Greece has published the formal offer document for its agreement to exchange bonds for new securities. The restructuring uses so-called collective action clauses to discourage holdouts, the use of which would trigger credit- default swap insurance contracts, according to the rules of the International Swaps & Derivatives Association.
The debt exchange aims to help reduce national debt to 120.5 percent of gross domestic product by 2020, from 160 percent last year, and to meet the terms of a 130 billion-euro ($172 billion) international bailout. The swap will slice about 100 billion euros off more than 200 billion euros of privately held debt should all investors participate.

Euro Touches Two-Week Low Before Data on European Retail Sales, ISM Report (Source: Bloomberg)
The euro touched a two-week low against the dollar before data economists say will show the region’s retail sales dropped for a third month, adding to signs the currency bloc’s debt woes are hurting the economy. The Dollar Index advanced to the highest in more than two weeks before a U.S. report forecast to indicate a continued expansion in service industries, easing speculation the Federal Reserve will add to monetary stimulus. Australia’s dollar slid against the yen after its biggest trading partner China said it will aim for slower growth this year. “The euro is likely to weaken in the mid- to long-term,” said Kengo Suzuki, a foreign-exchange strategist in Tokyo at Mizuho Securities Co., a unit of Japan’s No. 3 bank by market value. “It’s hard to imagine the European economy being on a sustainable growth path as countries in the region are forced to take austerity measures because of the debt crisis.”
The euro slid to $1.3181, the lowest since Feb. 20, before trading little changed at $1.3205 as of 10:11 a.m. in Tokyo. It lost 0.1 percent to 107.82 yen. Japan’s currency strengthened 0.2 percent to 81.65 per dollar after earlier falling to 81.87, matching the weakest level since May.

20120305 1049 Global Commodities Related News.

Speculative Wagers on Agriculture Surge to a Five-Month High: Commodities (Source: Bloomberg)
Speculators increased bets on higher agricultural prices to a five-month high on mounting concern that a South American drought will curb supplies of soybeans, corn and sugar at a time of record global demand. A measure of speculative positions across 11 farm goods jumped 26 percent to 607,721 futures and options in the week ended Feb. 28, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. Corn bets increased the most in eight weeks, and sugar holdings climbed to the highest since August. Wagers on higher soybean prices rose to a five-month high. Hedge funds and other speculators are the most bullish on commodities since September as sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program disrupt oil supplies and weather damages crops in South America. Producers were already struggling to keep up with demand from a global population that surpassed 7 billion people last year, with consumption now boosted by signs that economic growth is accelerating.
“Weather and the perception of damages to supply” have pushed prices higher, said Osvaldo Canavosio, the New York-based head of emerging markets and commodities research at Man Investments USA LLC, which manages about $11.2 billion of assets. “There’s been a continuing pattern of the rest of the world outside the U.S. being an important driver of supply-and- demand dynamics.”

Commodities Cap Biggest Weekly Drop Since January on Oil, Silver, Cotton (Source: Bloomberg)
Commodities fell, capping the biggest weekly decline since mid-January, as easing tensions in the Middle East sent oil lower and a stronger dollar eroded the appeal of raw materials. The Standard & Poor’s GSCI Spot Index of 24 commodity futures dropped 1.2 percent to settle at 704.37 at 4 p.m. in New York, led by declines in silver, energy products and cotton. The gauge fell 1.6 percent for the week, the biggest slump since the five days ended Jan. 13. Crude oil, the most heavily weighted commodity on the GSCI, tumbled the most since December, after Saudi Arabia said a pipeline fire wasn’t the result of sabotage. The commodity surged as much as 3.3 percent yesterday, and settled down 2 percent today at $106.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
“Any hint of an oil disruption or more unrest in the Middle East has been helping to push oil prices higher, and when traders overreacted like they did yesterday to a story that proved false, then we’re going to see these corrections,” Sal Gilbertie, the president and chief investment officer of Teucrium Trading LLC, said by telephone from Santa Fe, New Mexico.


Corn (Source: CME)
US corn futures end mixed Friday, with spillover support from higher soy and wheat futures offsetting profit taking pressure. The absence of fresh news to support higher prices encouraged traders to reduce some risk for most of the day, with the negative influence of a firmer US dollar and general weakness across commodities attracting sellers, analysts say. Active soy/corn spreading aided the declines, as investors anticipate farmers will plant corn acres at the expense of other crops like soybeans this year. CBOT May corn ended up 1c at $6.55/bushel.

