Friday, April 20, 2012

20120420 1824 FCPO EOD Daily Chart Study.

FCPO closed : 3500, changed : +23 points, volume : lower.
Bollinger band reading : correction range bound little upside biased.
MACD Histogram : turned upward, buyer still in control.
Support : 3470, 3450, 3420, 3380 level.
Resistance : 3500, 3550, 3620, 3650 level.
Comment :
FCPO closed recorded gain with slower volume changed hand. Soy oil price currently trading higher after overnight marginal loss while crude oil price currently trading higher.
Price trading mostly in negative zone followed by last 30 minutes surged after today lower but improved export data by 2 cargo surveyor plus industry expert Mr. Dorab Mistri standed by his previous RM4,000 price target for FCPO.
End of day chart reading remained suggesting a correction range bound little upside biased market development testing resistance near middle Bollinger band level.
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.

20120420 1748 FKLI EOD Daily Chart Study.

FKLI closed : 1587.5 changed : -5.5 points, volume : higher.
Bollinger band reading : correction range bound little upside biased.
MACD Histogram : falling lower, seller testing market.
Support : 1580, 1570, 1565, 1550 level.
Resistance : 1590, 1595, 1600, 1610 level.
Comment :
FKLI closed recorded loss with little improve volume exchanged doing 4 points discount compare to cash market that also closed lower. Overnight U.S. markets closed lower and today Asia markets ended mixed while European markets trading lower.
Released overnight disappointing U.S. economy data and European region higher interest rate bond sales development send most of the world market trading lower.
Daily chart analysis remained suggesting a correction range bound little upside biased market development breaking below middle Bollinger band level.
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.

20120420 1719 Regional Markets EOD Daily Chart Study.

 DJIA chart reading : correction range bound downside biased.
 Hang Seng chart reading : side way range bound little upside biased.
KLCI chart reading :  correction range bound little upside biased.

20120420 1606 Global Market & Commodities Related News.

Asian shares fell after disappointing U.S. economic data stirred doubts about the strength of the recovery.  U.S. stocks fell for a second day on Thursday as labor market data showed more signs of weakness, while a warning from Qualcomm and poor results from Stanley Black & Decker also discouraged investors.

The yen hovered near its lowest levels in ten days against the dollar  and was set to stay under pressure on expectations of more easing by the Bank of Japan next week, although its outlook further out  is less certain.

FOREX-Yen to stay pressured ahead of BOJ; Aussie tad lower
TOKYO, April 20 (Reuters) - The yen hovered near its lowest levels in ten days against the dollar and was set to stay under pressure on expectations of more easing by the Bank of Japan next week, although its outlook further out is less certain.
"We expect a rise of at least 5 trillion yen in the BOJ's asset purchase programme at the 27 April meeting, with a significant bias toward risk asset purchases," said Naomi Fink, Japan equity strategist at Jefferies.

India eyes record-large grain harvest -report
India raised its estimate for wheat and rice output to a record-large 252.56 million tonnes in the year to June, up 3.2 percent from a year ago on crop-friendly weather, the Wall Street Journal reported, quoting unnamed farm ministry officials.

Argentina cuts soy, corn output estimates
Argentina cut its official estimates for this season's soy and corn crops, citing bad weather, while a top grains exchange said lower-than-expected yields may force it to trim its expectations as well.

Analyst says Brazil CS cane crop to fall for 2nd yr
Leading Brazilian sugar cane analyst Canaplan sees another year of decline in output from the world's largest supplier of sugar, after lingering dry weather crimped the main crop, a local news service said on Thursday.

Chicago corn edged higher, building on gains as the market was lifted by talk of Chinese purchases, which could further tighten U.S. supplies estimated at a 16-year low by the end of summer.

Brent held above $118 per barrel, with prices headed for their steepest weekly drop in more than three months as fears that the euro zone debt crisis could flare up again dented the demand outlook.

Offshore UK oil, gas drilling rising -report
Drilling for oil and gas in waters off Britain increased 22 percent in the first quarter versus a year ago, providing the latest sign of what may prove to be an upward trend, according to a survey by Deloitte Petroleum Services.

Euro Coal-June S.African trades at $99/T, down $1
LONDON, April 19 (Reuters) - European physical coal prices slipped by around 50 cents for the fifth day running on Thursday while prompt South African FOB dropped by $1.00 due to oversupply and tepid demand, despite strong coal consumption in the UK, Germany and Spain.
Even if coal remains significantly cheaper than gas as a fuel to generate power in Europe this year, it is unlikely that enough of the current high inventories will be consumed to trigger notable fresh buying, utilities said.

U.S. coal exports to China may double in 2012-Xcoal
BEIJING, April 19 (Reuters) - U.S. coal exports to China could more than double to over 12 million tonnes in 2012 thanks to depressed freight rates and a fall in domestic demand in the United States, the chief of top U.S. coal exporter Xcoal Energy & Resources said.
The expected increase in coal shipments could further push down coal prices in Asia where a supply glut following a deluge from the United States and Colombia has forced prices to slump recently.

Iron Ore-Shanghai rebar drops to two-week low on poor China demand
SINGAPORE, April 20 (Reuters) - Shanghai steel futures dropped to a two-week low on Friday, and are heading for their worst week in two months, as slow Chinese demand kept the pressure on prices and restrained the appetite for raw material iron ore.
The most active October rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange  hit a session low of 4,298 yuan ($680) a tonne, a level not seen since April 5. Rebar futures were little changed at 4,318 yuan by the midday break.

Drops in iron ore output by majors help prop up price
SYDNEY, April 18 (Reuters) - Global miners BHP Billiton , Vale  and Rio Tinto  all posted sharp drops in quarterly iron ore production due to bad weather, a factor that has helped support iron ore prices at relatively high levels despite signs of a softening market.
The falls in output come as competition heats up in global bulk commodities markets due to demand from China for imported industrial raw materials finally showing signs of waning after years of double-digit growth.


London copper traded slightly above $8,000 a tonne, hovering near its previous close, as investors waited for more decisive cues on demand such as whether China loosens monetary policy and the health of the euro zone.  

Japan March copper cable shipments up 5.9 pct on cars
TOKYO, April 20 (Reuters) - Japanese copper wire and cable shipments rose 5.9 percent in March from a year earlier to an estimated 59,500 tonnes, aided by a strong recovery in orders from the automotive industry, an industry body said on Friday.
The March figure was slightly up on February's 59,398 tonnes, data from the Japanese Electric Wire and Cable Makers' Association showed.

Freeport sees 2012 copper market deficit - CEO
Fundamentals of the copper market remain strong given China's drive to invest in infrastructure projects and lower levels of inventory in the United States and Europe, Freeport-McMoRan's chief executive said Thursday.

Gold held steady in listless trading as persistent concerns about the euro zone's finances and disappointing U.S. economic data data put off most investors.

METALS-Copper holds ground, investors stay cautious
SHANGHAI, April 20 (Reuters) - London copper traded slightly above $8,000 a tonne hovering near its previous close, as investors waited for more decisive cues on demand such as whether China loosens monetary policy and the health of the euro zone.  
"Traders are mainly waiting on the sidelines to see if Beijing will loosen monetary policy soon. Copper demand has picked up slightly as some consumers, attracted by the fall in prices to around the $8,000 level, did some limited restocking. But overall demand is soft and unable to push prices much higher," said a Shanghai-based trader.

PRECIOUS-Gold treads water; euro zone worry, US data weigh
SINGAPORE, April 20 (Reuters) - Gold held steady in listless trading as persistent concerns about the euro zone's finances and disappointing U.S. economic data data put off most investors.
"Gold lacks its own momentum to move anywhere, and we are waiting for the next major U.S. data, or a major development in Europe," said Peter Tse, director at ScotiaMocatta in Hong Kong.

Smaller vessels prop up Baltic sea index
April 19 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates to ship dry commodities, climbed on Thursday as higher rates for smaller vessels countered inactivity in the larger capesize segment.
The overall index, which gauges the cost of shipping commodities such as iron ore, cement, grain, coal and fertiliser climbed 22 points to 1,028 points.

Asia Dry Bulk-Panamax rates to rise on tight supplies
SINGAPORE, April 19 (Reuters) - Rates for panamax dry bulk carriers on key Asian freight routes are expected to rise next week on strong demand and limited vessel availability, brokers said on Thursday.
The rate for panamax vessels traveling via the transpacific route rose to a three-month high of $10,095 a day on Wednesday, up nearly a third from $7,816 last week.

20120420 1507 Palm Oil Related News.

Mistry Stands By 4,000 Ringgit Palm-Oil Forecast, Likes Wilmar
2012-04-20 01:43:25.971 GMT
By Ranjeetha Pakiam

April 20 (Bloomberg) -- Palm oil may gain 15 percent by the end of June, according to Godrej International Ltd.’s Dorab Mistry, restating a year-long call for a rally to 4,000 ringgit ($1,302) a metric ton after prices dipped.
“I am very happy to reiterate my forecast,” Mistry said in an e-mailed response to questions. The Godrej director, who’s correctly forecast price trends over the past year, has been predicting a rally to that level since at least March 2011. Wilmar International Ltd., the world’s biggest palm-oil processing company, is Mistry’s favorite palm stock, he said.
While prices in Malaysia have climbed 9.5 percent this year, in line with Mistry’s outlook, they’ve fallen 4.2 percent since April 10 amid concern the global recovery may be at risk as economic growth in China slows and the European debt crisis worsens. Shares in Wilmar International, which have dropped over the past 12 months, are “good value,” he said.
“My price forecasting is based on fundamentals of supply and demand and these have not changed,” he wrote. “In fact, CPO production is underperforming more than my model had suggested,” referring to crude palm oil by its initials.
Palm oil for July delivery ended little changed at 3,477 ringgit on the Malaysia Derivatives Exchange yesterday, the lowest close for the most-active contract since March 30. That’s down from a 13-month high of 3,628 ringgit on April 10.
“Currently, the macro picture is undergoing a reassessment and that has led some players to de-risk,” said Mistry, who’s traded palm oil for more than three decades. “This sentiment changes from time to time, and as time goes by, each such change lasts for a shorter duration. Time will tell.”

