China must cut palm oil import duties -Indonesia assoc
JAKARTA, April 28 (Reuters) - China, the world's No.2 vegetable oil buyer, must cut its import duties for palm oil to help boost Indonesian exports which are seen little changed at 2 million tonnes this year, an industry association said on Thursday.
China is the world's top palm oil importer, and analysts say consumption in the world's second-largest economy will rise about 10 percent this year to 7.3 million tonnes.
China cancelled Brazilian soyoil cargoes due to weak demand-CNGOIC
BEIJING, April 29 (Reuters) - Chinese buyers have cancelled one to two soy oil cargoes from Brazil due to sluggish domestic demand while stocks of imported soybeans remained plentiful, the China National Grain and Oils Information Center (www.grain.gov.cn) said on Friday.
"Many domestic importers are actively washing out cargoes as forward-month imports are posting losses," the center said in a report. One soy oil cargo carries about 30,000 tonnes of soy oil.
Ailing dollar boosts demand for commodities, credit
HONG KONG, April 29 (Reuters) - The dollar floundered at three-year lows against a basket of currencies on Friday, keeping precious metals near record highs, although the risk of dealers covering bets against the beleaguered U.S. currency in thin trading looms, especially given holidays in some centres including Japan.
"The likely indicator of a reversal in the USD's (mis)fortunes is global equities. A sustained bout of profit-taking would assuredly spillover into foreign exchange markets, with the EUR and AUD returning back to earth," said Michael Woolfolk, strategist at BNY Bellon.
US wheat slides to 2-wk low, corn ticks up after selloff
SINGAPORE, April 29 (Reuters) - U.S. wheat futures lost more ground on Friday, dropping around half a percent to a two-week low as outlook of improved weather in parched U.S. winter crop area prompted funds to liquidate positions.
"Funds were heavy sellers and there has been talk about Russian planning to suspend export ban," said Garry Booth, a trader with MF Global Australia. "Updated weather forecasts are beneficial for crops in some areas."
CBOT corn owners to keep tight rein on stocks
CHICAGO, April 28 (Reuters) - Owners of cash corn are likely to retain possession, banking on higher prices as stocks shrink to the lowest since the 1930s and as U.S. farmers remain mired in mud instead of planting the new crop.
Firm cash markets and logistical snarls also will keep soybean deliveries to a minimum and a lucrative storage plan for owners of wheat also will keep wheat under strong wraps.
Sugar versus corn syrup in false advertising lawsuit
SAN FRANCISCO, April 28 (Reuters) - Sugar producers think recent marketing efforts by manufacturers of high-fructose corn syrup aren't so sweet.
In a lawsuit filed last week, three sugar distributors say that equating HFCS with real sugar -- with slogans like "your body can't tell the difference" -- misleads consumers.
Grain exporters raided again in Argentina tax probe
BUENOS AIRES, April 28 (Reuters) - Argentine tax inspectors raided the premises of some of the country's largest multinational grains exporters on Thursday as part an investigation into alleged evasion, the AFIP tax agency said.
The local offices of agribusiness giants Bunge Ltd and Cargill were among those raided, a source close to the probe said on condition of anonymity.
Ivorian cocoa prices rise as sector slowly revives
ABIDJAN, April 28 (Reuters) - Ivorian cocoa farmers said on Thursday that prices for their beans were rising for the first time since the end of a violent post-election power struggle, but that smuggling continued into Ghana.
Banks began reopening on Thursday and cocoa exporters in the top grower nation said they expected shipments of beans to resume by the end of next week, key steps in reviving cocoa trade in the countryside.
More rain needed to preserve EU rapeseed yields
PARIS, April 28 (Reuters) - Regular rainfall will be needed in top European rapeseed producers Germany and France in the coming weeks to limit the impact on yields from dry, hot weather that has stressed crops during April, analysts and traders said.
Showers have returned to parts of the two producers this week but forecasts have yet to show substantial rain in major growing regions.
China demand for Indonesia rubber seen up 33pct-assoc
JAKARTA, April 28 (Reuters) - Indonesia will export a third more rubber this year to China, which will become the top buyer from the world's second-largest producer, as demand from Chinese tyre makers rises, taking the place of the drop in Japan after the earthquake, the Indonesian Rubber Association said on Thursday.
China will replace the United States in 2011 as Indonesia's biggest rubber export market, with up to 800,000 tonnes heading to the world's second-largest economy, Asril Sutan Amir, chairman at the association, known as Gapkindo, told Reuters.