Wheat (Source: CME)
U.S. wheat futures rally, ending higher amid short-covering and strength in soybeans. Spec funds' big net short position making the market prone to short-covering bounces, analysts say. World supplies are abundant, limiting the upside, although Iran's purchase of US wheat Thursday was seen as positive. CBOT March wheat ends up 11 1/2c to $6.70 3/4 a bushel, MGEX March wheat closes up 13 3/4c to $8.27 3/4.

Rice (Source: CME)
US rice futures end higher, managing to stabilize after Thursday's declines on what analysts call end-of-week positioning. The market continues to draw pressure from poor export demand but is finding support from the need to keep prices attractive to avoid farmers shifting rice acreage to other commodities this year. CBOT May rice ends up 1.8% at $14.50 1/2 per hundredweight.

Wheat falls for 2nd day, soy dips after 9-session rally
SINGAPORE, March 2 (Reuters) - U.S. wheat and corn lost more ground  as investors booked profit from recent gains, although the fall in wheat is being cushioned by Iran's first purchase of U.S. wheat in three years.  
"Grain markets are overbought and we are seeing a little bit of correction as there is not much fundamental support at the moment," said Lynette Tan, an analyst with Phillip Futures in Singapore.

Russia sees little change in wheat output, exports
BELOKURIKHA, Russia, March 2 (Reuters) - Russia's Agriculture Ministry expects wheat output to rise slightly in the 2012/13 crop year to 57 million tonnes from 56.2 million tonnes during the current crop year, Deputy Agriculture Minister Sergei Sukhov told Reuters on Friday.
At the same time, exports will decline slightly to 20 million tonnes from 21 million tonnes, he said, adding that closing stocks are likely to be 1/3 lower this year at 12.5 million tonnes and lower still next year at 9 million tonnes.

Ukraine grain exports fall 25 pct in Feb, cold blamed
KIEV, March 2 (Reuters) - Ukraine's grain exports fell by about 25 percent to 1.7 million tonnes in February from 2.26 million in January, Ukrainian  grain lobby UAC said on Friday, after officials said severe cold had hit transportation.
UAC said in a statement the volume had included 1.3 million tonnes of corn, 340,000 of wheat and 40,000 of barley. Ukraine exported 1.8 million tonnes of corn, 366,000 of wheat and 68,000 of barley in January.

Russia to export 1.5-2.0 mln T of grain in March
BELOKURIKHA, Russia, March 2 (Reuters) - Russia will export 1.5 million to 2.0 million tonnes of grain in March, a senior agriculture ministry official told reporters on Friday.  
The country has exported a total of 20.6 million tonnes of grain since the start of the 2011/12 year, Deputy Agriculture Minister Sergei Sukhov said on the sidelines of a grains conference in the Altai region of Siberia.

Iran buys US wheat despite nuclear tensions
WASHINGTON, March 1 (Reuters) - Iran has made a rare purchase of U.S. wheat in an effort to build food stockpiles as the United States and Europe implement tough new sanctions to contain Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
The U.S. Agriculture Department reported on Thursday that Iran bought 120,000 tonnes of U.S. wheat -- enough to fill two large cargo ships.

EU awards 92,000 U.S. wheat imports under quota
PARIS, March 1 (Reuters) - The European Union this week awarded licences to import 92,000 tonnes of U.S. wheat under its reduced-tariff import quotas for grains, official data showed on Thursday.
The award follows another for 66,000 tonnes of U.S. wheat import licences earlier this month and comes after traders reported deals to import U.S. wheat into Spain, possibly in a switch from Ukrainian wheat due to winter transport snags.

French seed group Vilmorin tests GM maize in Europe
PARIS, March 1 (Reuters) - French seed group Vilmorin  is testing genetically modified maize in Europe, despite widespread hostility in the region to GM crops, as it expects the benefits of such varieties eventually to lead to their acceptance, the company said.
Vilmorin has folded its GM maize research into a joint venture with German peer KWS SAAT , and the partners could market their own GM varieties as soon as 2014, Chief Executive Emmanuel Rougier said on Thursday.

India cuts subsidy on most fertilizers for 2012/13
NEW DELHI/MUMBAI, March 1 (Reuters) - India will cut by a fifth the subsidy it gives to phosphate and potash-based fertilisers in 2012/13, the government said in a statement on Thursday, its latest step aimed at patching up its widening fiscal deficit.
Subsides to diammonium phosphate (DAP) and muriate of potash (MoP) fertilisers will be slashed by 27.4 percent and 10 percent respectively. But it left out urea, the most used crop nutrient that accounts for the bulk of the government's spending on fertilisers.

