20110414 1023 Global Commodities Related News.

Corn (Source: CME)
US corn futures end higher as the market rebounds from sharp losses Tuesday as supply fears continue to support corn, as did stronger crude oil and worries about wet weather possibly causing a sluggish start to the US planting season. Analysts say a very tight supply outlook, and the need for high prices to choke off demand to avoid a crisis, will limit the market's downside. A good crop this year is critical, which is making the market sensitive to weather forecasts. May CBOT corn closed up 3c at $7.55 1/2 per bushel.

Wheat (Source: CME)
U.S. wheat futures stumble, backpedaling from initial advances on improved weather outlooks for winter wheat crops and sluggish export demand. Weather forecasts calling for showers to reach some parched areas of the hard red winter wheat belt were well received by the market, raising expectations that a change in weather trends for the area could improve struggling crop conditions, said Shawn McCambridge, analyst with Prudential Bache. Market also experienced weakness from concerns prices need to move to levels that generate demand for a market amply stocked with inventories, he added. Otherwise, traders were said to covering some long wheat/short corn spreads, a feat that exhausted early buying. CBOT May wheat ended down 6 3/4c or 0.9% lower at $7.52 3/4 a bushel.

Oats (Source: CME)
Oats futures slipped in unison with wheat, as traders continued to reduce risk exposure in the market. Oats May delivery dropped 1.1% to $3.86 3/4 a bushel.

Rice (Source: CME)
US rice futures rebound after Tuesday's sharp wide losses. Rice has underlying technical support, the Arkansas Farm Bureau says, although "supplies are ample, particularly in the United States." Meanwhile a French agency said Japan may need to import as much as 1.6M metric tons of rice because of the disaster there, a big departure from its typical self-sufficiency. CBOT May rice finishes up 1.9% at $13.62 1/2 per hundredweight.

U.S. soy rises, corn steady after steep losses
SINGAPORE, April 13 (Reuters) - U.S. soy rose 0.6 percent, regaining some ground after a steep decline in the last session triggered by advise from Goldman Sachs to take profits in commodities, while corn was steady, supported by tight supplies and strong demand.
"It was certainly very bearish environment across the financial markets last night due to the escalating issues in Japan. If that particular situation calms, I won't be surprised to see some strength."

Vietnam Rice-Prices rise, major harvest nearing an end
HANOI, April 13 (Reuters) - Vietnam's rice export prices rose as much as 6.6 percent in the past week despite ample supplies, as the harvest of the country's top rice crop was nearing an end while loading demand held firm for existing contracts, traders said on Wednesday.  .

Canadian Wheat Board: No Slowdown In Japan Shipments (Source: CME)
Canada has seen no slow-down in wheat exports to Japan since last month's earthquake devastated much of the country's infrastructure, the director of weather and market analysis at the Canadian Wheat Board said. Canada's wheat farmers have been bracing for delays in grain shipments to the Asian country, typically the second-largest importer of Canadian wheat. But Bruce Burnett said there has been no slow-down in shipments as the government scrambles to feed those displaced by the disaster. "I don't think there are any problems in shipping," he said. "For wheat imports certainly the southern ports are still functioning." Controlled by western Canadian farmers, the Canadian Wheat Board is the largest wheat and barley marketer in the world.