Cooking Oil

Last year, Mistry predicted that the price of the world’s most-consumed cooking oil, which is used to make instant noodles and candy, would bottom out at about 2,800 ringgit before rebounding. Its lowest price was 2,754 ringgit on Oct. 6. Chandran Sinnasamy, trading head at Kuala-Lumpur based LT International Futures (M) Sdn., said last month that his views are respected by the industry.
China, the biggest user of cooking oils, reported lower-than-expected gross domestic product growth in the first quarter, raising concern that commodity demand may slow. Europe’s resurgent debt crisis has also roiled equity and commodity markets as government bond yields climbed.
Production of palm oil in Malaysia and Indonesia in January and February fell slightly short of forecasts, Mistry said in a speech in Beijing on March 27. The two countries are the world’s largest producers.

Malaysian Output

In March, Malaysian production was 1.21 million tons, according to the nation’s palm oil board. That’s 14 percent lower than a year ago and 2.1 percent more than February. Malaysia had a so-called high cycle of production in 2011, resulting in record output of 18.9 million tons. A so-called low cycle that began in January meant output would range between 18.6 million and 19 million tons in 2012, Mistry said March 7.
The ratio of global stockpiles to demand for nine edible oils, including soy and palm, may drop this year to the lowest level since 1977 as drought hurt soybean crops in South America, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“At current prices, Wilmar looks very good value,” said Mistry. “They have by far the most balanced and diversified palm portfolio split between upstream, processing and FMCG,” he said, referring to fast-moving consumer goods. While Singapore-listed Wilmar is one of Godrej’s suppliers, he doesn’t own the company’s stock, Mistry said.
Wilmar shares ended at S$4.89 yesterday, valuing the company at S$31.3 billion ($25 billion). They’ve dropped 7.2 percent over the past year, and 2.2 percent in 2012. Of the 30 analysts’ calls tracked by Bloomberg, there are 11 “buy” recommendations and 14 “holds” on Wilmar stock.

20120420 1120 Global Market & Commodities Related News.

GLOBAL MARKETS-Shares ease as U.S. data casts doubt on recovery
SINGAPORE, April 20 (Reuters) - Asian shares slipped on Friday as disappointing U.S. economic data stirred doubts about the strength of recovery, while the yen weakened after the Bank of Japan flagged the prospect of further monetary easing to support the struggling economy.
The euro emerged unscathed from a choppy session on Thursday to trade around $1.3140 , almost unchanged on the day.

High-frequency trader Optiver pays $14 mln over oil manipulation
April 19 (Reuters) - U.S. regulators obtained their first major fine from a high-frequency trading firm over oil market manipulation on Thursday after a federal court ordered Optiver Holding BV to pay $14 million over trades dating back five years.
In a ruling that came just two days after U.S. President Barack Obama proposed a renewed crackdown on oil market manipulation, the Amsterdam-based company agreed to pay a $13 million civil penalty and a $1 million disgorgement of profits over allegations it used a rapid-fire tool nicknamed "The Hammer" to influence U.S. oil prices in March 2007.

COMMODITIES-Weak US data hits oil, other markets mixed
NEW YORK, April 19 (Reuters) - U.S. oil futures ended lower o n T hursday as investors focused on weaker-than-expected U.S. economic data, while grains rose on talk that China bought U.S. corn.
"It's time for copper to consolidate because it suffered some losses at the start of the month," said VTB Capital analyst Andrey Kryuchenov.

OIL- Crude steady, gasoline down as supply worries ease
NEW YORK, April 19 (Reuters) - Crude oil held steady on T hursday while U.S. gasoline futures tumbled for a fourth straight day as concerns about a supply crunch on the East Coast eased.
"Gasoline futures had risen sharply on fears of a shortfall in East Coast refinery capacity, but news about the Trainer refinery is changing that perception," said Tim Evans, energy analyst at Citi Futures Perspective in New York.

Iraq to export oil from second floating platform-sources
BASRA, April 20 (Reuters) - War-battered Iraq will be ready to begin loading oil from a second new floating Single Point Mooring (SPM) platform on Friday in the latest move to boost exports, three sources at the state-owned South Oil Company said.
The first of the long-awaited platforms began exporting last month at a capacity of 300,000 barrels per day.

Obama oil margin plan could increase price swings
April 19 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama's bid to dampen the influence of oil speculators by having regulators set trading margins could backfire, potentially making prices even more volatile and leaving crude dominated only by those with the deepest pockets.
Under Obama's request to Congress, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) would determine how much speculators need to pay to trade U.S. crude oil futures, in theory increasing the amount when prices move too far, too fast.

France would not support oil release under Hollande
PARIS, April 19 (Reuters) - France would withdraw support from a U.S.-British plan to release strategic oil stocks if Socialist front-runner Francois Hollande beats President Nicolas Sarkozy in the presidential election run-off on May 6, the energy adviser to Hollande said on Thursday.  
France joined Britain and the United States last month in talks to tap into strategic stocks, saying a move could happen in a matter of weeks.

Japan cuts April Iran oil purchases 77 pct - trade
TOKYO, April 18 (Reuters) - Japan will slash its crude purchases from Iran by almost 80 percent in April compared to the first two months of the year as buyers comply with Western sanctions, trade sources said.
The cuts, amounting to 250,000 barrels per day, are the steepest yet by the four Asian nations who buy most of Iran's 2.2 million bpd of exports, as tightening sanctions make it tough to pay, ship and insure the oil.

US natgas futures end down, front hits 10-year low
NEW YORK, April 19 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures ended lower on Thursday, with the front month sliding to a fresh 10-year low as moderate weather and record-high supplies pressured prices even though the government reported a weekly inventory build in line with expectations.
"Today's inventory report came in as expected and did not add anything new to the equation. Natgas is oversupplied (and) remains bearish as we inch closer to filling available storage capacity,"

Euro Coal-June S.African trades at $99/T, down $1
LONDON, April 19 (Reuters) - European physical coal prices slipped by around 50 cents for the fifth day running on Thursday while prompt South African FOB dropped by $1.00 due to oversupply and tepid demand, despite strong coal consumption in the UK, Germany and Spain.
"The UK is one of the few bright spots of demand, it's weak almost everywhere else," one utility source said.

20120420 0958 Global Economy Related News.

The total cumulative committed investment in the Sabah Development Corridor (SDC) has reached RM107bn as at the end of 1Q12, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman. The SDC and Greater Kota Kinabalu identified 31 Entry Point Projects (EPPs) with a target investment of RM77.5bn by the year 2020, he said. The EPPs are expected to generate RM35.5bn in incremental Gross National Income (GNI), and create about 144,000 new jobs. The implementation of EPPs is estimated to be able to drive Sabah's economic growth at an annual average of 9%. (Bernama)

The Philippines registered US$766m in net foreign direct investment inflows in Jan, the largest since May 2007. (Reuters)


Philippines: Halts interest-rate cuts as growth outlook gains
The Philippines kept interest rates unchanged, halting after two consecutive cuts as a recovery in exports lessened the need for policy makers to add stimulus to the economy. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas held the rate it pays lenders for overnight deposits at 4%, according to a statement yesterday. Asian central banks are juggling the need to boost economies hurt by Europe’s debt crisis and slowing Chinese growth with increasing pressure to contain inflation fanned by elevated oil prices. (Bloomberg)


The Thai Industries Sentiment Index for Mar rose from 100.9 in Feb to stand at 102.1, increasing for the fourth straight month, the Federation of Thai Industries said. Exports of completely built up vehicles totalled 89,815 units in the month, up 16.17% mom and 4.89% yoy. (Bangkok Post)

Home purchases by foreigners in Singapore plummeted 78% qoq in the first quarter as the effects of the 10% additional buyer's stamp duty hit hard. (ST)

India's merchandise exports rose 21% yoy to US$303.7bn, a tad higher than the targeted US$300bn, but imports rose faster at 32.1% to US$488.6bn, stretching the full-year trade gap to US$184.9bn from US$118.6bn in the previous year. (WSJ)

Japan’s 2011 fiscal-year deficit hit ¥4.410tr (+¥5.33tr in 2010), the worst figure on record on account of plunging car and electronics exports as well as soaring energy imports. The Mar trade deficit came in at ¥82.6bn (¥29.4bn in Feb), well below economists’ expectations for a deficit above ¥200bn. Merchandise trade exports rose 5.9% yoy (-2.7% in Feb), surpassing expectations of 0.2%, whilst imports notched up to 10.5% yoy (9.2% in Feb), more than expectations of 7.0%. (AFP, Bloomberg)


Japan: Fastest export growth in a year boosts outlook
Japan reported the fastest export growth in a year and a smaller-than-expected trade deficit, aiding prospects of a sustained recovery in the world’s third- biggest economy. Boosted by car exports to the US, outbound shipments rose 5.9% in March from a year earlier. Comparisons are distorted by the earthquake in March 2011. The results support the International Monetary Fund’s estimate earlier this week that Japan’s economy may expand as much as 2% this year, boosted by reconstruction spending. (Bloomberg)


China will “steadily” ease monetary policy and boost liquidity in the financial system via open-market operations, state media cited a central bank official as saying, in a bid to avoid a sharp economic slowdown. (AFP)

In a move to tighten the banking sector's risk prevention and control, China’s Ministry of Finance ordered financial enterprises to raise loan loss reserves to 1.5% of gross loans beginning in Jul, up from the existing 1%. (Xinhua)

Profits at China's state-owned enterprises fell 9.1% yoy in the first quarter, with steel and building materials industries posting drastic drops, amid an economic slowdown. (Shanghai Daily)


India: Trade deficit surged to record last year, pressuring rupee
India’s trade deficit widened 56% in the fiscal year through March to a record USD184.9bn, adding pressure on the rupee, government data showed. Merchandise shipments climbed 21 percent to USD303.7bn in the 12-month period, Rahul Khullar, the top bureaucrat in the commerce ministry said yesterday. Imports advanced 32.1% to USD488.6bn. The trade gap in 2010- 2011 was USD118.7bn. The shortfall in India’s current account, the broadest measure of trade, was USD19.6bn in the three months through December, prompting the central bank to say it’s unsustainable. (Bloomberg)