Brazil To Sell 700,000 Tons Of Corn Stocks In Domestic Market (Source: CME)
SAO PAULO (Dow Jones)--Brazil's government said Friday it plans to sell up to 700,000 metric tons of public corn stocks in the domestic market to offset the effects of a drought that has dented the summer crop in southern states. "The measures are a way for the government to supply the market's shortage of the product and help the sector, which faces difficulty due to the smaller crop caused by weather factors," the Agriculture Ministry said in a press release. Authorities plan to sell up to 500,000 tons of the grain via auctions in the southern states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, which have suffered most from the ongoing drought, as well as Rio de Janeiro, Espirito Santo and Minas Gerais states. The auctions are targeted at buyers of animal feed for Brazil's poultry, hog, beef and dairy industries. The government plans to sell the remaining 200,000 tons of corn directly in Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, at a fixed price of 21 Brazilian reais ($12.18) per 60-kilogram sack.
Again, the intend ed buyers will be poultry, hog and cattle raisers, as well as agricultural cooperatives. Brazil is the world's No. 3 corn producer. The South American country's summer crop, which is currently underway, has been limited by scant rainfall since November. Analysts say the winter crop, harvested later in the year, should come in relatively strong thanks to an expected increase in planted acreage.

South Korea's Nofi Buys 126,000 Tons US Corn From STX -Traders (Source: CME)
South Korea's largest feed miller, Nonghyup Feed Inc., or Nofi, Friday purchased two cargoes totaling 126,000 metric tons of U.S. corn on cost and freight basis from STX Corp. (011810.SE), trading executives said. Nofi bought a cargo of 63,000 tons, for arrival by July 10, at $1.7197 a bushel premium over the July futures contract on the Chicago Board of Trade. It bought another cargo of the same volume, for arrival by July 20, at $1.7348/bushel premium over the July contract. CBOT July corn futures are currently trading around $6.53/bushel. "Nofi bought the cargoes on a premium basis rather than a flat price because it probably expect corn prices to decline as U.S. plantings start next month," said a Seoul-based executive with a global commodity trading company. South Korea, one of the world's biggest importers of feed grains, has purchased at least 2.35 million tons since Jan. 6, including 1.1 million tons of corn.

Soybean, Corn Futures Climb on Speculation China Will Boost U.S. Purchases (Source: Bloomberg)
Soybeans gained for a 10th straight session, and corn rose on speculation that China, the world’s biggest pork producer, will increase purchases from the U.S. to feed a growing hog herd and slow food inflation. Pork production in China, the top soybean importer, will climb to 51.6 million metric tons this year, up 4.2 percent from a year earlier, as the government increased insurance incentives for farms, a U.S. Department of Agriculture unit said yesterday. The China National Grain & Oils Information Center said on Feb. 29 that soybean reserves fell in recent weeks on increasing demand for animal feed. “Rising pork production in China probably means more soybean and corn imports from the U.S.,” Mark Schultz, the chief analyst for Northstar Commodity Investment Co. in Minneapolis, said in a telephone interview. “These are demand- driven rallies.”
Soybean futures for May delivery gained 0.8 percent to close at $13.33 a bushel at 1:15 p.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade, the highest price for a most-active contract since Sept. 21. The 10-session rally is the longest since July 15. The commodity climbed 3.6 percent this week, the third straight gain.

India Common Grade Rice Exports To Total Around 4 Mln Tons By Mid-March - Officials (Source: CME)
India's common grade rice exports--a ban on which was lifted in September--are likely to reach around 4 million metric tons by the middle of March. Although this is double the quantity that the government had originally cleared for exports, there is no plan to cap the shipments in view of a record crop, two officials said Friday. "We don't have any problem with exports for the next few months as stocks are comfortable," a food ministry official, who didn't want to be identified, told Dow Jones Newswires. Rice exports from India--the world's second-largest producer--have been moving briskly because of lower prices compared with top exporters Thailand and Vietnam. India exported 3.43 million tons of rice between Sept. 9 and Feb. 27, mostly to African countries, in an average price range of $370-$380 per metric ton, free on board, according to government data.
A ministerial panel is expected to review the policy for rice and wheat exports by the end of March, another food ministry official said, reiterating that no major policy changes are expected. India's rice output in the crop year that started on July 1, 2011, is estimated to rise to 7% from a year earlier to 102.75 million tons, according to agriculture ministry data. Indian rice exporters say Vietnam has lowered its prices substantially to compete with India.

