Corn (Source: CME)
US corn futures finished lower as rains are expected to benefit crops after hot, dry weather last week. Traders paying close attention to the weather as farmers need favorable conditions to grow a large crop necessary to replenish low supplies. "Conditions have turned benign for the developing crops in much of the Corn Belt," says Karl Setzer, analyst for MaxYield Cooperative in Iowa. Near-term demand is easing as grain users wait for the next harvest to make purchases. CBOT December corn drops 5 1/4c to $6.86 1/4 a bushel.
Wheat (Source: CME)
US wheat futures ended down from their recent one-week high. Profit-taking and concerns about demand weighed on prices as traders said the US is facing increased competition for export business from Russia, which resumed grain exports this month after a near year-long ban. "Overall, the supply and demand situation looks a little more bearish, with Russia selling wheat into markets that traditionally buy from the US," says Doane Advisory Services. CBOT September wheat falls 11 1/2c to $6.93 1/4 a bushel; KCBT September drops 4 3/4c to $7.83 1/2; MGEX September slips 4 1/4c to $8.46 3/4.
Rice (Source: CME)
US rice futures closed sharply lower as the market continues to pull back from recent rallies. Traders are booking profits after the market closed Tuesday at its highest level since October 2008. High prices seem to have reduced demand for the grain, as weekly export sales of 14,200 tons were down 75% from the previous week and 80% from the prior four-week average. CBOT September rice slides 40 1/2c to $16.39/hundredweight.
IGC Lifts 2011-12 Grain View (Source: CME)
World grain production is expected to rise to a record 1.82 billion metric tons in 2011-12 but will still fall short of rising global consumption, the International Grains Council said. The London-based body raised its previous forecast by 9 million tons due to improving prospects for wheat crops in Europe, Russia, the U.S. and India. World wheat output is expected to hit 674 million tons, up from 651 million tons last year and 8 million tons higher than expected in June. It still forecast a fall in world carryover stocks in 2011-12, as consumption will still outpace supply at a projected 1.83 billion tons as feed consumption increases. "The outlook for grains in 2011-12 remains very tight, even though the world carryout projection is lifted from last month," it said. "In the major exporters the total carryover is forecast to fall by 10 million tons, to 115 million tons."
EU Wheat Forecast Lifted (Source: CME)
Recent rainfall is expected to lift European Union total wheat production to 137.03 million metric tons in 2011-12, the bloc's forecasting agency said. MARS said soft wheat yields are expected to average 5.6 tons a hectare, up from its previous forecast of 3.5 tons/hectare and 1.1% above the five-year average but still leaving production down 1.6% compared with 2010. The "forecast is revised up...due to the beneficial grain filling phase in Germany, France and U.K. and higher yield forecasts as previously for Romania and Poland," MARS said. In France, Western Europe's largest producer, soft wheat yields are seen down 7.1% on the five-year average at 6.57 tons/hectare, but in Germany, recent wet weather has lifted them to 7.52 ton/hectare--up 0.7% on the average. While rain in crop areas has delayed the harvest in recent weeks, the body said it now expects farmers to be back in the fields soon across much of Northern Europe.
"The weather will be favorable for harvesting activities in France, Germany, Benelux and British Islands but rainfalls will hamper these activities in Poland and areas, which will experience abundant showers," it said. Corn output is pegged at 61.21 million tons, with yields coming in 3.5% above the five-year average at 6.95 tons/hectare, while barley is seen largely in-line with 2010 as excellent spring yields in Spain make up for poorer output elsewhere, MARS said.
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.
Ukraine grain harvest to jump to 51 mln T in 2011
KIEV, July 28 (Reuters) - Ukraine's grain harvest will reach 51 million tonnes in 2011 against 39.2 million in 2010, First Deputy Farm Minister Mykola Bezugly said on Thursday, updating the previous official forecast of 46 million tonnes.
"We will harvest 51 million tonnes this year. The official forecast of the Agriculture Ministry is based on information from regions. They (expect) 46.1 million tonnes but it is a mistake," Bezugly told a news conference.