Global: Lagarde Gets USD320bn to boost IMF coffers, expects more
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said she expects more contributions after landing pledges of about USD320bn in her campaign for bigger reserves to combat threats to global growth.“I look at this pot of money as an umbrella,” Lagarde said on Bloomberg Television yesterday. “There are clouds on the horizon.” Japan, Denmark and Switzerland are among the countries to rally this week to Lagarde’s call for a bigger lending capacity beyond the current USD380bn to shield the world economy against any deepening of Europe’s debt turmoil. (Bloomberg)

EU: Italian, Spanish bonds fall on concern debt crisis Is worse
Italian and Spanish bonds led declines among Europe’s higher-yielding government securities amid concern the regional debt crisis is worsening. Italy’s 10-year yields climbed for a second day after a government report showed industrial orders fell more than economists forecast and the Finance Ministry said debt-servicing costs will increase. French bonds dropped after Citigroup Inc. said it expects the nation’s credit rating to be cut over the next two to three years. German bunds advanced as investors sought the safest assets. Spain and France both raised the amounts they targeted at debt auctions today. (Bloomberg)

Eurozone consumer confidence fell to -19.8 in Apr (-19.1 in Mar). Economists had expected an improvement to -19.0. (Dow Jones)

US: Jobless claims signal growth may moderate
More Americans than forecast filed claims for jobless benefits and sales of previously owned homes unexpectedly dropped, indicating the almost three-year-old economic expansion may be moderating. Jobless claims fell by 2,000 to 386,000 in the week ended 14 April from a revised 388,000 the prior period, Labor Department figures showed yesterday in Washington. (Bloomberg)

US: Consumer confidence rises to match four-year high
Household confidence improved last week to match the highest level in four years as more Americans said their finances were in better shape. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index was minus 31.4 in the period ended 15 April, compared with minus 32.8 over the previous seven days. The reading equaled that from two weeks earlier as the best since March 2008. Nonetheless, the monthly expectations measure fell from a one-year high, showing concern remains that too many Americans are still unemployed. (Bloomberg)

US: Previously owned home sales unexpectedly fell in March
Sales of previously owned US homes in March unexpectedly fell for the third time in the last four months, showing an uneven recovery in the housing market. Purchases dropped 2.6% to a 4.48m annual rate from 4.6m in February, the National Association of Realtors reported yesterday. Residential real estate remains the economy’s soft spot, challenged by stricter lending standards, lower home values and the threat of more foreclosures. An improved labor market and mortgage rates near historic lows have yet to stoke bigger gains in demand. (Bloomberg)

US Conference Board’s index of leading indicators rose 0.3% mom in Mar (0.7% in Feb), slightly above consensus of 0.2% on the back of the Fed’s zero-rate policy and the spread between short and long rates. (Bloomberg)

US existing-home sales rose 5.2% yoy in Mar (a revised 9.0% in Feb), whilst on a mom basis, the measure fell 2.6% (a revised -0.6% in Feb) to 4.48m units from a revised 4.6m units earlier. (Bloomberg)


US: Fed confirms banks must conform to Volcker by July 2014
The Federal Reserve and 4 other US agencies said Wall Street banks will have two years to implement the so-called Volcker rule so long as they make a good faith effort to comply with the ban on proprietary trading. The regulators added that the Fed has the authority to extend the period of compliance beyond July 21, 2014. The regulators also said that during the conformance period of two years, banking entities should engage in good-faith planning efforts, appropriate for their activities and investments, to enable them to conform. The rule, named for its original champion, former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker, attempts to reduce the chances that banks will make risky investments with their own capital and put depositors’ money at risk. (Bloomberg)

US: Index of leading economic indicators climbed 0.3%
The index of US leading indicators rose for a sixth month in Mar, indicating the world’s largest economy will maintain its expansion. The Conference Board’s gauge of the outlook for the next three to six months climbed 0.3% after a 0.7% gain in Feb that was the biggest in 11 months. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a rise of 0.2% in March. An improving job market is helping Americans overcome higher fuel expenses and boosting the spending that accounts for about 70% of the economy. Strengthening consumer demand will help sustain the more than two-year expansion and make the economy more resilient to a slowdown in Europe. (Bloomberg)

20120420 0957 Malaysia Corporate Related News.

Maybank: Islamic unit on track to record RM1bn in pre-tax profit for FY2012
Maybank Islamic is on track to record RM1bn in pre-tax profit for its FY2012 by leveraging on its parent Maybank’s) global wholesale business and community financial services to carve its own niche in the market for Islamic finance. Maybank Islamic CEO Muzzaffar Hisham told StarBiz that healthy deposit levels, coupled with a growth in asset base with a good mixture of deposit and liabilities, would help to fuel the company’s growth. He said Maybank Islamic is well on track in achieving the target of one-third Islamic financing contribution to the group’s total domestic loans and advances by 2015. (StarBiz)

Bina Puri: Offers 10-year maintenance at Laman Vila
Bina Puri is offering 10 years’ free maintenance to homeowners for its Laman Vila residential project in Segambut. According to the company, this is made possible with project’s adoption of renewable energy. Solar panels will be installed on top of the houses and excess energy will be sold back to the national grid via the feed-in tariff scheme. The income from the sale of energy will be used to maintain common facilities in Laman Vila. (Financial Daily)

Warisan TC: Eyes 8% heavy truck mart
Angkatan Motor Sdn Bhd (ATMSB), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Warisan TC Holdings, expects to garner about eight% market share of the local heavy-duty trucks segment with the Malaysian launch of the AUMAN Heavy Duty Trucks. Warisan TC Holdings executive director Ngu Ew Look said the company is anticipating sales of about 260 units of AUMAN Heavy Duty Trucks over the next 12 months with an estimated sales contribution of RM50m. He said the company is also targeting to achieve an average sales growth of 20% over the next three years. (Business Times)

Naim Holdings: Expands into healthcare
Naim Holdings diversifies into the healthcare sector after entering into a JV agreement with KPJ Healthcare to design, build and operate a hospital in Sarawak.  Naim Holdings said its wholly-owned unit, Naim Land Sdn Bhd (NLSB) has signed JV agreement with KPJ Healthcare unit Kumpulan Perubatan (Johor) Sdn Bhd (KPJSB) for a hospital project in Miri. The JV company will have an initial paid-up capital of RM19.67m. KPJSB will hold 70% of the JV company and NLSB the balance. KPJSB will be allotted the equity of the JV company via cash cash injection while NLSB will inject a 4-acre land into the company. (Financial Daily)

Silver Bird: Unit gets demand letter
Silver Bird Group’s wholly-owned subsidiary Standard Confectionery Sdn Bhd has received a letter from Shook Lin & Bok, the solicitors of  Malaysia Building Society Bhd (MBSB)demanding payment for an outstanding amount owed to the latter of RM19,635,638.72 including interests.  The  company said this default has already been announced on Apr 6 under Practice Note 1, adding that it was still in the midst of evaluating options to formulate a plan to address this default issue. Silver Bird is currently focusing its efforts on completing the current forensic investigations, while preserving the group’s value as a going concern and formalising schemes of arrangement to regularise its financial position. (StarBiz)

CMMT: 1Q FY2012 profit up 10%
Capitamalls Malaysia Trust's (CMMT) first quarter net profit rose 10% from a year earlier as the retail-based Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) registered higher revenue following the inclusion of the East Coast Mall in Kuantan to the group's portfolio. In a statement to the exchange on Thursday, CMMT said net profit came to RM34.44m against RM31.44m previously, while revenue was up 36% to RM71.4m from RM52.68m. Its portfolio includes Sungei Wang Plaza and The Mines in the Klang Valley, besides Penang's Gurney Plaza. The property trust plans to reward shareholders with a dividend of 2.09 sen a unit for the quarter. (Financial Daily)

Media: Adex growth to slow down in 2012
Media Specialists Association (MSA) president Raganathan Somanathan  said that adex growth is expected to slow down in 2012 to about 8% to 10% from 12% in 2011. He said that businesses had been cautiously optimistic in 1Q 2012, adding that adex had slow down partly because there were many public holidays in the quarter. Raganathan added tha the lower growth forecast stemmed from media agencies that start to explore the earned emdia space such as social media sites, thus lowering the adex. (Financial Daily)

Oil & Gas: Petronas in talks with 10 potential investors for Rapid project
Petronas is talking to 10 potential investors and companies involved in the oil and gas related activities to set up their operations at its refinery and petrochemicals integrated development (Rapid) project. Rapid executive project director Wan Yusoff Wan Hamat said they came from all over the world and had shown strong interest to invest in the complex in Pengerang, Johor. The RM60bn complex is located in the southeast Johor and the proposed 300,000 barrels per day crude oil refinery capacity is larger than the combined capacities of Petronas' existing refineries in Malacca, Kertih and Gebeng. Wan Yusoff said it was vital to attract world-class, oil, gas and petrochemical companies to invest in the project as they would contribute to the country's aspiration to become a high-income nation by 2020. (StarBiz)

Oil & Gas: Investment decision on Rapid due mid-2013
Petronas will announce its final investment decision on the massive RM60bn Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid) project in Pengerang mid-2013. Rapid executive director Wan Yusoff Wan Hamat said the project is likely to proceed and come onstream in 2016 to turn Pengerang into the Asia-Pacific petrochemical hub. Wan Yusoff added that because of its potential, the project is highly likely to go as planned. (Financial Daily)


KPF ‘yes’ to Felda share transfer
Koperasi Permodalan Felda (KPF) voted overwhelmingly in favour of a corporate restructuring that will pave the way for the listing of Felda Global Ventures (FGVH). KPF holds a 51% stake in Felda Holdings, which controls all of the domestic agriculture businesses and other plantation-related business, while FGVH holds the remainder. KPF delegates yesterday voted in favour of transferring its 51% interest in Felda Holdings to FGVH. Felda Holdings will thus become a wholly-owned subsidiary of FGVH, which in turn will be 51%-owned by KPF and 49% held by the government. Felda Holdings made RM614.2m in profits in 2010 while FGVH made RM287.3m. (Financial Daily)