INTERVIEW: Thai Exporters Selling Non-Thai Rice To Boost Sales (Source: CME)
Rice exporters in Thailand are increasingly shipping foreign-origin rice to meet their export commitments as domestic prices continue to remain high, a senior industry official said Friday. Thai exporters are shipping around 100,000 metric tons of non-Thai origin rice buyers, mainly in China and Malaysia, Chookiat Ophaswongse, honorary president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, told Dow Jones Newswires. Thai rice has become expensive for exporters as they have been priced out of the market by a generous government procurement program that offers growers sharply higher prices to boost farm incomes. While it has been commonplace for Thai rice trading companies to deal in small quantities of other origin rice, foreign origin rice now accounts for nearly 25% of the Thai rice exports. This is mainly coming from Pakistan, Vietnam and Cambodia, Chookiat said, adding exporters have also started trading rice from Myanmar in small quantities.
Thai 5% broken, polished white rice is currently offered around $530/ton compared with Vietnamese rice at $415/ton and Pakistani rice at $460 a ton respectively. Thai rice exports fell below 400,000 tons in January, or less than 40% of the usual average of more than 1.0 million tons as importers have turned to cheaper suppliers. Thailand has long commanded a large presence in the global premium long grain fragrant rice market due to its popular Jasmine grades but Chookiat said even in this segment the country is now facing stiff competition. Thai exporters are supplying cheaper Jasmine rice from Vietnam and Cambodia to their customers in countries such as Malaysia, he said. To cut costs due to the global economic slowdown, many restaurants are turning to cheaper Jasmine grades. Thai Jasmine grades are currently offered around $900-$1,100/ton, FOB compared with Cambodian offers of $800/ton and Vietnamese offers of $600 a ton.
Vietnam, which earlier used to produce less than 300,000 tons of Jasmine rice, produced 500,000 tons in 2011 and may produce 800,000 tons this year as growers find it more remunerative. Chookiat said Thai rice traders are also supplying 5% broken white rice from Pakistan and Vietnam to their long-standing customers in China. Myanmar's 5% broken 'Emata' white rice which is available around $450/ton, FOB is another grade which Thai exporters plan to trade in large volumes this year, he said. Chookiat said supply of Thai rice for exports will continue to be tight because the government has extended its procurement program to the second crop to be harvested in April. The government has so far bought around 8.0 million tons of un-milled rice from a total October-January harvest of at least 20 million tons, Chookiat said.

Coffee Crop in Indonesia Seen Climbing to Highest in Three Years (Source: Bloomberg)
The coffee harvest in Indonesia, the third-biggest grower of the robusta variety used in instant drinks and espressos, may climb to the highest level in three years, potentially capping an 11 percent rally. Production may increase 20 percent to 10 million bags this year from 8.3 million a year earlier, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of seven exporters, two traders and a roaster. That’s the most since 2009, according to U.S. government figures, and more than the 9.1 million bags predicted by Volcafe, a unit of ED&F Man Holdings Ltd. Robusta futures jumped to a five-month high in February as Vietnamese growers, the biggest, held back supplies. The harvest from Indonesia starting in April may ease a shortage, limiting gains and containing costs for Nestle SA (NESN), maker of Nescafe and Nespresso. Prices may drop as low as $1,700 a metric ton from $2,012 as supplies start flowing, said INTL FCStone Inc.
“The tightness in the robusta market will be here for at least another month,” said Oscar L. Schaps, managing director of global soft commodities at INTL FCStone in Miami. “The recent rise will attract more exports from Vietnam.”

ICE sugar steady, focus on Brazil harvest
LONDON, March 2 (Reuters) - ICE raw sugar futures were steady in early trade , supported by concerns over a possible delay in the centre-south Brazilian harvest.
Brokers said the presence of a major receiver should be supportive for sugar futures.

Indonesia's Feb Sumatra coffee bean exports fall 69 pct
BANDAR LAMPUNG, Indonesia, March 2 (Reuters) - Robusta coffee bean exports in February from Indonesia's main growing area in Sumatra slumped 69 percent to 5,452.23 tonnes from a year earlier, government trade data showed on Friday.  
Indonesia shipped 17,504.98 tonnes of robusta in the same month a year earlier. February shipments also fell 13.5 percent from January's export figure of 6,306.41 tonnes.