Crude falls on fears slower U.S. growth may cut demand
SINGAPORE, April 29 (Reuters) - Crude fell on Friday, after settling at a 31-month high in the previous session, on concerns that slowing growth in top consumer United States may pare demand, but a weaker dollar and unrest in the Middle East helped stem a slide in prices.
"The two pieces of news have counterbalanced each other, helping keep oil steady," said Victor Shum, an analyst at Purvin & Gertz. "Oil had risen somewhat, and some pullback from that point was not unexpected."
Libya rebel oil cargo heads for China, buyer remains a mystery
SINGAPORE/BEIJING, April 29 (Reuters) - A tanker with the first major oil shipment from rebel-held east Libya is expected to arrive in China next week, traders said on Friday, but it remain unclear who the buyer of the cargo is.
The Liberia-registered tanker Equator, reported to be carrying 80,000 tonnes of crude, left the rebel-held east Libyan port of Marsa el Hariga three weeks ago, carrying fuel exports vital to financing the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi.
Tornadoes, storms batter Alabama coal mine
NEW YORK, April 28 (Reuters) - Mine owner Cliffs Natural Resources said on Thursday violent storms and tornadoes that tore through Alabama, hit a coal mine there and severely damaged some above-ground operations,
All employees were accounted for with no known injuries, but Cliffs said the severe weather did significant damage to the Oak Grove mine's preparation plant and overland conveyor system on Wednesday evening.
Russia hikes export duties to fight gasoline crunch
MOSCOW, April 28 (Reuters) - Russia's government will hike export duties on gasoline as the world's largest oil producer fights fuel shortages on the domestic market, government sources said on Thursday.
The duties will go up by 44 percent from May 1 after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin earlier in the day ordered officials to raise them "so that export economics and the sale of product on the domestic market correspond with one another."
Coal miner Consol's profit beats Street
NEW YORK, April 28 (Reuters) - Coal and natural gas producer Consol Energy Inc beat Wall Street estimates with a big jump in quarterly profit on Thursday, sending its stock up more than 3 percent.
The company also raised coal production goals for 2012 and 2013 and said it will reopen an idled Virginia mine and expand its Baltimore port to handle growing demand for exports.
Brazil to hold oil bid round in September
BRASILIA, April 28 (Reuters) - Brazil will hold its 11th oil and gas exploration bidding round in September, including 174 offshore and onshore blocks, Energy Minister Edison Lobao said on Thursday.
The auction will not include areas in the coveted deepwater region known as the subsalt, which includes discoveries such as the Lula and Cernambi fields and is believed to hold billions of barrels of oil.
ShFE copper falls after weak US data; LME shut
SINGAPORE, April 29 (Reuters) - Shanghai copper fell on Friday, after the U.S. unveiled lower-than-estimated GDP figures for the first quarter and a surprise jump in the number of unemployment benefits claims.
"I think the market is becoming more pessimistic as we begin to think about what will happen after various countries withdraw their stimulus packages. We will see copper try to find a new support price to accommodate those worries," Jinhui Futures deputy general manager Lin Yuhui said.
China steel capacity to hit 768 mln T by end-2010 - CISA
BEIJING, April 29 (Reuters) - China's total steel capacity will hit 768 million tonnes by the end of this year, and controlling excess capacity will be one of the big tasks facing the sector, the China Iron & Steel Association (CISA) said on Friday.
China's steel demand was expected to rise 2.6 to 4.6 percent per year from 2011 to 2015, CISA officials told a news conference in Beijing.
US panel oks steep duties on Chinese aluminum goods
WASHINGTON, April 28 (Reuters) - A U.S. trade panel gave final approval on Thursday to duties ranging up to more than 400 percent on around $500 million of aluminum products from China used in the car and construction industry.
The move is the latest sign of trade friction between the world's two largest economies, but has been in the works for over a year.
Silver, gold near lifetime highs, dollar loses ground
SINGAPORE, April 29 (Reuters) - Silver and gold were within sight of historic highs on Friday and could resume an uptrend as the U.S. dollar held near three-year lows against a basket of currencies on hopes U.S. monetary policy would stay ultra loose, keeping inflationary price pressures high.
"If the dollar continues to weaken, then it's only likely to boost gold as well as silver as the inverse relationship between the two assets persists. I would say that for gold I am still looking for it to hit $1,600 this year," said Ong Yi Ling, investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
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