New HP guidelines hit Proton
Proton recorded a 14% y-o-y and 10% q-o-q dip in car sales in 1Q2012, attributing the decline to stricter Bank Negara (BNM) hire-purchase (HP) guidelines introduced in January 2012. Perodua also indicated the BNM new guidelines as the likely reason for its 11% drop in y-o-y sales. The new HP guidelines have made it harder for car buyers to get their loan applications approved with lower loan amounts. The entry-level segment customers are now faced with higher loan rejections and will potentially move to lower-priced cars, such as used cars or basic variants of A-segment models. (Malaysian Reserve)

Slower growth for local adex
The local advertising expenditure (adex) growth in Malaysia this year is expected to moderate slightly by 2% to reach an estimated RM12bn. Last year’s growth was 12%. Cautious market sentiment and growing focus on social media are said to be the main causes for the slower growth, said Media Specialist Association president Ranganathan Somanathan. The area growing the fastest are digital and pay-TV ads. Ranganathan said more marketers today are starting to explore the earned media space, in which they have to earn their audience, as opposed to the paid media space where they pay to engage audiences. (Malaysian Reserve)

Ta Ann proposes bonus issue
Ta Ann has proposed to undertake a 1-for-5 bonus issue of up to 61.79m shares. The proposed bonus issue would be implemented by capitalizing up to RM61.79m from the company’s retained earnings reserve. The bonus issue is expected to be completed in 2Q this year. (Financial Daily)


Britain's Prime Minister, David Cameron, said on Wednesday he had asked the new owners of Lotus to protect the future of the loss-making British sportscar maker, following speculation that production could be moved abroad. More than 1,000 Lotus workers fear Malaysian company DRB-HICOM is seeking a Chinese buyer for the firm, whose Esprit model found fame for spectacular cameos in James Bond movies. "I did raise this issue with the Malaysian Prime Minister and also with the new Malaysian owners of the parent company of Lotus," Cameron told parliament, following a trip to Asia last week. (Reuters)

DRB-HICOM Defence Technologies Sdn Bhd (Deftech) is spending about RM100m to expand its plants in Pekan, Pahang, and Nilai, Negri Sembilan, to cater for the production of 8x8 Armoured Wheeled Vehicle (AV8) for the Malaysian military, slated at end-2013. CEO Abdul Harith Abdullah said the construction of new facilities would start after the 13th Defence Services Asia 2012 (DSA 2012) and it should be ready for the first unit of sealed pattern (prototype) to arrive in Malaysia by September. Abdul Harith said the Pekan plant would manufacture the AV8’s hull (platform) while the Nilai plant would make its turret. (Starbiz)

Delima Oil Products Sdn Bhd, a member company of the Felda Global Group recorded its first over-RM1bn revenue last year, well ahead of its 2013 target, said chief executive officer Zakaria Arshad. Zakaria is confident that the performance can be sustained this year. Delima Oil is now eyeing the Philippines and Vietnam markets which will most likely see Delima Oil products on their supermarket shelves this year. The company is in talks with potential customers or distributors for its products in the Philippines, and may start with the Southern Philippines, due to its proximity to Sabah. "If all goes well and our products are well accepted here, like in Myanmar we will build our own packaging and bottling plant. The next step then, is to have our own refinery on a bigger scale," he said adding that such a strategy will be emulated in Vietnam. Delima Oil is also in the midst of negotiating with a party in Abu Dhabi to market its cooking oil in over 90 supermarket outlets there. "Our products no doubt are doing well in the Malaysian market, especially our Saji cooking oil which has over 30%share of the olein segment while our margarine, Seri Pelangi holds more than 50% market share. But now, we want to concentrate on high-end products as they give better margins and that means, there will be better quality margarines and other cooking oils like high grade blended oil, sunflower oil and canola oil," said Zakaria. (BT)

Small oil palm estate holders who want to plant oil palms are now entitled to a higher allocation from the government. Those who own 40ha or less are eligible for the replanting grant. As for new plantings, the incentive can only be accorded to those who own up to 5ha in Peninsular Malaysia and a maximum of 7ha for Sabah and Sarawak. Previously, the government allocated RM7,000/ha to smallholders who plant up oil palms. The government has raised the allocation to RM7,500/ha for oil palm land in Peninsular Malaysia. As for Sabah and Sarawak, it has been raised to RM9,000/ha. There are around 170,000 independent smallholders in Malaysia. With 700,000ha, they account for 14 per cent of the country's five million hectares of oil palm land. This year, the government expects smallholders to replant and plant up 40,000ha, with higher yielding seedlings. (BT)

It is premature to gauge the cost of the proposed high-speed rail (HSR) linking Kuala Lumpur and Singapore at this point of time, said Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) CEO Mohd Nur Ismal Mohamed Kamal. He said this when asked to comment on a news report yesterday quoting a source saying that the cost of the proposed HSR that has yet to get the green light from the Government would be between RM20-30bn. “We will have to wait until year-end when the detailed feasibility study is done to get a clearer picture,” he told StarBiz yesterday. Ismal said the key cost drivers of the HSR would be land acquisition, choice of HSR technology, the locations of alignment, bridges and tunnelling. At a SPAD editors' briefing on Wednesday, it was revealed that the HSR project was now in the second phase of a feasibility study that looked into the actual corridors and alignment. This is expected to be completed by year-end. This study will provide a more detailed economic impact of the HSR and its engineering challenges. A source said that the train slated for the proposed HSR was estimated to travel at an average speed 250km/h and was capable of reaching a maximum of 300km/h. Such speed would shorten the journey between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to 90 minutes with one or two stops for the express service. “For the transit services with four to six stops, the journey between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore is expected to be less than two hours. “The potential intermediate stops are Seremban, Melaka, Muar, Batu Pahat and Johor Baru,” said the source. (Starbiz)

CIMB Thai Bank Plc has posted a 22.2% yoy growth in net profit to THB344.1m (RM34.2ml) for its 1QFY12 mainly due to higher net interest as well as net fee and service income. CIMB Group Holdings Bhd said its 93%-owned Thai subsidiary’s total operating income increased by 14.3% to THB1.82bn (RM180.4m) in 1QFY12. CIMB Thai is a commercial bank with 159 branches in Thailand. CIMB Thai also said in a statement that during the quarter, gross non-performing loans (NPL) increased slightly to THB4.3bn (RM427m), with an equivalent gross NPL ratio of 3.6% from 3.4% in the 4QFY11, mainly due to the deterioration in credit quality of certain sizable accounts. (Starbiz)

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is said to have gone back to the drawing board to re-set its business plan, four months after it unveiled its new business plan. Those in the know claimed that the thrust forward was for the team to “re-engage and re-group the employees, re-boot and re-set the business plan because of several reasons and circumstances.” “They have to re-set according to priority. Eight months have passed and the visibility of change still seems vague. The need to re-set becomes critical as there is resistance to the way some things are being planned and done,” said a source. The need to re-engage with the “staff is vital as there is discontent and there are some valid reasons why there are pockets of people who are still unhappy. Some committees have been formed to address this,” said a source. The plan must also be reviewed because there are “certain constraints and some routes cannot be rationalised and there is also a need to revisit the cost reduction initiatives,” added the source. MAS saw the ent
ry of a new team after the share swap and collaboration agreement inked with AirAsia in August 2011. The team announced its business plan to turn MAS around on Dec 8. The team boldly outlined the turnaround in the form of “game changers' and “recovery plans.” The game changers include the launch of a new regional premium carrier by the middle of this year, exploring more alliances, enhancing collaboration with AirAsia, and spinning off its ancillary businesses, which include its maintenance, repairs and overhaul (MRO) unit. The new carrier is to link Malaysia with Asean, South Asia and Greater China. However, two weeks ago the airline said it would do away with the plan to set up a short haul airline and instead it would opt to park its short haul operations in a division. (Starbiz)

SP Setia Bhd will unveil its maiden project in Singapore called 18 Woodsville via a simultaneous launch in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Jakarta this weekend. This is the first time that SP Setia is doing such a simultaneous launch for a development. SP Setia said the simultaneous launch would be done in real time where interested purchasers would know exactly which units had been booked or were still available, regardless of which of the three cities they were in. The freehold 18 Woodsville consists of a 15-storey block with 101 units, and offers one, two and three-bedroom units with sizes ranging from 495-915sf. Prices start from S$1,500 (RM3,677) to S$1,950 (RM4,779) per sf. (Starbiz)

Berjaya Land Bhd (BLand) is building the world’s biggest integrated mall complex estimated to be worth about RM7.5bn on a 32ha site in China’s Hebei Province, says CEO Datuk Francis Ng Sooi Lin. Called Great Mall of China, the 18.5m sf development, which is similar to the concept of Berjaya Times Square in Kuala Lumpur, is expected to be completed within the next five years. Once completed, the project will feature more than 2m sf of retail space, two hotels, two serviced apartments, office towers, convention centre, theatre and a parking complex. Berjaya Great Mall of China Co Ltd (BGMOC), a 51%-owned subsidiary of BLand, is undertaking the development. Berjaya Group founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan holds 49% of BGMOC through Berjaya Times Square Cayman Ltd. Under the first phase development, BGMOC will build a retail and pedestrian mall, each with one million sq ft of space, an extreme park, a family park and a water park, as well as parking facilities. Ng said the gross development cost for phase one was estimated at RM1.5bn. Some 40% of Phase One had been completed and the remaining portion was expected to be completed by Oct-2013, Ng said. (BT)

The new ruling that mandates sharing of broadcasting rights with free-to-air (FTA) TV stations could end pay TV operator Astro Holdings Sdn Bhd's monopoly on certain sporting events. It will benefit FTA operators like Media Prima Bhd, said industry players and analysts who cover the sector. However, they said implementation of the ruling is key in order to ensure commercial viability. It will also allow FTA and pay TV players to jointly bid for expensive broadcasting licences. It is understood that Astro forks out US$60m (RM184m) per Barclays Premier League season for exclusive broadcasting rights. An industry insider said Astro purchases both the FTA and pay TV licenses, and subsequently resells the content to FTA stations. "This is to ensure that certain important matches can only be watched on Astro," he said. "The asking price for these licences has ballooned over the years. It is very expensive for the FTA players. However, if the government could force both pay TV and FTA platers to joint bid, the costs for each player would come down," said Sedania Group founder and CEO Datuk Azrin Mohd Noor. (Financial Daily)