Cotton 1012-13 stocks-to-use seen highest since 1990s-ICAC
March 1 (Reuters) - Global cotton output will exceed consumption again next year despite low prices and could result in the largest stocks-to-use ratio since the late 1990s, an international farm group said on Thursday.
The International Cotton Advisory Committee secretariat said in a monthly report that global cotton stocks, seen at a record 13 million tonnes in 2011/12, could rise by 11 percent in 2012/13.

Russia 2011/12 sugar export seen at record 250,000 t
MOSCOW, March 1(Reuters) - Russia could export a record 250,000 tonnes of sugar in the 2011/12 season thanks to a record harvest which resulted in a surplus on the domestic market, a leading sugar market analyst said.
The Institute for Agricultural Market Studies estimated 180,000 tonnes had already been exported by the end of February.
"For the first time for at least 12 years we are talking about beet sugar (exports)," IKAR said, adding that the vast bulk of exports during that period were from cane raws processed in Russia under tolling schemes.

ICO cuts forecast for 2011/12 global coffee crop
LONDON, March 1 (Reuters) - The International Coffee Organization on Thursday cut its forecast for the global coffee crop in 2011/12 to 128.5 million 60-kg bags, down from a previous estimate of 130.9 million.
The downward revision partly reflected diminished crop outlooks in Vietnam and India where heavy rains are likely to affect output, the ICO said in a monthly update.

Kenya 2012 sugar production forecast to rise 13 pct
NAIROBI, March 1 (Reuters) - Kenya's 2012 sugar production is forecast to rise 13 percent to a potential record high buoyed by expected good weather and bigger factory crushing capacity, the industry regulator said.
The east African nation of 39 million people has an annual sugar deficit of around 200,000 tonnes, which is usually filled by imports from other producers in the region.

Indonesia's proposed fuel subsidy cut needs encouraging
 --Clyde Russell is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own.--
SINGAPORE, March 2 (Reuters) - It's encouraging to see Indonesia taking tentative steps towards cutting its overly generous fuel subsidies, a move that will hopefully inspire other Asian nations to do the same.
While China grabs the headlines as the main driver of rising global oil consumption, demand in other Asian nations is also climbing in contrast to steady-to-lower usage in North America and Europe.

Euro Coal-Prices drop $1/T for 3rd day on poor demand
LONDON, March 1 (Reuters) - Prompt physical coal prices fell by $1.00 for the third consecutive day on oversupply and a lack of buying interest in Europe.
European DES ARA prices have come under more pressure than the FOB Richards Bay market because of flow of U.S. coal into Europe, the impact of the warmest European winter for 30 years, weak gas prices and key Asian buyers such as China largely staying out of the spot market.

India took 1.3 mln T SAfrica coal in Jan-exporters
LONDON, March 1 (Reuters) - Asia's share of South Africa's coal exports rose to 61 percent in January, or 2.8 million tonnes, from 56 percent the previous month, although total exports dropped sharply, exporters said.
South Africa exported a mammoth 8.1 million tonnes in December as producers rushed to ship the maximum possible before the close of the calendar year, but the amount fell to a more typical 4.5 million exports in January.

Brent falls below $126 as Saudi supply fears ease
SINGAPORE, March 2 (Reuters) - Brent crude futures slipped below $126 after surging 5 percent to an 11-month high a day earlier, as fears of a supply disruption from Saudi Arabia eased, calming nervous investors who now expect oil demand to fall in the next few weeks.
"Oil prices have overshot in the short-term, and with warmer temperatures as we move from winter to spring, oil demand could start to fall, starting in March," said Gordon Kwan, head of energy research at Mirae Asset Management in Hong Kong. "Brent could fall back below $120 if Iran doesn't flare up."

Russia's Feb oil output stays at post-Soviet high
MOSCOW, March 2 (Reuters) - Oil output in Russia, the world's top crude producer, stayed at a post-Soviet monthly high of 10.36 million barrels per day (bpd) in February as companies tried to reap extra gains from high oil prices, the Energy Ministry said on Friday.
The same level was reached in January, while Russia's previous oil production record of 10.34 million bpd was hit in November and October.