French 2010-2011 Wheat Exports Seen At Record 12.8 Mln Tons (Source: CME)
French soft wheat exports outside the European Union will likely hit a record 12.8 million metric tons in the period July 2010-June 2011, as high prices encourage farmers to sell their stocks and harvests in other exporting countries suffered from negative weather conditions, the government agency for agriculture and fisheries, FranceAgriMer, said. The agency's export estimate is up from its March expectation of 12.6 million tons and its January estimate of 11.8 million tons. France exported 9.6 million tons of soft wheat in 2009-2010. As of early April, France shipped 10.6 million tons of soft wheat outside the EU, up from 7.2 million tons in the same period a year earlier, said Christian Vanier, FranceAgriMer's deputy director. French farmers have been enjoying record demand for soft wheat since Russia stopped exporting grain during the summer, due to the effects of a sustained drought, and Southern Hemisphere supplies were disrupted by weather problems in Argentina and Australia.
Traditional consumers within the EU, such as Belgium and the Netherlands, are buying soft wheat from Germany, where lower quality led to lower prices. Those countries use wheat mainly as food for cattle. France sold higher-quality wheat mainly to Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Cuba and other countries, for human consumption. French exports outside the EU represented about 68% of total exports, up from 45%-50% in normal years, FranceAgriMer said. As wheat prices are substantially higher than during the previous year, farmers are selling all the wheat they had stocked in 2009-2010, Vanier said. "Last year they had enough cash from 2008-2009 to stock some wheat and bet on a price recovery," he said. Soft wheat production in 2010-2011, at 36.7 million tons, will be close 2009-2010 output of 36.5 million tons, FranceAgriMer said. Ending stocks are likely to be 2.3 million tons, down from 3.4 million tons in 2009-2010.
According to FranceAgriMer's latest monthly data, corn production in the current crop year is seen at 15 million tons, almost unchanged from March and down from 16.6 million tons in 2009-2010. Ending stocks are seen at 2.5 million tons. Hard wheat production is seen stable at 2.8 million tons, with EU exports also stable at 900,000 tons and at 950,000 tons to non-EU. Ending stocks are seen stable at 2.8 million tons. As for barley, estimates are nearly unchanged compared with a month earlier, with production at 10.2 million tons, EU exports at 4.2 million tons, non-EU exports at 1.4 million tons and end stocks at 1.9 million tons against 1.6 million tons a month earlier.

Cocoa firms, focus on Ivorian mid crop; sugar steady
ICE cocoa futures rose as dealers anticipated near-term disruptions in Ivory Coast's mid crop even as exports are set to resume from the top producer after the political power struggle was resolved. Raw sugar futures on ICE firmed in early trade, with upside potential limited by bigger than expected Thai output.

Tanzanian coffee prices fall on poor quality
DAR ES SALAAM, April 12 (Reuters) - Tanzania's coffee prices fell at last week's auction due to poor quality produce as farmers in the east African nation sell their last remaining harvests of the season, traders said on Tuesday. "There was a lot of low grade coffee on offer and the warehouses are cleaning out the last bits of coffee because this is the end of the season. We will have one more auction on the April 21 and another on the 5th of May and I think that's it for the season."

Philippines says can export 60,000T more sugar to U.S. if asked
MANILA, April 13 (Reuters) - The Philippines could export an additional 60,000 tonnes of sugar to the United States this year, on top of the approved export quota allocation of 136,201 tonnes, given ample local supply, the local industry regulator's chief said .

Pakistan hikes 2010/11 sugar output estimate to 4.1 mln t
ISLAMABAD, April 13 (Reuters) - Pakistan estimates it produced 4.1 million tonnes of sugar from the 2010/11 crop, compared with 3.1 million tonnes last year, government and industry officials said on Wednesday.
The new estimate is up nearly 400,000 tonnes from the previous projection, despite initial fears that output would fall because of massive summer floods last year, that damaged several crops, including sugarcane

Indonesia's cocoa grinders to expand, consume more beans
JAKARTA, April 12 (Reuters) - Indonesian cocoa grinders expect to process 280,000 tonnes of cocoa beans this year, up about 55 percent from last year, as grinders expand capacity to benefit from a recent tax change on cocoa beans exports, an industry official said on Tuesday.
The government slapped an export tax on cocoa beans for the first time last April in an effort to encourage the retention of beans for local refining and possibly gain a premium in international markets.

Singapore's SMX launching copper, gold, silver trade
SINGAPORE, April 13 (Reuters) - The Singapore Mercantile Exchange will launch cash-settled gold, silver and copper futures contracts on April 15, the exchange said in a press release, which may carve out a new market for speculators seeking arbitrage opportunities.
"(The) exchange will begin trading cash-settled gold, silver and copper futures contracts from April 15, 2011, in contract sizes of 100 troy ounces, 5,000 troy ounces and 5 metric tons (MT) respectively," the exchange said in the note.