Media Prima Bhd is always on the lookout for merger and acquisition (M&A) opportunities locally and overseas, provided they compliment its existing operations, said group managing Director Datuk Amrin Awaluddin. Amrin said going regional made more sense. However, he pointed out that in South-East Asia, media industry was very much government centric like in Singapore and Indonesia. Amrin said that when Media Prima ventured overseas, it did not mean that the company would have to buy equity. "We have been very successful in our joint venture in Indonesia. We will continue to do that. We don't have to pump in any equity," he said, adding that NTV7 had done a lot of programmes for its partners in Indonesia and vice-versa. Amrin said the group planned to invest in content, distribution of contents as well as expansion into multiple platforms to increase its non-advertisement revenue. "We want to expand into other areas such as content and pay channels, online and mobile devices," he said, adding that it currently had pay channel available via Telekom Malaysia Bhd's UniFi. (StarBiz)

Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd, which is the adviser for Esso Malaysia Bhd (EMB) minority shareholders, has advised them to reject the takeover offer by Petron Corp, an affiliate of Philippines-based San Miguel Corp (SMC) so that they may benefit from the positive prospects of the oil and gas industry in which EMB operates in. Apart from this, the investment bank also noted that the offer price of RM3.59/share was not attractive following a few methods of financial evaluation, it told shareholders in a circular to Bursa Malaysia. Last month saw the completion of ExxonMobil International Holdings Inc’s disposal of its 65% stake in EMB to SMC. Consequently, SMC announced that its affiliate, Petron Corp, had submitted a mandatory takeover offer to acquire the remaining 35% at RM3.59 per share.(Starbiz)

Property developer Hua Yang Bhd is confident that the affordability of its products would attract prospective house buyers. "On the average our residential properties in Johor Baru are priced between RM250,000 and RM400,000 and this is our strong selling point," said Johor branch manager Soo Kim Hiang. Soo added that although the township project was located within Iskandar Malaysia, the company's price was much lower compared with other on-going projects in the economic growth corridor. (StarBiz)

20120420 0955 Global Market Related News.

Asian Stocks Fall on U.S. Data Prior to Hong Kong Open (Source: Bloomberg)
Asian stocks fell, pushing the regional benchmark equity index toward a weekly drop, as U.S. economic data signaled the recovery is slowing in the world’s largest economy. James Hardie Industries SE (JHX), an Australian supplier of building materials that gets more than half of its sales from the U.S., slid 1.4 percent in Sydney. LG Chem Ltd. (051910), South Korea’s biggest chemicals maker, sank 6.6 percent in Seoul after its profit dropped 42 percent in the first quarter. JFE Holdings, Inc., the second-largest Japanese steelmaker, slid 3 percent in Tokyo after a report it may increase borrowing to invest in building mills. AIA Group Ltd. may be active today in Hong Kong after the insurer said its value of new business rose.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) declined 0.3 percent to 124.38 as of 9:34 a.m. in Tokyo before markets open in Hong Kong and China. About five stocks fell for every three that rose and the gauge, which is headed for a 0.5 percent decline this week. In the U.S., reports showed sales of previously owned homes in March unexpectedly fell, while more Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week. “Investors may see poor U.S. economic data as a reason to sell shares in the short term,” said Makoto Sengoku, a Tokyo- based market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Securities Co.

European Stocks Fall as U.S. Home Sales Unexpectedly Drop (Source: Bloomberg)
European stocks fell for a second day as reports showed that sales of previously owned houses dropped and more Americans than forecast filed claims for unemployment benefits. Publicis Groupe SA (PUB) dropped as France’s largest advertising company said growth will slow this quarter. Nokia Oyj tumbled to a 15-year low after reporting an operating loss of 1.34 billion euros ($1.8 billion). SKF AB (SKFA), the world’s biggest maker of ball bearings, rose 4.9 percent after forecasting higher sales in the U.S. and Asia. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index (SXXP) retreated 0.5 percent to 256.51 at the close, after earlier rallying as much as 1 percent. The gauge has lost 2.6 percent so far in April on renewed concern that the euro area’s sovereign-debt crisis will worsen. The Stoxx 600 has still advanced 4.9 percent this year.
“U.S. data continued to disappoint today,” said Craig Erlam, a London-based market analyst at Alpari U.K. “The data wiped out any gains made in the morning from the successful Spanish bond auction. Sentiment is low and it won’t take much to restart the down trend.”

U.S. Stocks Decline as Economic Reports Offset Earnings (Source: Bloomberg)
U.S. stocks retreated for a second day as disappointing economic data and concern over Europe’s debt crisis overshadowed better-than-forecast earnings from companies including EBay Inc. (EBAY) and Morgan Stanley. Alcoa Inc. (AA) and DuPont Co. slid at least 1.2 percent, as investors sold shares of companies most tied to economic growth. Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) declined 6.6 percent after projecting sales and profit that fell short of estimates. EBay Inc. rallied 13 percent, the most since 2005, as earnings were helped by growth in its PayPal payments business. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) rose 2.9 percent after regular trading as it reported third-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 0.6 percent to 1,376.92 at 4 p.m. New York time, after yesterday’s 0.4 percent decline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 68.65 points, or 0.5 percent, to 12,964.10. About 7.4 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 9.7 percent above the 30-day average.
“The market is in a data-driven holding pattern,” Philip Orlando, the New York-based chief equity strategist at Federated Investors Inc., which oversees about $370 billion, said in a phone interview. “You’ve got a lot of counter-balancing points. We got some soft economic data, while earnings are beating expectations. Investors are looking at each incremental data point trying to draw conclusions.”

FOREX-Yen pressured by Japan importers; all eyes on Spain
TOKYO, April 19 (Reuters) - The yen inched lower on Thursday after commodity currencies briefly shot up on hopes China will soon ease policy, and as flows from Japanese importers and 'toushin' investment trusts pressured it against the U.S. dollar, traders said.  
"The dollar was pushed towards 80 yen this week, but its solid rebound well above 81 yen underscores its underlying strength making it hard for speculators to bet against it," said Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ analyst Teppei Ino.

Yen Drops BOJ Signals Easing; Canada’s Dollar Tumbles (Source: Bloomberg)
The yen fell against most its major counterparts as Bank of Japan (8301) officials signaled they’ll keep acting to stem its strength to spur economic growth. The greenback gained and Canada’s dollar slid after more Americans filed jobless claims last week and a regional manufacturing gauge dropped, increasing demand for the perceived safety of U.S. debt. The pound and Swedish krona climbed as investors bet the Bank of England and the Riksbank will refrain from further monetary easing. “Yen dovishness is here to stay, and they are the only major central bank that is continuing to ease right now,” said Aroop Chatterjee, a currency strategist at Barclays Plc in New York. “Further yen weakness is likely, but probably at a slower pace than we have seen in February and March. U.S. economic prospects were looking extremely strong back then, and now they are looking much more mixed.”
The yen depreciated 0.4 percent to 81.61 per dollar at 5 p.m. New York time and touched 81.74, the weakest level since April 10. The Japanese currency weakened 0.5 percent against the euro to 107.21, after earlier gaining 0.1 percent. The euro rose 0.1 percent to $1.3138 after falling 0.4 percent earlier.

Yen Poised for Weekly Decline on BOJ Easing Prospects (Source: Bloomberg)
The yen was set to decline against most of its 16 major counterparts this week on prospects the Bank of Japan (8301) will add to monetary easing at its next meeting on April 27 to achieve its inflation goal. The currency remained lower following a three-day decline versus the dollar after BOJ Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said in a speech in Washington that Japan still needs monetary stimulus. The euro was 0.3 percent from a 20-month low against the British pound before data today that may show Germany’s business confidence fell this month. Meetings hosted by the International Monetary Fund start today in Washington, where Group of 20 officials are gathering to discuss Europe’s debt crisis. “The indication from BOJ board members over the last week or so has been that they are considering further policy easing,” said Andrew Salter, a foreign-exchange strategist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ) in Sydney. “The yen has been unambiguously weaker.”
The yen was at 81.65 per dollar as of 10:07 a.m. in Tokyo, little changed from yesterday’s close in New York, having lost 0.9 percent this week. It was at 107.32 per euro from 107.21 and has declined 1.4 percent against the shared European currency since April 13. The 17-nation euro was at 81.90 pence after touching 81.62 pence yesterday, the lowest since August 2010. The euro traded at $1.3143 from $1.3138.

IMF Gets $320 Billion in New Pledges to Raise Resources (Source: Bloomberg)
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said she expects more contributions after landing pledges of about $320 billion in her campaign for bigger reserves to combat threats to global growth. “I look at this pot of money as an umbrella,” Lagarde said today on Bloomberg Television’s “InBusiness With Margaret Brennan” in Washington before meetings of the world’s finance chiefs. “There are clouds on the horizon.” Japan, Denmark and Switzerland are among the countries to rally this week to Lagarde’s call for a bigger lending capacity beyond the current $380 billion to shield the world economy against any deepening of Europe’s debt turmoil. Having last month boosted their own defenses beyond $1 trillion, euro-area policy makers are counting on a reinforcing of the IMF to calm financial markets. Spain now sits in the crosshairs with the yield on its 10-year bonds closing in on levels at which Greece, Ireland and Portugal required bailouts.

Hope for Treasury Bailout Profits Rests on Fuzzy Math (Source: Bloomberg)
The U.S. Treasury Department wants the public to believe the government’s bailouts of the financial sector might make money for taxpayers. It’s easy to see why. If the government could show an overall profit, the implication would be that bailouts must be a good thing. Put aside the moral hazard they create, by encouraging reckless behavior. Never mind that the country’s largest too-big-to-fail banks are larger today than when the financial crisis began in 2007. The leaders who pulled off this amazing feat would deserve our praise, and everything will have worked out for the best -- or so goes this line of thought. Whatever logic there is to this reasoning falls apart, however, if the prospect of future gains is false. And sure enough, it probably is.
The Treasury Department a week ago released its latest cost estimates for the government’s numerous crisis-response programs. “Overall, the government is now expected to at least break even on its financial stability programs and may realize a positive return,” the report said. Unfortunately this conclusion rests heavily on wishful thinking and creative accounting, which becomes obvious when you dig into the report’s footnotes.

