Asia Stocks Rise on Apple Earnings; Gold Reaches Records
Stocks rallied, with the MSCI World Index set for the highest close in two months, after Apple Inc. posted better-than-expected profits and as energy shares gained. The Australian dollar and gold climbed to records amid concern higher oil prices will spur inflation.
Dollar hits 3-yr low; gold, Asian stocks march on
HONG KONG, April 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar slid to a 3-year low against a basket of major currencies and Asian stocks jumped to a 3-year high on Thursday, as investors scrambled to get in front of upward momentum in higher-yielding assets, particularly in emerging markets.
"Risk-on mood prevailing in global markets yesterday allowed investors to focus on fundamental strengths of emerging economies, boosting prices of their equities," said Dariusz Kowalczyk, analyst at Credit Agricole in Hong Kong, in a note.
Brent rises above $124 on weak dollar, US stockpile drop
SINGAPORE, April 21 (Reuters) - Brent crude climbed above $124 a barrel on Thursday as U.S. crude inventories fell unexpectedly last week and a sharply weaker dollar triggered a rush into riskier assets.
"The dollar was weaker and together with the inventory numbers, these factors are supporting oil prices," said David Cohen, Director of Asian Economic Forecasting at Action Economics in Singapore.
US corn rebounds from near 3-wk low, wheat gains
SINGAPORE, April 21 (Reuters) - Chicago corn futures edged higher on Thursday, regaining some ground on short-covering after sliding 2 percent in the last session, while wheat rose on worries about dry weather threatening crops in the world's top suppliers.
"It looks like there is going to be rain but not as heavy as it has been in the last week, so the weather is improving," said Adam Davis, a senior commodity analyst at Merricks Capital, a Melbourne-based funds manager that invests in agriculture.
Rising Vietnam rice prices may hit Philippine deals-trade
HANOI/MANILA, April 20 (Reuters) - Rising rice prices in Vietnam may have led some Vietnamese exporters to delay or default in loading for private Philippine firms, but government deals are not affected and buyers were committed to supply the bulk of their quota, a Philippine industry official and traders said on Wednesday.
Delivery problems from the world's second-largest rice export nation may hurt the reputation of Vietnamese rice exporters and fuel food inflation, the fight against which has been prioritised in the agenda by regional policymakers.
Most of Argentina's soy crop harvested-exchange
BUENOS AIRES, April 20 (Reuters) - More than 54 percent of Argentina's 2010/11 soy crop has been brought in despite wet weather over the last week that delayed harvesting, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said in its weekly report on Wednesday.
Progress in harvesting soybeans advanced 11.5 percentage points compared with the previous week's report, issued on Thursday, bringing the total amount of harvested soybeans to 28.5 million tonnes, the exchange said.
Argentina ups 2010/11 soy, corn harvest estimates
BUENOS AIRES, April 20 (Reuters) - Argentina's Agriculture Ministry increased its 2010/11 soy harvest forecast to 50.4 million tonnes from 50 million tonnes as rains improved yields, the government said in a monthly report on Wednesday.
Argentina, the world's biggest exporter of soyoil and soymeal, was affected by dry weather earlier this season, but heavy rains from mid-January onward have since brightened the outlook for the country's lucrative grain crops.
Dryness helps Brazil cane crush, 130 mills reopen
SAO PAULO, April 20 (Reuters) - Weather in Brazil's main center-south cane producing region should remain dry over the coming days, favoring harvesting of the new crop just beginning, Somar meteorologists said on Wednesday.
About 130 out of the 335 mills in the region have started to crush new season cane, and helped by dry weather, 195 plants are expected to be operational by Monday, cane industry association Unica said.
Brazil cocoa arrivals typical of interharvest lull
SAO PAULO, April 20 (Reuters) - Cocoa deliveries from Brazil's main growing regions remained low in the last week, data from Bahia Commercial Association showed, with the forthcoming mid-crop still several weeks off.
The mid-crop in the top cocoa state of Bahia is likely to fall about 15 percent from last year to around 1.1 million 60-kg bags (66,000 tonnes), according to some estimates, cocoa analyst Thomas Hartmann said in a weekly crop update.
Copper soars after U.S. housing data, dollar weakens
NEW YORK/LONDON, April 20 (Reuters) - Copper rose to its highest in a week on Wednesday after the U.S. housing market showed more signs of revival, strong earnings boosted U.S. equities and the dollar hit a 15-month low against the euro.
"Copper's getting a boost with everything else. After IBM, Intel and Yahoo all beat the Street, we saw equities go on a tear. So, the strong belief in global recovery will continue to press on. Plus, the dollar is getting killed," said Phillip Streible, senior market strategist with Lind Waldock.
Gold roars to all-time high for fifth straight session
SINGAPORE, April 21 (Reuters) - Bullion powered to a lifetime high for a fifth consecutive session on Thursday on a sharply weaker dollar, while lingering tensions in the Arab world, worries about the euro zone crisis and U.S. fiscal health offered additional support.
"The U.S. effectively lost its triple-A rating in the eyes of investors that really matter quite some time ago, back when gold broke $1,000 an ounce," said Fat Prophets commodities analyst David Lennox..
Latam-U.S. soy contest to heat up as China slows imports
SINGAPORE, April 20 (Reuters) - A slowdown in Chinese soybean purchases will leave substantial volumes from Brazil and Argentina to compete with new-crop U.S. beans after September, threatening the country's normal market dominance in the fourth quarter.
Availability of South American beans could weigh on benchmark Chicago prices , already down more than 4 percent this month as wheat and corn both rise.
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