Asia Rice-World's top rice exporters see record sales this year
BANGKOK, July 27 (Reuters) - The world's top two rice exporters, Thailand and Vietnam, are aiming for record exports this year due to strong demand that will allow them to sell bumper crops at good prices, exporters said.
Thailand, the biggest exporter, expected to ship more than 10 million tonnes in 2011, up from 9.0 million last year, on strong demand in the first half, according to the Thai Rice Exporters Association.
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.
Wheat yields in southern North Dakota seen lower
MANDAN, North Dakota, July 26 (Reuters) - Spring wheat yields were projected to decline this year in the southern half of North Dakota as a late start to the planting season and excessive moisture stressed the crop, allowing diseases to thrive, crop scouts on an annual tour found.
Huge pools of standing water covered large swaths of farmland across the state, submerging fields of corn, hay and hard red spring wheat.
India Court Seeks Rice Quota Halt (Source: CME)
An Indian court ordered the federal government to comply with an order issued two days ago to stop allocating quotas to private rice exporters while complaints over allocation rules are being heard. The move could delay by days a government plan to allow the export of up to one million tons of common-grade rice. "Today, they [the judges] asked [the government] to follow the court order," Anshuj Dhingra, a lawyer representing the petitioner rice exporter, told Dow Jones Newswires. The court had ordered a freeze on allocations on Tuesday, a day before the allocations were made via a notice posted on the website of the Directorate General Of Foreign Trade. "It is directed that no allotment of quota shall be made till the next date of hearing," Tuesday's Delhi High Court order said. However, the wing of the trade ministry allocated shipment quotas to 82 companies under the rice export program Wednesday, probably because a copy of the order had not reached them at that time.
Industry officials said the process of rice shipments is bound to be delayed by days in view of the court order. The rice exports were allowed by the government earlier this month after it partially lifted a 2008 ban as foodgrain stocks have hit an all-time high. India's trade ministry had set a minimum price of $400 a ton and a cap of 12,500 tons of rice export for each applicant. Some rice exporters objected to the export rules, saying they were "too stringent" as the time given to complete formalities was too short. But the trade ministry denied this and said initial applications only had to be emailed.
India Court Seeks Rice Quota Halt (Source: CME)
An Indian court ordered the federal government to comply with an order issued two days ago to stop allocating quotas to private rice exporters while complaints over allocation rules are being heard. The move could delay by days a government plan to allow the export of up to one million tons of common-grade rice. "Today, they [the judges] asked [the government] to follow the court order," Anshuj Dhingra, a lawyer representing the petitioner rice exporter, told Dow Jones Newswires. The court had ordered a freeze on allocations on Tuesday, a day before the allocations were made via a notice posted on the website of the Directorate General Of Foreign Trade. "It is directed that no allotment of quota shall be made till the next date of hearing," Tuesday's Delhi High Court order said. However, the wing of the trade ministry allocated shipment quotas to 82 companies under the rice export program Wednesday, probably because a copy of the order had not reached them at that time.
Industry officials said the process of rice shipments is bound to be delayed by days in view of the court order. The rice exports were allowed by the government earlier this month after it partially lifted a 2008 ban as foodgrain stocks have hit an all-time high. India's trade ministry had set a minimum price of $400 a ton and a cap of 12,500 tons of rice export for each applicant. Some rice exporters objected to the export rules, saying they were "too stringent" as the time given to complete formalities was too short. But the trade ministry denied this and said initial applications only had to be emailed.
EU Fruit Crisis Deepens (Source: CME)
French farmers have started attacking fruit shipments from Spain in the latest sign that the crisis in Europe's agricultural sector this year is far from over, farming bodies said. On Tuesday this week, a truck carrying peaches and nectarines from Spain was attacked by farmers as it tried to cross the border into France. European Union farming lobby group Copa-Cogeca said dozens of trucks carrying fruit have been intercepted at a crossing in Boulou en Roussillon in recent weeks, causing problems for companies trying to ship goods into France. "Copa-Cogeca deplores and condemns the violent actions committed in France," secretary general Pekka Pesonen said in a letter to the European Union's executive arm, the Commission. Plummeting fruit and vegetable prices have hit Europe's farmers hard this year after an outbreak of virulent E.coli in Germany has left at least 26 people dead and thousands more ill.