More Americans Than Forecast Filed Weekly Jobless Claims (Source: Bloomberg)
More Americans than forecast filed claims for jobless benefits and sales of previously owned homes unexpectedly dropped, indicating the almost three-year-old economic expansion may be moderating. Jobless claims fell by 2,000 to 386,000 in the week ended April 14 from a revised 388,000 the prior period, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 47 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a drop to 370,000. Purchases of homes fell 2.6 percent to a 4.48 million annual rate in March, the National Association of Realtors reported in Washington. Stocks declined as the claims data bolstered Federal Reserve concerns that growth may not be fast enough to sustain improvements in the job market that have helped push unemployment to a three-year low. Other reports today showed that an index of leading indicators rose for a sixth month and consumer confidence improved, while manufacturing in the Philadelphia area grew at a slower pace.
“The economy has slowed a notch,” said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics Inc. in West Chester, Pennsylvania, who is the most accurate forecaster of existing- home sales for the two years through February, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “We’re just not going to be able to duplicate the growth we saw in the first quarter.”

U.S. Previously Owned Home Sales Unexpectedly Fell in March (Source: Bloomberg)
Sales of previously owned U.S. homes in March unexpectedly fell for the third time in the last four months, showing an uneven recovery in the housing market. Purchases dropped 2.6 percent to a 4.48 million annual rate from 4.6 million in February, the National Association of Realtors reported today in Washington. The median forecast of economists in a Bloomberg News survey called for an increase to 4.61 million. In January, sales at a 4.63 million rate were the strongest since May 2010. Residential real estate remains the economy’s soft spot, challenged by stricter lending standards, lower home values and the threat of more foreclosures. An improved labor market and mortgage rates near historic lows have yet to stoke bigger gains in demand.
“Despite declines in three of the past four months, home resales appear to be on a modest rising trend over the past nine months,” Steven Wood, president of Insight Economics LLC in Danville, California, said in an e-mail to clients. Still, “the large number of distressed properties combined with a substantial shadow inventory of unsold homes has kept downward pressure on home prices, although they may be stabilizing at a low level.”

Index of Leading Economic Indicators in the U.S. Climbed 0.3% (Source: Bloomberg)
The index of U.S. leading indicators rose for a sixth month in March, indicating the world’s largest economy will maintain its expansion. The Conference Board’s gauge of the outlook for the next three to six months climbed 0.3 percent after a 0.7 percent gain in February that was the biggest in 11 months, the New York- based group said today. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a rise of 0.2 percent in March. An improving job market is helping Americans overcome higher fuel expenses and boosting the spending that accounts for about 70 percent of the economy. Strengthening consumer demand will help sustain the more than two-year expansion and make the economy more resilient to a slowdown in Europe. “The momentum is holding up,” Carl Riccadonna, a senior U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. in New York, said before the report. “Job creation and income growth are positives for economic growth.”

Consumer Confidence in U.S. Rises to Match Four-Year High (Source: Bloomberg)
Household confidence improved last week to match the highest level in four years as more Americans said their finances were in better shape. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index was minus 31.4 in the period ended April 15, compared with minus 32.8 over the previous seven days. The reading equaled that from two weeks earlier as the best since March 2008. Nonetheless, the monthly expectations measure fell from a one-year high, showing concern remains that too many Americans are still unemployed. “The uneven nature of the recovery will likely continue to restrain the type of improvement in consumer sentiment that one would traditionally observe at this point in the expansionary cycle,” said Joseph Brusuelas, a senior economist at Bloomberg LP in New York.
A strengthening job market and leveling off in gasoline prices may keep underpinning confidence, raising the odds that consumer spending will continue to grow and benefit companies like Bed, Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) and Toyota Corp. At the same time, 5 million more Americans are unemployed now than when the recession began in December 2007, showing why cheerier outlooks will be difficult to sustain.

Japan’s Fastest Export Growth in a Year Boosts Outlook (Source: Bloomberg)
Japan reported the fastest export growth in a year and a smaller-than-expected trade deficit, aiding prospects of a sustained recovery in the world’s third- biggest economy. Boosted by car exports to the U.S., outbound shipments rose 5.9 percent in March from a year earlier, exceeding the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey for a 0.2 percent gain. The deficit was 82.6 billion yen ($1 billion), less than the median forecast for a 223.2 billion yen shortfall. Comparisons are distorted by the earthquake in March 2011. The results support the International Monetary Fund’s estimate earlier this week that Japan’s economy may expand as much as 2 percent this year, boosted by reconstruction spending. Exports have been helped by the yen’s decline after the Bank of Japan boosted monetary stimulus in February, a policy Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said late yesterday in New York he’s “committed” to keeping.
“The key reason for the good result is a solid rebound in exports to the U.S. where cars are selling well,” Yoshimasa Maruyama, chief economist at Itochu Corp. (8001) in Tokyo, said. “Exports to Asia are rebounding, mainly because of the strong recovery in shipping to ASEAN nations.”

Europe Urged to Fix Crisis as G-20 Warns of More Stress (Source: Bloomberg)
Europe’s governments were told the onus for fixing their debt woes still lies with them as the Group of 20 warned the two-year crisis still threatens global growth. With finance chiefs from the G-20 meeting today in Washington, those from Canada and Australia joined the IMF and U.S. in pressing Europe to intensify efforts to quell the turmoil as it spreads to Spain. The G-20 cited “the situation in Europe” first in a list of drags on the world economy, according to a draft statement obtained by Bloomberg News. As she welcomed pledges of about $320 billion for the IMF’s crisis-fighting coffers, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said the lender serves as an emergency backstop and that Europe must protect itself, boost economic growth and cut debt. Italian and Spanish bonds fell yesterday on speculation the crisis is worsening.
“Countries have to take measures,” Lagarde told Bloomberg Television’s “InBusiness With Margaret Brennan” in Washington. “I am in charge of improving the stability and I need to have the umbrella in case the clouds break into a nasty rain.”

Spain, Italy Set for Downgrade Amid Slump, Citigroup Says (Source: Bloomberg)
Spain and Italy will be downgraded by Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s this year as the recession and debt crisis worsen, economists and strategists at Citigroup Inc. said. Their credit ratings, along with those of Ireland and Portugal, will be lowered at least one level over the next two to three quarters, Citigroup said in a report published late yesterday. “Deficits will overshoot official forecasts in all the peripheral Economic Monetary Union countries this year and in 2013,” according to the report. “Spain will need to enter some form of a Troika program” this year, Citigroup economists including London-based Juergen Michels wrote, referring to the aid package for Greece monitored by the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has repeatedly said that Spain won’t need a bailout.
The warning comes amid a flare-up of Europe’s debt crisis. Investor confidence in the debt of Europe’s so-called peripheral countries has eroded since Spain’s announcement on March 2 that it won’t meet its deficit target this year, helping to push up bond yields. Yesterday, Italy also delayed its goal to balance the budget by one year to 2014.

Spain, France Bonds Fall Amid Renewed Debt Crisis Concern (Source: Bloomberg)
Italian and Spanish bonds led declines among Europe’s higher-yielding government securities amid concern the regional debt crisis is worsening. Italy’s 10-year yields climbed for a second day after a government report showed industrial orders fell more than economists forecast and the Finance Ministry said debt-servicing costs will increase. French bonds dropped after Citigroup Inc. said it expects the nation’s credit rating to be cut over the next two to three years. German bunds advanced as investors sought the safest assets. Spain and France both raised the amounts they targeted at debt auctions today. “There is a quite significant widening” of Italian and Spanish yields relative to German bunds, said Peter Schaffrik, head of European interest-rate strategy at Royal Bank of Canada in London. “Those two economies have low growth and widening budgets. For euro-investors bunds are the natural safe haven.”
The Italian 10-year bond yield rose 11 basis points, or 0.11 percentage point, to 5.59 percent at 4:18 p.m. London time. The 5 percent bond maturing in March 2022 fell 0.795, or 7.95 euros per 1,000-euro ($1,312) face amount, to 96.10.

German Business Confidence May Drop for First Time in Six Months (Source: Bloomberg)
German business confidence probably declined for the first time in six months in April as the resurgent sovereign debt crisis threatens to curb growth. The Ifo institute’s business climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, will drop to 109.5 from 109.8 in March, according to the median forecast of 40 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Ifo releases the report at 10 a.m. in Munich today. Europe’s largest economy contracted in the final quarter of last year as spending cuts across the euro region, its largest export market, damped demand for its goods. Germany may have avoided a recession as companies increased sales to faster- growing markets in Asia and unemployment at a two-decade low bolstered consumption at home.
“The German economy stabilized in the first quarter but the sovereign debt crisis is flaring up again and companies are getting reluctant to place orders,” said Aline Schuiling, senior economist at ABN Amro NV in Amsterdam. “Once the euro- area economy starts growing moderately from the middle of the year, domestic demand will pick up quite quickly in Germany.” Ifo’s gauge of the current situation may have slipped to 117 from 117.4 and an index measuring executives’ expectations probably fell to 102.3 from 102.7, the survey of economists shows.

Myanmar Seeks Japan Debt Forgiveness in Tokyo Trip (Source: Bloomberg)
Myanmar President Thein Sein today begins his first visit to Japan as head of state seeking a debt- forgiveness deal that opens the way for his nation’s biggest creditor to resume financing roads, bridges and ports. Thein Sein and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda will discuss a “comprehensive solution” to resolving Myanmar’s debt when they meet in Tokyo tomorrow, said Masaru Sato, assistant press secretary at Japan’s foreign ministry. Japan pledged 403 billion yen ($4.9 billion) in loans to Myanmar between 1967 and 1987, according to foreign ministry data. The nation of 64 million between India and China wants a share of the investment that Japanese exporters have poured into neighbor Thailand, with Honda Motor Co. among companies expressing interest. Thein Sein has overseen a shift toward democracy over the past year that’s boosting the odds of re- engagement with developed nations that limited trade with Myanmar during five decades of military dictatorship.
“This is a first step” for strengthening business ties, said Yoshito Asano, director of the government-affiliated Japan External Trade Organization in Bangkok, referring to Thein Sein’s trip and the debt talks. “Many companies have an interest in Myanmar but so far there are not many concrete plans to establish factories.”

