Tuesday, May 31, 2011

20110531 0951 Global Commodities Related News.

Spring wheat ends at highest since 2008; corn rises
KANSAS CITY, Mo., May 27 (Reuters) - Spring wheat rose for a third day, posting its highest close since 2008 as wet weather delayed seeding of the high-protein crop, while strong demand boosted corn, and the feed grain ended the week flat.
"We're basically still in a weather market," said The Price Futures Group analyst Jack Scoville, who predicted Minneapolis spot July could easily run to $11.00 or $11.25 a bushel.

China's "land of fish and rice" parched by drought
LAKE HONGHU, China, May 30 (Reuters) - The drought gripping stretches of central and eastern China has dried Lake Honghu into an expanse of exposed mud, stranded boats and dying fish farms, threatening the livelihoods of residents in Hubei Province who call this their "land of fish and rice."
Dry spells and floods blight various parts of China nearly every year, and officials are prone to call each the worst in 50 years or longer.

Russia to make announcement on grain export ban-source
MOSCOW, May 27 (Reuters) - Russia will make an announcement on Saturday about its grain export ban, an industry source told Reuters on Friday, but the source did not specify what the decision would be.
"Russia will make an announcement tomorrow," the source said. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, refused to comment.

Drought to cut EU barley yields, malting quality
PARIS, May 27 (Reuters) - Continuing drought is harming the prospects for this year's barley harvest in France and Germany, with spring crops that provide most of the malt used by brewers likely to suffer in both volume and quality, analysts said.
The damage to the overall barley crop in the European Union may be moderated by better conditions in other major producers like Spain and an rise in spring barley area after some growers switched to the crop after losses to winter grains.

Italy 2010 milled wheat products output up 0.4 pct
MILAN, May 27 (Reuters) - Italy's output of milled wheat products, including flour, semolina and bran rose 0.4 percent to 10.3 million tonnes in 2010, industry body Italmopa said on Friday without giving forecasts for this year.
Output value rose 1.2 percent to 2.59 billion euros ($3.68 billion) in 2010, helped also by increased grain prices, but Italian millers struggled to pass on costs to final consumers and saw margins hit last year, Italmopa Chairman Umberto Sacco said in a statement.

Putin says Russia to lift grain export ban from July 1
MOSCOW, May 28 (Reuters) - Russia will lift a grain export ban from July 1, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Saturday, bringing what was formerly the world's third-largest wheat exporter back to world grain markets.
Russia expects the grain harvest to be "quite good" this year and sowing is better than last year, First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov, who oversees government agricultural policy, told Putin.

Argentina wheat area to fall 10 pct-Rosario exchange
BUENOS AIRES, May 27 (Reuters) - Argentina's 2011/2012 wheat area is seen shrinking by more than 10 percent from last season, the Rosario Grains Exchange said in a report released on Friday.
The exchange did not specify the total number of hectares it predicted would be planted with wheat this season.

Philippines says may export more sugar, eyes Asia buyers
MANILA, May 30 (Reuters) - The Philippine Sugar Regulatory Administration said on Monday it was considering exports of sugar on top of quota shipments this year to the United States, although it did not say how much it was looking to sell.
In a brief statement, the industry regulator said it was looking to export locally produced sugar, most likely to Asian countries but was open to discussions with any potential buyer.

German sweets industry cannot buy sufficient sugar
HAMBURG, May 27 (Reuters) - European sugar supplies remain tight and German manufacturers cannot buy enough despite European Union moves to get more of the sweetener on the market, the German chocolate and confectionery industry association BDSI said on Friday.
"Supply tightness on the European market has not been solved despite EU action," the BDSI said in a statement. "On the contrary, confectionery manufacturers are faced with supply gaps and dramatic price rises."

Thailand sees record 2011 sugar exports
BANGKOK, May 27 (Reuters) - Thailand expects to export a record 7 million tonnes of sugar in 2011, a senior official said on Friday, though demand from traditional buyers in the Middle East and new Russian and EU markets could help ease pressure from the global surplus.
The 2010/11 crushing season had almost ended and a total 9.62 million tonnes of sugar was likely to be produced, the highest ever, Prasert Tapaneeyangkul, secretary-general of the Office of Cane and Sugar Board (OCSB), told Reuters.

Ghana cocoa main crop tops 900,000 T - Cocobod
ACCRA, May 29 (Reuters) - The provisional tally for Ghana's 2010-11 cocoa main crop purchases reached a record 904,000 tonnes, some 55 percent above last year's levels, the head of Ghana's Cocoa Board (Cocobod) told Reuters on Sunday.
Chief Executive Tony Fofie, who dismissed reports the tally was padded by large amounts of beans being smuggled into Ghana from Ivory Coast, said the light crop would produce "at least 80,000 tonnes".

German drought threat to biodiesel producers
HAMBURG, May 27 (Reuters) - Drought will sharply cut the rapeseed harvest in Germany, which produces about a quarter of the European Union's crop, and is likely to force biodiesel producers to cut output.
About 75 percent of Germany's rapeseed is used by its  biodiesel industry, the largest in the EU.