Spain has suffered paticularly badly after Germany initially blamed it for causing the outbreak, leaving farmers to destroy thousands of tons of produce that were later proved to be uncontaminated. The European Commission has proposed compensation of EUR226 million to help farmers through the crisis, including EUR71 million for Spain, but farmers say this isn't enough. Spain's fruit and vegetables exporters association, FEPEX, Monday estimated losses at EUR225 million a week since the crisis began. Angelique Delahaye, president of Vegetables of France, a union of vegetable producers, said Spanish peach producers are selling below cost in France, undercutting local prices buy as much as 40 cents a kilo. She said Spanish farmers don't adhere to the same strict rules on labor costs and pesticides use as the French, which is why their fruit is cheaper.
"There is social and environmental dumping," she said. "We don't oppose the free market so long as rules are the same for everybody, but we oppose unfair competition." But Juan Corbalan, head of the Brussels office of Spanish agri-food co-operative AgriFruit, said the problems have been caused by early harvests in France and Italy due to serious drought earlier this spring. "All European farmers are very worried about this problem as prices are more than 50% lower than other years," he said. "We need a European solution to recover the confidence of the consumers."
Sugar eases, below 5-month peaks, coffee falls
LONDON, July 28 (Reuters) - Sugar futures edged lower below 5-month peaks, weighed by improved flows of export sugar from Brazil, while coffee slipped on technical weakness and ICE cocoa dipped as ample West African supplies weighed on prices.
New York coffee will continue to slide within a falling descending channel, towards $2.37 per lb, to support provided by the lower channel line.
Germany set to produce more sugar in new season
HAMBURG, July 27 (Reuters) - Germany is set to produce significantly more refined sugar in the upcoming 2011/12 production season following favourable weather for sugar beet growth and increased beet plantings, the head of German sugar industry association WVZ told Reuters on Wednesday.
The WVZ estimates that German sugar beet plantings for the new crop this autumn have been expanded by between 5 to 8 percent from the 344,000 hectares last season, said WVZ chief executive Dieter Langendorf.
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.
Cameroon cocoa bean exports up to 196,492 tonnes by June 30
YAOUNDE, July 27 (Reuters) - Cameroon, the world's fifth cocoa grower, exported 196,492 tonnes of beans by June 30 for the 2010/11 season, up from 166,939 tonnes for the same period in the previous season, the National Cocoa and Coffee Board (NCCB) said on Wednesday.
The data showed the Central African country shipped 5,547 tonnes for the month of June. For the same month in the 2009/10 season, it exported 4,785 tonnes of beans.
Australia 2011 sugar crush gathers pace, nearly 25 percent done
SYDNEY, July 27 (Reuters) - Australia's 2011 sugar crush is starting to gather pace with nearly a quarter of the crop now harvested, industry officials said on Wednesday.
Australia is the world's third largest sugar exporter and is likely to harvest around 30 million tonnes of cane, up from last year's rain affected 27.5 million tonnes, but still below a typical harvest of 33 million tonnes.
Rubber Supply Growth May Slow in Third Quarter as Vietnam Delays Tapping (Source: Bloomberg)
Natural rubber output in key growing countries will expand at a slower pace in the third quarter as a “severe” leaf disease delays tapping in Vietnam, according to the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries. Production from member countries, representing 92 percent of global supply, may increase 3.4 percent to 2.77 million metric tons during the July-to-September period compared with 12.1 percent a year earlier, the group said in an e-mailed report today. Supply growth in the first and second quarter this year was 10.5 percent and 3.3 percent respectively, it said. “Slow growth in supply and high oil price could help natural rubber market to continue staying strong,” the Kuala Lumpur-based group said in a monthly report. Supply ’deficit’ will probably continue through 2018 as gains in production may be marginal, it said.