Japan March aluminium stocks down 3.3 pct m/m
TOKYO, April 13 (Reuters) - Aluminium stocks held at three major Japanese ports eased further at the end of March but remained within appropriate ranges, trading house Marubeni Corp  said on Wednesday, but stocks may rise if last month's quake dampens demand.
Marubeni, which collects data from the key ports of Yokohama, Nagoya and Osaka, said aluminium stocks came to 201,200 tonnes at the end of March, down 6,900 tonnes or 3.3 percent from February.

Train running late? Blame high copper prices
PARIS/MILAN, April 12 (Reuters) - Thieves lured by surging copper prices are creating a nightmare for European railways, sparking large-scale disruption, eroding profits and damaging their reputations.
Operators are pouring money into high-tech security measures they hope will prevent the theft of the metal after its price has more than tripled since early 2008 to over $9,000 per tonne.

Nickel market in 60,000 T surplus in 2011-INSG
LONDON, April 13 (Reuters) - The International Nickel Study Group (INSG) said it expects the global nickel market to record a 60,000-tonne surplus this year, compared with a deficit of 30,000 tonnes in 2010.
"The current INSG view for 2011 is for a modest stock build up which could grow if projects ramp up faster than estimated in the forecast," Lisbon-based INSG said in a release.

Indonesia's March tin exports jump 37.6 pct -ministry
JAKARTA, April 13 (Reuters) - Indonesia's refined tin exports rose 37.6 percent in March from the same month last year as smelters increased shipments to benefit from high prices and as rains eased, an official at the trade ministry said on Wednesday.
Indonesia, the world's top tin exporter, shipped 9,051.46 tonnes of refined tin in March, compared to 6,576.01 tonnes in March last year, trade ministry data showed.

METALS-Copper steady on risk appetite as JP Morgan supports
LONDON, April 13 (Reuters) - Copper steadied on Wednesday as a round of global risk aversion abated and solid J.P Morgan earnings buttressed hopes for bright results from other banks, while reports of declining copper output helped cushion prices.
LME copper  was untraded in rings but bid at $9,646/9,647 a tonne up from $9,630 at the close on Tuesday.
The metal used in power and construction hit a record high of $10,190 a tonne in February this year.

PRECIOUS-Gold recovers as dollar eases, haven buying up
LONDON, April 13 (Reuters) - Gold rose in Europe on Wednesday, recovering after its biggest one-day drop in nearly a month as the dollar retreated amid expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will maintain its accommodative monetary policy for now.
Spot gold  was bid at $1,458.25 an ounce at 1116 GMT, against $1,453.95 late in New York on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures for June delivery  rose $4.90 an ounce to $1,458.50.

Copper in London Declines for Fourth Straight Day on China Demand Concerns (Source: Bloomberg)
Copper in London declined for a fourth day, the longest period of decline since January, as investors retreated on concern China may step up its credit tightening measures to cool asset prices. The metal for three-month delivery on the London Metal Exchange fell as much as 0.6 percent to $9,449.75 a metric ton, and trade at $9,450 by 8:05 a.m. in Singapore. It dropped to a one-week low of $9,443 a ton yesterday.

Gold May Rise to $1,600 an Ounce This Year on Investor Demand, GFMS Says (Source: Bloomberg)
Gold will rise as much as 9.5 percent this year to a record $1,600 an ounce, extending a rally that began in 2001, as investors boost demand for the metal as an inflation hedge, said researcher GFMS Ltd.

Crude Oil Trades Near a Two-Day High After U.S. Gasoline Supplies Decline (Source: Bloomberg)
Oil traded near a two-day high in New York after a U.S. government report showed gasoline supplies plunged the most in 12 years in the world’s biggest crude- consuming nation as demand climbed and refineries idled units.

Yen weakens, oil resumes climb as risk sought
SINGAPORE, April 13 (Reuters)-The yen weakened and Asian stocks headed higher, with investors looking for fresh opportunities to bet on risky assets after a sharp drop in oil the previous day caused an unwinding of positions.
"I think the markets at the moment are just pausing to take a bit of profit and assess things in the yen crosses," said David Forrester, FX strategist at Barclays Capital in Singapore.