Brazil Signals Rate May Fall to Record on Global Fragility (Source: Bloomberg)
Brazil signaled it may cut its benchmark interest rate to a record low as a still “fragile” global economy eases inflationary pressures in the world’s sixth-biggest economy. The bank, in a statement accompanying its decision last night to lower the Selic rate by 75 basis points to 9 percent, said risks of missing its 4.5 percent inflation target are “limited” as the global outlook remains “disinflationary.” In the minutes to its meeting last month, the bank said borrowing costs would probably stabilize “slightly above” the record low 8.75 percent. “The guidance they so explicitly gave in the minutes was very clear, and now they are disavowing it,” said Alberto Ramos, chief Latin America economist at Goldman Sachs & Co. “It’s a very dovish statement -- there’s no signal whatsoever that this is the end of the cycle.”
While yesterday’s move, the second-straight 75 basis point cut, was anticipated by 67 of 69 analysts in a Bloomberg survey, economists had been forecasting that it would be the bank’s last this year. That’s because inflation, even after slowing to a 17- month low of 5.24 percent in March, is expected to stay above the target this year and in 2013.

20120420 0955 Global Commodities Related News.

GRAINS-US corn, wheat rise from 3-month low, soy firm
SINGAPORE, April 19 (Reuters) - Chicago corn rose 1.3 percent and wheat gained 0.9 percent as the markets took a breather after sliding to three-month lows in the last session, but improved supply prospects on crop-friendly U.S. weather may keep a lid on prices.  
"Influence from the outside markets cannot be underestimated as it continues to be jittery around the prospects out of Europe," said Luke Mathews, commodities strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Argentina says OKs 3 mln tonnes of corn exports
BUENOS AIRES, April 18 (Reuters) - Argentina on Wednesday authorized 3 million tonnes of 2011/12 corn for export, the Agriculture Ministry said in a statement.
Argentina's government controls corn exports through a system designed to guarantee affordable local food supplies and help tame high inflation.
 
 German farmers cut 2012 wheat crop forecast
HAMBURG, April 18 (Reuters) - The German Farm Cooperatives Association said on Wednesday it has cut its forecast for the 2012 wheat harvest to 21.5 million tonnes from 24.2 million tonnes estimated in March as damage from the cold winter and dryness is becoming more apparent.
This will be down on the weather-reduced 22.7 million tonnes of wheat Germany harvested in 2011, cooperatives said.
 
Rain delays quick pace of US corn seedings
Rain of 0.50 to 1.00 inch forecast for Wednesday through Saturday in the U.S. Midwest will slow corn seedings, though plantings were already well ahead of the average pace.
"It will slow down plantings, not a perfect forecast but certainly not a disaster," said John Dee, meteorologist for Global Weather Monitoring. Rains will begin in the north on Wednesday, spread to the western Midwest by Thursday, and move into the eastern Midwest on Friday and Saturday.

Spain feed industry sees flat wheat, barley crops
MADRID, April 18 (Reuters) - Spain's animal feed industry expects the grain-importing country's soft wheat and barley crops to be broadly similar to last year's, based on preliminary data in the light of recent rainfall.
Farmers say April showers may have come in time to relieve the impact of a long drought in the northern grainbelt but that crop damage may be permanent in many parched southern regions, where the crop cycle is more advanced.

Mexico drought loss worth more than $1.3 bln-attache
April 18 (Reuters) - Following are selected highlights from a report issued by a U.S. Department of Agriculture attache in Mexico:
"Mexico is being battered by its worst drought in seven decades, which has devastated agricultural production in most of the country. According to the National Water Commission, the drought is expected to continue until the rainy season begins in summer of 2012. The prolonged drought has affected 70 percent of the country and decimated agriculture in Mexican states of Coahuila, Aguascalientes, San Luis Potosi, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas, and Durango (among others). The financial losses of the drought have surpassed 16 billion pesos (1.3 billion USD) including losses of 9 billion pesos (710 million USD) for corn and 6 billion pesos (280 million USD) for beans."

Corn Climbs Most in Two Weeks on Speculation Over Demand (Source: Bloomberg)
Corn rose the most in more than two weeks on speculation demand for U.S. supplies may increase after futures slumped to a four-month low yesterday. Corn for delivery in July advanced as much as 2.8 percent to $6.1075 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, the biggest intraday gain for the most-active contract since March 30, and traded at $6.0625 by 2:34 p.m. Paris time. Futures fell to $5.9175 yesterday, the lowest level since Dec. 19. The Korea Corn Processing Industry Association issued a tender to buy as much as 55,000 metric tons of corn for food. Private buyers in China may seek permits to buy more corn after the price drop, according to Shanghai JC Intelligence Co. “Corn has fallen a lot recently, and the $6 must look pretty attractive to physical buyers as well as some investors,” Park Jong Beom, a senior trader at Tong Yang Securities Inc., said today by phone from Seoul. “The import tenders by Korea today are the evidence and today’s price gain can be explained in that sense.”

Corn Market Recap for 4/19/2012 (Source: CME)
July Corn finished up 18 at 612, 2 1/2 off the high and 16 3/4 up from the low. December Corn closed up 13 at 541 3/4. This was 12 3/4 up from the low and 2 3/4 off the high. May corn closed sharply higher on the session as rumors of China buying old crop corn was enough to spark aggressive buying from fund traders. Talk of the oversold condition of the market and some light weather concerns helped to support the market early in the session. The weekly export sales report showed 300,400 metric tonnes for the current marketing year and cancellations of 2,400 for the next marketing year for a total of 298,000. This was well below trade expectations. Cumulative corn sales stand at 81.8% of the USDA forecast for 2011/2012 (current) marketing year versus a 5 year average of 78.4%. Sales of 387,000 metric tonnes are needed each week to reach the USDA forecast. Dryness concerns for the northeastern China growing region plus talk that temperatures could dip into the 30's into early next week into Illinois are weather factors which helped to provide underlying support. After some additional rain into early next week, the Midwest looks to turn warmer and drier and planting weather looks near ideal into next weekend. Argentina cut its production estimate for the 2011/12 season to just 20.3 million tonnes as compared with 21.1 million as their previous estimate and compared with 21.5 million as the last USDA forecast. July Rice finished down 0.145 at 15.595, 0.055 off the high and equal to the low.

U.S. corn rises from 3-month low (Source: CME)
Chicago corn rose 1.3 percent and wheat gained 0.9 percent as the markets took a breather after sliding to three-month lows in the last session, but improved supply prospects on crop-friendly U.S. weather may keep a lid on prices.  "Influence from the outside markets cannot be underestimated as it continues to be jittery around the prospects out of Europe," said Luke Mathews, commodities strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Rain delays quick pace of US corn seedings  (Source: CME)
Rain of 0.50 to 1.00 inch forecast for Wednesday through Saturday in the U.S. Midwest will slow corn seedings, though plantings were already well ahead of the average pace. "It will slow down plantings, not a perfect forecast but certainly not a disaster," said John Dee, meteorologist for Global Weather Monitoring. Rains will begin in the north on Wednesday, spread to the western Midwest by Thursday, and move into the eastern Midwest on Friday and Saturday.

Recap: Wheat Futures  (Source: CME)
Wheat benefited from short-covering and spillover from corn futures to post double-digit gains in most contracts at all three exchanges. Outside of corrective price action, there was little reason for wheat traders to return as buyers today. More rains are in the forecast for dry areas of Europe this weekend, with crop watchers talking about the potential for yields to return to more normal levels.

Wheat Market Recap Report  (Source: CME)
July Wheat finished up 14 1/4 at 630, 2 1/2 off the high and 14 up from the low. December Wheat closed up 12 3/4 at 667 1/4. This was 11 up from the low and 2 3/4 off the high. July wheat closed sharply higher on the session and is already up as much as 23 1/4 cents from yesterday's lows. The surge higher in the other grains plus talk that funds hold a near record net short position in wheat helped to spark aggressive short-covering and sharply higher trade into the mid-session. A little colder forecast for the Midwest into the weekend may have helped provide some support as well but it still does not look cold enough far enough south in the central and eastern corn belt to cause damage. Net weekly export sales for wheat, came in at 365,900 metric tonnes for the current marketing year and 76,300 for the next marketing year for a total of 442,200 which was a bit below the range of estimates. As of April 12th, cumulative wheat sales stand at 97.9% of the USDA forecast for 2011/2012 (current) marketing year versus a 5 year average of 95.0%. Sales of just 81,000 metric tonnes are needed each week to reach the USDA forecast. The European Union granted export licenses this week for 279,000 tonnes which pushed the total for the marketing year to 11.1 million tonnes as compared with 16.2 million last year. Traders remain a bit nervous with the weather in parts of eastern Europe into the Urals and northern Kazakhstan. Temperatures in the region were near 35 degrees above normal. July Oats closed up 3 at 325 3/4. This was 3 up from the low and 4 1/4 off the high.

Recap: Corn Futures  (Source: CME)
Corn futures strengthened as the day progressed to finish 19 1/4 and 18 cents higher in May and July futures, respectively, with September up 15 1/4 cents. New-crop futures were mostly up 12 to 13 cents. Corn started off today’s session as a follower to soybeans, but as the day progressed, it surpassed beans and took over the leadership role. Today funds bought 15,000 corn contracts (75 million bu.).

SOFTS-ICE Sugar bounces off 11-mth low, coffee up
LONDON, April 19 (Reuters) - Raw sugar futures on ICE rose, bouncing off an 11-month low hit the previous session, as dealers noted the market might have become oversold after falling around 7 percent over the past week.
Raw sugar futures were higher in early trading, steadying after falling around 3 percent in the previous session as dealers eyed potential additional exports from India.

India 2011/12 cotton exports hit 11.5 mln bales
MUMBAI, April 18 (Reuters) - India has exported a record 11.5 million bales of cotton this year, a senior government official said on Wednesday, clearing product left in limbo after it banned fresh overseas sales last month on worries about domestic supplies.
India has a ban on fresh exports and no further bales awaited clearance. Exports raced ahead of initial government estimates of 8.4 million bales of 170 kg each on higher buying by China to replish its stocks.