Crude Oil Falls, Heads for Weekly Decline, on U.S. Debt Ceiling Dispute (Source: Bloomberg)
Oil fell, headed for the first weekly decline in five, on concern a failure to reach a deal on raising the U.S. debt limit may cause the nation to default, threatening the economy of the world’s biggest crude consumer. Futures slipped as much as 0.5 percent after House Speaker John Boehner delayed a planned vote on debt-limit legislation as Senate leaders stood ready to kill the measure should it get to their chamber. Prices also dropped before a report forecast to show the world’s largest economy grew at the slowest pace in a year. U.S. crude stockpiles rose for the first time in eight weeks last week. “All eyes are focused on the U.S. debt,” said Jonathan Barratt, a managing director of Commodity Broking Services Pty in Sydney, who predicts oil in New York will average $100 a barrel this year. “We did see a build in inventories. If it becomes more of a trend rather than a one-off, that’s a worry.”
Japan June rare earth imports from China down 13 pct m/m
TOKYO, July 28 (Reuters) - Japan's imports of rare earths from China fell nearly 13 percent in June from May to their lowest level since February and a second month-on-month drop in a row, ministry of finance data showed on Thursday, as the price of the metal surged.
Japanese imports of rare earths from China stood at 1,386 tonnes in June, down from 1,592 tonnes in May, and the lowest since February's 1,138 tonnes.
Japan June zinc exports halve from year earlier
TOKYO, July 28 (Reuters) - Japan's refined zinc exports for June halved from a year earlier to 4,707 tonnes, Ministry of Finance data showed on Thursday, as production remained disrupted by the massive earthquake in March.
The drop in June exports widened from a 32 percent decline in May.
China daily steel output at 1.95 mln T in mid-July -CISA
SHANGHAI, July 28 (Reuters) - China's mills produced 1.9499 million tonnes of crude steel a day during July 11-20, down 0.26 percent compared with the previous 10 days, data from the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) showed on Thursday.
China's steel output has remained at high levels despite monetary tightening and a decline in demand for flat products used in automobiles and household appliances, with demand for construction steel still high as a result of a nationwide cheap housing programme.
Reliance Steel raises credit facility to $1.5 bln
July 27 (Reuters) - Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co said it raised its credit facility by 36 percent to $1.5 billion, as the metals processor looks to acquire smaller peers.
"The increased size of the credit facility will allow us to continue our growth of existing operations as well as anticipated acquisition opportunities," Chief Executive David Hannah said in a statement.
Aluminium prices surge in China on demand, speculation- trade
HONG KONG, July 28 (Reuters) - China's aluminium prices have risen 4.1 percent so far this week to hit a 15-month high on Thursday due to steady demand and speculation, and this could drive up prices of the metal on the London Metal Exchange, traders and analysts said.
Strong prices are raising worries that Beijing's commodity manager, the State Reserves Bureau (SRB), will release aluminium stockpiles to ease domestic prices as China aims to fight inflation in the country, the world's top aluminium consumer.
China, taxes, gold to dominate outback Australia mine meet
SYDNEY, July 28 (Reuters) - Australia's growing dependence on China's hunger for imported mineral commodities and looming new mining and carbon taxes at home will dominate the annual Diggers and Dealers resources conference in the far western outback next week.
The plight of gold miners, who face increasing operating costs despite record bullion prices, will also weigh on the meeting of some 2,000 delegates.
Labor unrest in copper mines over the past year
July 27 (Reuters) - Miners from Chile to Indonesia have staged strikes to demand a bigger share of a global copper boom, stoking supply fears and boosting prices.
Following are some facts about labor unrest in copper mines over the past year:
July 21, 2011 - Thousands of union workers at Chile's Escondida mine, the world's biggest copper mine, begin a strike to demand bonuses to offset lower output level compensation.
Kazakhmys still on track after H1 copper output dip
LONDON, July 28 (Reuters) - Kazakh miner Kazakhmys posted a 7 percent dip in first-half copper production in line with expectations and said it was on track to meet its full-year target of 300,000 tonnes, after the second quarter saw improved grades and output.
The FTSE 100 miner said it was hit in the first half by lower copper in concentrate production, on the back of lower grades that offset an almost 2 percent rise in ore extracted.