Crude falls as OPEC pumps more in May
SINGAPORE, May 30 (Reuters) - Brent crude edged below $115 a barrel on Monday on expectations that OPEC's oil output in May would come in higher than April, with investors also focused on demand from top consumer the United States as the summer driving season begins.
"There are expectations of prices picking up purely because of the drive time in the U.S.," said Jonathan Barratt of Commodity Broking Services managing director in Sydney. "We feel that might actually support crude prices."

Fuel subsidies, SE Asia's "opium" habit, hard to break
SINGAPORE, May 30 (Reuters) - Governments in Southeast Asia have a narrow window of opportunity to pare back politically popular fuel subsidies on their own schedule before budgets or bond holders force their hands.
The wild card, as always, is oil prices. If crude climbs back toward 2008's record highs, as many private economists predict, Indonesia and Malaysia look particularly vulnerable as subsidies consume a bigger share of public spending.

China sees tight fuel supply amid ongoing power shortage
BEIJING, May 30 (Reuters) - China's fuel supplies are expected to remain tight in June due to strong seasonal consumption coupled with additional demand from diesel-fired power generators amid ongoing power shortages, a report by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) showed on Monday.
"Even though falling crude oil prices in May lowered operational costs for refiners ... (We) are not optimistic about domestic fuel supply in the second quarter," the commission said in the report on its website (www.ndrc.gov.cn).

Pricey gasoline took bigger toll March US demand
WASHINGTON, May 27 (Reuters) - U.S. oil demand in March was slightly stronger than previously estimated, up almost 1 percent year-on-year, though high prices curbed gasoline use by more than initially thought, government data showed on Friday.
The latest estimates of domestic consumption, considered more reliable than initial weekly statistics since they take additional data such as exports into account, suggest prices took a bigger toll on gasoline consumption that first realized, while demand for distillate fuel was surprisingly strong.

Shanghai base metals fall; global economy worries weigh
SHANGHAI, May 30 (Reuters) - Shanghai base metals fell on Monday, with copper on track for a nearly 1 percent loss in May under pressure from European debt worries, the expiry of the second U.S. quantitative easing program at the end of June and fears of further monetary tightening in China.
"Investors are hesitant today as the global economic picture hasn't been very encouraging with euro zone debt problems and as the U.S. approaches the end of QE2," said Shanghai CIFCO Futures analyst Zhou Jie.

Japan April rare earths imports from China up 2.6 pct m/m
TOKYO, May 30 (Reuters) - Japan's imports of rare earths from China inched up 2.6 percent in April from March but some market players say demand may slow in the third quarter, partly because stocks were likely to be unused in the wake of the March earthquake.
Imports of rare earths from China stood at 1,646 tonnes in April, finance ministry data showed, up from 1,603.6 tonnes in March. China accounted for about 73 percent of Japan's rare earths imports in April.

Japan April zinc exports plunge 40 pct yr/yr
TOKYO, May 30 (Reuters) - Japan's refined zinc exports for April plunged 40 percent from a year earlier to 5,047 tonnes, widening from March's year-on-year decrease of 34.6 percent, Ministry of Finance data showed on Monday.
The wider year-on-year drop in April reflected the impact from a March 11 earthquake which devastated northeast Japan and shut nearly 65 percent of the country's production capacity of  zinc, used in automotive steel sheet and construction materials.

Japan April copper exports plunge 51 pct yr/yr
TOKYO, May 30 (Reuters) - Japan's refined copper exports plunged 51 percent in April from a year earlier to 23,582 tonnes for a seventh straight month of year-on-year declines, partly reflecting weak demand from China, the world's top consumer of the metal.
The Ministry of Finance data showed on Monday that of total copper exports, 29 percent went to China, down sharply from 48.5 percent in March, while Taiwan was the top importer of refined copper from Japan accounting for 32 percent, up from 21 percent in March.

World copper demand growth to slow in '11, cautious on
SHANGHAI, May 29 (Reuters) - Global demand growth for copper is expected to slow to 8.4 percent in 2011-12, slowing substantially from the average growth of 16.4 percent between 2005-2010, the International Wrought Copper Council (IWCC) said.
China's demand for the red metal, used extensively in the electrical manufacturing, construction and power sectors, is expected to grow by 7 percent this year, down from a double-digit growth in 2010, the general secretary of the International Wrought Copper Council Mark Loveitt said on Sunday.

Gold steady on Greece debt fear; Shanghai margin weighs
SINGAPORE, May 30 (Reuters) - Gold held steady and silver extended gains from the previous week on Monday, buoyed by a weaker dollar and the ongoing debt crisis in the euro zone, while a hike in margins by the Shanghai Gold Exchange will kept sentiment in check.
"The margin hike in Shanghai Gold Exchange is adding pressure to prices," said Peter Fung, head of dealing at Wing Fung Precious Metals in Hong Kong.

China crude steel output seen at 680 mln T in 2011-planning official
SHANGHAI, May 29 (Reuters) - China, the world's largest steel producer, is expected to produce a record 680 million tonnes of crude steel this year, a senior official at an industry planning institute said, as demand remains strong in the investment-driven economy.
"Steel production will still see high growth, despite that Beijing may make further tightening moves in the second half of this year," Li Xinchuang, head of the China Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute, told a conference. 

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