USDA approves more sugar imports for U.S.
April 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. Agriculture Department said Wednesday it has approved an increase in raw sugar imports of 450,000 short tons (408,233 tonnes) to meet a supply crunch in the country.
The government said in a statement the increase in imports "is not currently expected to increase FY (fiscal year) 2012 domestic sugar supplies sufficiently to attain a level USDA considers adequate."

Cameroon arabica coffee exports rise 50 pct
YAOUNDE, April 18 (Reuters) - Cameroon arabica coffee exports rose 50 percent to 541 tonnes from October to March 31 compared with the previous year on increased production boosted by higher coffee prices, regulator National Cocoa and Coffee Board (NCCB) said on Tuesday.
"Arabica coffee prices on the world market have been very good, which was reflected on the local market," said NCCB General Manager Michael Ndoping.  

Ecuador 12/13 sugar output seen up 7 pct-attache
April 18 (Reuters) - Following are selected highlights from a report issued by a U.S. Department of Agriculture attache in Ecuador:
"Ecuador's sugar production will increase in MY2012/13 by 7 percent to 605,000 tonnes raw sugar value. This is due mainly to increased area under production and the adoption of higher-yield varieties. Ecuador will likely decrease its current import and export levels of refined sugars in MY2012/13. Ecuadorian producers expect exports of raw sugar to the United States to increase."

Ghana may miss cocoa target -Cocobod
ACCRA, April 18 (Reuters) - Ghana may fall short of its 950,000-tonne cocoa output target this season due to dry weather that has hampered growing, the head of regulator Cocobod said, adding to concerns of a global supply deficit this year.
The uncertainty in the world's No. 2 cocoa grower follows months of dry, windy weather that has cut production across West Africa, a region that last season supplied nearly three-quarters of the global crop.

Oil Trades Near Seven-Day Low as Economic Data Misses Targets (Source: Bloomberg)
Oil traded near the lowest close in seven days in New York, heading for a second weekly decline, after weaker-than-expected economic data tempered optimism in U.S. growth. Futures were little changed after slipping a second day yesterday. Jobless claims dropped by 2,000 to 386,000 last week, according to the Labor Department yesterday. The median forecast of 47 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for 370,000. Home purchases declined 2.6 percent to a 4.48 million annual rate from 4.6 million in February, the National Association of Realtors reported in Washington. Crude for May delivery was at $102.57 a barrel, up 30 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 8:50 a.m. Sydney time. It fell 0.4 percent yesterday to $102.27, the lowest close since April 10. The more-actively traded June contract rose 27 cents to $102.99 a barrel today. Front-month prices are down 0.3 percent this week.
Brent oil for June settlement gained 3 cents to $118 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange yesterday. The European benchmark contract’s front month premium to West Texas Intermediate closed at $15.28.

OIL-Brent holds above $118 ahead of Spain auction
SINGAPORE, April 19 (Reuters) - Brent crude futures held above $118 on Thursday as investors remained cautious ahead of a key Spanish bond auction, with renewed fears of a euro zone debt crisis keeping a lid on oil demand.  
"Everyone's waiting for the Federal Open Market Committee meeting next week on monetary policy, and the Spain auction later today, with the outcome potentially having an impact on the oil market," said Ken Hasegawa, a commodity derivatives manager at Newedge Brokerage in Tokyo.

Japan cuts April Iran oil purchases 77 pct - trade
TOKYO, April 18 (Reuters) - Japan will slash its crude purchases from Iran by almost 80 percent in April compared to the first two months of the year as buyers comply with Western sanctions, trade sources said.
The cuts, amounting to 250,000 barrels per day, are the steepest yet by the four Asian nations who buy most of Iran's 2.2 million bpd of exports, as tightening sanctions make it tough to pay, ship and insure the oil.

Iraq to lower oil target to more prudent level
LONDON, April 18 (Reuters) - Iraq plans to "slightly lower" an official 12 million barrel per day (bpd) capacity target so that its oilfields can pump more for decades to come, its top energy official said on Wednesday.
Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Hussain al-Shahristani said the new production plateau level, to be set by the end of the year, will be "significantly higher" than a previous 8-8.5 million bpd figure suggested by Iraq's oil minister last year.

Copper Traders Turn Bullish for First Time in Six Weeks (Source: Bloomberg)
Copper traders are bullish for the first time in six weeks on mounting confidence that demand will accelerate in line with economies at a time when mining companies are already failing to keep up with consumption. Eleven of 29 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect the metal to climb next week and 10 were neutral. Rio Tinto Group (RIO), based in London, said April 17 that its first-quarter copper output slid 18 percent because the ore mined contained less metal. Codelco, the largest copper producer, said the following day that it sees no weakening in Chinese buying. Barclays Capital is predicting a third consecutive year of shortages.
The International Monetary Fund raised its global growth forecast for the first time in more than a year on April 17. Industrial production in China, the biggest copper consumer, expanded 11.9 percent in March, exceeding economists’ forecasts, the government said April 13. The Bank of Japan is “committed” to monetary easing to shore up the economy, Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said April 18. “You’re beginning to see an improvement in global growth,” said Nic Brown, the head of research at Natixis Commodity Markets Ltd. in London. “China has a slightly slower growth rate, but the economy itself is growing so rapidly that it represents a very substantial increase in demand. You’re going to have a very substantial copper deficit this year.”

Anglo’s Platinum Output Falls 24%, Iron Ore Gains 17% (Source: Bloomberg)
Anglo American Plc (AAL), the biggest platinum producer, said output of the metal fell 24 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier after it shut a plant for maintenance, with fewer safety stoppages stemming the drop. Refined platinum production retreated to 402,800 ounces because of planned annual maintenance at a converting plant in Rustenburg, which was completed last month, Johannesburg-based Anglo American Platinum Ltd., in which Anglo has a 79.9 percent stake, said in a statement today. Safety stops fell to 13 in the quarter from 21 a year earlier and 32 in the prior three months. “Amplats delivered a decent operational first quarter,” Dominic O’Kane and Richard Knights, London-based analysts at Liberum Capital Ltd., wrote in an e-mailed note. Output was 35 percent lower than BMO Capital Markets Ltd.’s estimate of 621,000 ounces, analyst Edward Sterck said in a note.
Anglo American, which also reported a 17 percent increase in iron-ore production and a 21 percent advance in copper output for the quarter, is reviewing the platinum unit as it isn’t delivering the returns the company expects, Anglo Chief Executive Officer Cynthia Carroll said Feb. 17.

20120420 0954 Soy Oil & Palm Oil Related News.

SGS CPO export down 5.3% to 839,829 tonnes for the period of 1~20 Apr 2012.
ITS CPO export down 5.6% to 844,453 tonnes for the period of 1~20 Apr 2012.

Recap: Soybean Futures  (Source: CME)
Soybean futures trimmed early gains to end 2 to 8 cents higher, with meal higher and soyoil mixed amid spreading. Soybeans were higher overnight, but as the U.S. dollar index firmed, bulls lost their hold on the market. Still, futures ended stronger,
largely due to continued strong demand and concerns about how small the South American soybean crop will ultimately be.

Soybean Complex Market Recap  (Source: CME)
July Soybeans finished up 7 1/2 at 1421, 14 3/4 off the high and 8 3/4 up from the low. November Soybeans closed up 4 3/4 at 1342 1/2. This was 8 up from the low and 14 1/2 off the high. July Soymeal closed up 1.5 at 395.4. This was 2.6 up from the low and 3.9 off the high. July Soybean Oil finished down 0.01 at 55.59, 0.6 off the high and 0.17 up from the low. May soybeans closed slightly higher on the session but down sharply from the highs of the day which were posted early. More China buying of US old crop soybeans plus a surge higher in corn sparked renewed buying interest in the soybean market early today. Rumors of China buying old crop corn helped to support. Private exporters reported the sale of 110,000 tonnes of US soybeans to China for the 2011/12 season. Weekly export sales for soybeans came in at 374,300 metric tonnes for the current marketing year and 845,000 for the next marketing year for a total of 1.219 million tonnes which was well above trade expectations. Sales of 126,000 metric tonnes are needed each week to reach the USDA forecast. Net meal sales came in at 300,700 metric tonnes for the current marketing year and 1,500 for the next marketing year for a total of 302,200. Sales of 82,000 metric tonnes are needed each week to reach the USDA forecast. Oil sales were 23,900 metric tonnes which was also well above expectations. Cumulative soybean oil sales stand at 66.2% of the USDA forecast for 2011/2012 (current) marketing year versus a 5 year average of 65.3%. Sales of 7,000 metric tonnes are needed each week to reach the USDA forecast. Argentina cut its production estimate for the 2011/12 season to just 42.9 million tonnes as compared with 44 million as their previous estimate and compared with 45 million as the last USDA forecast. May soybean closed lower on the session and down 61 from the early peak.

VEGOILS-Palm oil down on Europe concerns, exports eyed
SINGAPORE, April 19 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures extended losses as traders held a bearish view ahead of a key Spanish bond sale  while staying watchful of export data that will be released on Friday to gauge demand for the edible oil. "I think the sentiment now has changed a bit. When the market hit above 3,600 ringgit, everybody was asking for a healthy correction. So now the immediate target is at about 3,400 ringgit," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage in Malaysia.

India 2012/13 oilseed output seen up 3 pct-attache
April 18 (Reuters) - Following are selected highlights from a report issued by a U.S. Department of Agriculture attache in India:
"Assuming a normal monsoon and favorable growing conditions, total oilseed production in Marketing Year (MY) 2012/13 is likely to grow 3 percent to 35.6 million tonnes, as strong market prices for oilseeds during the current year will encourage producers to increase planted area.
Anticipating a larger oilseed crush in MY 2012/13, total oil meal production and feed utilization are likely to grow to 17.3 million tonnes and 11.5 million tonnes respectively, while oilmeal exports are likely to rise 2 percent to 5.5 million tonnes. The larger crush will support growth in domestic edible oil production and consumption. Considering the widening gap between domestic production and consumption of vegetable oils, edible oil imports are expected to increase to 9.7 million tonnes."