Japan June copper exports fall 39 pct yr/yr
TOKYO, July 28 (Reuters) - Japan's refined copper exports fell 39 percent in June from a year earlier to 27,486 tonnes, for a ninth straight month of year-on-year declines, although the pace slowed from May's 52 percent drop, Ministry of Finance data showed on Thursday.
Taiwan was the largest market for Japanese copper exports, with a 42 percent share, up from 32 percent in May.
Copper Rises as Strike at World’s Biggest Mine in Chile Spurs Supply Woes (Source: Bloomberg)
Copper rose after BHP Billiton Ltd. canceled shipments from Chile’s Escondida mine, the world’s biggest source of the metal, as a strike extended to seven days. Workers vowed to step up efforts to secure improved bonuses and benefits as management called the strike illegal and refused to negotiate. Prices also gained after Kazakhmys Plc (KAZ) and OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel reported lower copper output. “Near term, we’ve got supply tightness with the strike at Escondida,” Frank Lesh, a trader at FuturePath Trading LLC in Chicago, said yesterday in a telephone interview. “Longer term, we’re looking for Chinese buying to pick up. There’s also underlying demand from the U.S. and Japanese auto industry.”
METALS-Chile mine supports copper but U.S. debt talks eyed
LONDON, July 28 (Reuters) - Copper steadied on Thursday as debt concerns in the United States and Europe offset supply worries following a declaration of force majeure by the world's biggest copper mine.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange traded at $9,767 a tonne by 1029 GMT from a close of $9,780 on Wednesday. The metal used in power and construction had nudged higher earlier in Thursday's session but lost ground as the euro fell against the dollar.
PRECIOUS-Gold edges higher, debt dangers dominate
LONDON, July 28 (Reuters) - Gold prices rose towards $1,620 an ounce on Thursday as a deadline to lift the U.S. debt ceiling approached, stoking concerns of a pontential default by the world's biggest economy, and as worries over euro zone debt simmered.
Gains in the precious metal were relatively muted, however, as investors took a breather after pushing gold prices to record highs in two of this week's three previous sessions.
Gold Set for Monthly Rally as U.S. Lawmakers Wrangle Over Debt (Source: Bloomberg)
Gold, trading within 1 percent of a record, is set for the first monthly increase in three as U.S. politicians remain deadlocked on how to raise the federal debt ceiling and avoid a default that may hurt financial markets. Immediate-delivery gold was little changed at $1,614.20 an ounce at 9:23 a.m. in Singapore after reaching an all-time high of $1,628.05 on July 27. Spot gold has rallied 7.6 percent this month, with gains also driven by the sovereign-debt crisis in Europe that pushed bullion in euros and pounds to all-time highs. A U.S. lawmakers’ vote on House Speaker John Boehner’s deficit-cutting plan, postponed from 6 p.m. Washington time yesterday, may be taken up later. Senate Democrats have said they will kill the measure and President Barack Obama has threatened a veto. U.S. borrowing authority expires on Aug. 2.
China Gold Demand May Surpass India by End of This Year, Goldcorp CEO Says (Source: Bloomberg)
Demand for physical gold in China may exceed consumption in India by the end of this year, said Chuck Jeannes, chief executive officer of Goldcorp Inc. (G), the world’s No. 2 producer of the metal by market value. “Three or four years ago there was no one who would have expected Chinese physical demand for gold to surpass India,” Jeannes said yesterday in a telephone interview from New York. “Now it looks like that could happen as early as the end of this year. And that’s while Indian demand is increasing.” While global demand for gold is advancing on concerns about financial turmoil in the U.S. and some European countries, consumers in China are buying larger amounts of the metal as an inflation hedge, Jeannes said.
Brazil sees more ethanol imports this season
SAO PAULO, July 27 (Reuters) - 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, a senior cane industry official told Reuters.
Fearing the government would reduce a mandatory mix of 25 percent anhydrous ethanol in Brazil's gasoline after its rising cost fed into inflation, cane mills have cranked up production of the anhydrous biofuel to persuade them to keep the blend.
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.
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