CNOOC breaks ground for China's 1st floating LNG project
BEIJING, March 2 (Reuters) - China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) broke ground to mark the start of construction of the country's first floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving and storage facility near the northern city of Tianjin, the top Chinese LNG importer said on late Thursday.
The project, with an investment cost of 5.7 billion yuan ($904.73 million), would be able receive 2.2 million tonnes of fuel or equivalent to 3 billion cubic metres per year when it starts operation next year, CNOOC said.

World can replace oil lost to Iran sanctions -US
WASHINGTON, March 1 (Reuters) - Global oil producers appear to have enough spare capacity to make up for Iranian exports curtailed by tough new sanctions, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said on Thursday.
Chu said it was important that sanctions be used to crimp Iranian oil sales to ensure Tehran does not develop nuclear weapons, despite the release of an Energy Information Administration report this week that showed supplies are tight.

India cancels Iran oil shipment due to sanctions
NEW DELHI/SINGAPORE, March 2 (Reuters) - India's largest shipping company was forced to cancel an Iranian crude oil shipment last month because its European insurers refused to provide coverage for the vessel on the grounds of tightening sanctions on the OPEC member, industry sources said.
The European Union announced new sanctions in January prohibiting European insurers from indemnifying ships that carry Iranian crude and oil products anywhere in the world.

Iran starts paying Indian exporters in rupees
NEW DELHI, March 1 (Reuters) - India's exporters have begun receiving the first rupee payments from Iran, Indian government and trade sources said on Thursday, kicking off a mechanism to skirt Western sanctions which have made doing business with Tehran tougher.
About $3 billion in Iranian import arrears have accumulated since December 2010 when a previous payment conduit was closed under pressure from Washington, which is using sanctions to try to stop Tehran's contentious nuclear programme.

France seeks more emergency stocks of oil products
PARIS, March 1 (Reuters) - France's emergency oil stocks agency aims to buy more products on the market by July 1, after purchasing 350,000 cubic metres of diesel in February, to conform with an EU directive requiring members to increase inventories, the head of the agency said.
Jean-Marc Tenneson, who heads the CPSSP agency, said he had calculated in December that France needed to raise its stocks by 600,000 tonnes by July 2012 but he now thought the figure would be lower as consumption has dropped.

Oil Rebounds From Weekly Loss on Iran Tension, Enbridge Pipeline Shutdown (Source: Bloomberg)
Oil rose from a three-day low in New York after President Barack Obama said the U.S. may use military force to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, and Enbridge Inc. (ENB) shut a pipeline in Illinois. Futures climbed as much as 0.6 percent, rebounding from the firstly weekly loss in four. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets Obama in Washington today for talks on Iran’s nuclear program. London-traded Brent’s premium to West Texas Intermediate narrowed after Enbridge closed the pipeline, following a vehicle collision and fire at a pumping station. Oil prices rallied March 1 after a reported pipe explosion in Saudi Arabia that was later denied. “You can always gauge how nervous the market is” after news of a pipeline closure, said Jonathan Barratt, chief executive of Barratt’s Bulletin, a commodity markets newsletter in Sydney. “That’s the jittery nature of the market at the moment. Iran is still a wildcard.”
Oil for April delivery gained as much as 59 cents to $107.29 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $107.20 at 12:26 p.m. Sydney time. The contract fell 2 percent to $106.70 on March 2, the lowest since Feb. 28. Prices slipped 2.8 percent last week and are 1.7 percent higher the past year.

Iron Ore-Shanghai rebar gains, but demand outlook shaky
SINGAPORE, March 2 (Reuters) - China steel futures rose for a fifth time in six sessions on Friday, reflecting some optimism demand in the world's biggest consumer may revive, although it remains uncertain just how significant that pickup would be.
That uncertainty has prompted caution among buyers of iron ore, steel's raw material, with sellers holding off on further price increases for imported cargoes in China.

China's iron ore imports seen at 730 mln T in 2012-industry ministry
SHANGHAI, March 1 (Reuters) - China, the world's top iron ore buyer, is expected to see import growth for the steelmaking raw material ease this year on weaker steel demand and slower economic growth, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said.
But iron ore imports are expected to hit a fresh record in terms of volume, reaching 730 million tonnes this year, after rising 8.2 percent to 686 million tonnes in 2011, the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

Baltic sea index up, panamax rates turn higher
March 1 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index tracking rates for ships carrying dry commodities rose on Thursday as firmer rates in most of the dry bulk segment offset weaker capesize rates.
The overall index that reflects the daily freight market prices for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize dry bulk transport vessels rose 13 points or 1.73 percent to 763 points, its highest since January.