Asia stocks fall but still outperform other markets
SINGAPORE, July 28 (Reuters) - Asian stocks fell ahead of a long list of corporate results on Thursday that may shed light on the year's earnings outlook, though the region continued to outperform Wall Street in July.
"Buying on dips in companies with good earnings may continue, but exporters may not fare well for the time being as long as there are concerns about the U.S. economy," said Hideyuki Okoshi, general manager at Chibagin Securities in Tokyo.
U.S. wheat falls on export fears, corn eases
SYDNEY, July 28 (Reuters) - U.S. corn and soy futures eased as rain brought relief to stressed crops in the U.S. Midwest, while expectations that weekly USDA export data will show weak wheat sales also dented sentiment.
"It continues to be a soft wheat market supported by corn and corn only, as U.S. exports continue to pencil $20 to $30 per tonne under Russian sales that are coming thick and fast," said Scott Briggs, ANZ Banking Group's London-based commodities director in a market report.
Brazil soy trade cautious on currency measures
SAO PAULO, July 27 (Reuters) - Soybean traders in Brazil were cautiously awaiting further details of the government's decision on Wednesday to tax foreign exchange derivatives to contain the appreciation of the currency, which could complicate hedging operations.
The potentially steep tax on exchange derivatives kicked the Brazilian real off a 12-year high reached on Tuesday, in the government's latest attempt to curb a currency rally that is hampering local and export industries.
Cargill trains Cameroon farmers to boost cocoa output
YAOUNDE, July 27 (Reuters) - U.S. agribusiness firm Cargill Inc [CARG.UL] said on Wednesday it plans to train about 500 cocoa farmers in Cameroon, to help them boost production and quality in the world's fifth cocoa grower.
Wendy Garbutt, communications executive at Cargill, said the programme will mirror a similar project in Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer.
Queue of ships loading Brazil sugar shrinks again
SAO PAULO, July 27 (Reuters) - The number of ships loading sugar at Brazil's ports or preparing to load shortened again to 56 vessels, shipping agency SA Commodities/Unimar said on Wednesday, roughly half the number queuing a year earlier.
The queue of ships has been shrinking steadily after hitting a peak of 86 in early July and stood at 62 vessels a week ago.
US farm cuts may be smaller than expected-Lawmaker
WASHINGTON, July 27 (Reuters) - U.S. agricultural programs face cuts of $10-$11 billion over the next decade as Congress slashes federal spending to reduce the budget deficit, said a senior farm-state Democrat on Wednesday.
While such reductions would be on the lower end of suggestions of as high as $35 billion over 10 years, there would still be less money available when the House and Senate Agriculture committees begin overhauling the U.S. farm policy next year.
Ethiopia coffee exports hit record high
ADDIS ABABA, July 27 (Reuters) - Ethiopia earned a record $841.6 million from the export of nearly 200,000 tonnes of coffee in 2010/2011, trade data showed on Wednesday, thanks to lower output from traditional giants Colombia and Brazil and higher demand from India and China.
Africa's biggest coffee producer intends to boost its agricultural output by 2015, raising coffee to 700,000 tonnes from 300,000 tonnes, under a five-year economic development plan launched last year.
Russia grain harvest surges 58 pct from previous week
MOSCOW, July 27 (Reuters) - Russia's grain crop surged 58 percent week-on-week as the 2011 harvest gathered pace, Agriculture Ministry data released on Wednesday showed.
It said the grain harvest reached 27 million tonnes by bunker weight, with wheat accounting for 21.2 million tonnes of the total.
Brazil sees more ethanol imports this season
SAO PAULO, July 27 (Reuters) - Brazil will expand ethanol imports this year and may also boost gasoline imports to meet booming fuel demand, industry officials said on Wednesday, in another sign of Brazil's growing importance in global fuel markets.
Brazil is likely to import a further 250 million liters of anhydrous ethanol by the end of the 2011/12 sugar cane season, on top of 400 million liters brought in so far this season, Antonio de Padua Rodrigues, technical director of cane industry association Unica told Reuters.
Ivory Coast '11/12 cocoa output down 15 pct-Armajaro
LONDON, July 27 (Reuters) - Ivory Coast and Ghana 2011/12 cocoa production is expected to fall 15 percent on the year, helping switch the global market into a deficit of over 100,000 tonnes, international trade house Armajaro Trading Limited said on Wednesday.
Ideal weather conditions in West Africa led to a bumper crop in 2010/11 and Armajaro expects the coming 2011/12 crop to revert to lower production.
U.S. oil slips for 2nd day as high stocks, debt talks weigh
SINGAPORE, July 28 (Reuters) - U.S. oil fell for a second session as the United States struggled to reach an agreement on raising the debt ceiling to avoid a default, while the first release of crude stocks in the country unexpectedly boosted inventories.
"Despite the negative macroeconomic context, supply side impacts appear to be supporting prices," Natalie Robertson, an analyst at ANZ, said.
Obama to announce new fuel economy standards Friday
WASHINGTON/DETROIT, July 27 (Reuters) - The Obama administration has reached a compromise with automakers on a new fuel economy target for cars and trucks, ending months of negotiations on this pivotal mandate for the auto industry.
Automakers' fleets will now have to average 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025, according to people familiar with the plan.
Cabot Oil Q2 tops Street; Sells assets for $285 mln
BANGALORE, July 27 (Reuters) - Oil and natural gas producer Cabot Oil and Gas Corp posted its eighth estimate beating quarterly profit in at least nine quarters, helped by higher production and agreed to sell acreage in Wyoming, Colorado and Utah for $285 million to an undisclosed buyer.
Separately, BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P. said it would acquire oil and gas producing properties in the same three states for the same amount from an unnamed seller.
Silver to rise but tarnished by May's rout
LONDON, July 27 (Reuters) - Silver prices look set for further gains after rallying more than 15 percent this month on gold's coat-tails, but the metal will struggle to revisit this year's record high near $50 an ounce after investors were burnt by May's heart-stopping price correction.
Silver was one of 2010's best-performing commodities and surged to a record $49.51 an ounce in April as investors favoured precious metals as a safe store of value during the euro zone debt crisis.
Vale's profit seen hitting record on ore prices
RIO DE JANEIRO/SAO PAULO, July 27 (Reuters) - Brazil's Vale, the world's second-largest mining company, is expected to more than double its second-quarter profit on stronger iron ore prices, a Reuters poll of analysts showed on Wednesday.
Analysts expect Vale to post a profit of $7.53 billion in the quarter, compared with $3.71 billion a year earlier, according to the average estimate of five analysts. Net income is expected to rise 10 percent from $6.83 billion in the prior quarter, the poll found.
LME copper nudged down by debt woes in US and Europe
SHANGHAI, July 28 (Reuters) - Copper edged down as concerns over the deadlock in U.S. debt ceiling talks and euro debt contagion overshadowed supply worries following a declaration of force majeure by the world's biggest copper mine, Chile's Escondida.
"News of the strike has been around for a while, which may have removed some of its bite. Also, there is just very little investor interest in copper at the moment for the force majeure news to drive the market," said CRU copper analyst Qu Yi.
Gold pauses after hitting records; US debt in focus
SINGAPORE, July 28 (Reuters) - Spot gold took a breather after hitting record highs for two sessions this week, as sentiment remained supported by the deadlocked U.S. debt ceiling talks, with both parties trying to reach a compromise.
"It looks like a downgrade has been priced in with all the sell-off in the dollar," said a Singapore-based trader. "Gold remains a good trade overall with some people targeting $1,650s or $1,660s."
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