Corn (Source: CME)
US corn futures end lower as traders book profits on short positions ahead of Friday's USDA report. Traders expect little change in the data, but the potential for a surprise prompted short-covering, traders say. The market shook off early losses as better-than-expected export sales added to the positive tone. March corn rises 7 1/2c to $6.00 1/4.
Wheat (Source: CME)
U.S. wheat futures end lower, as poor export demand continues to pressure prices. Unlike corn and soy, wheat weekly export sales were lackluster, reinforcing the market's problems with an abundance of wheat supplies worldwide. Outside markets, including a stronger dollar, added to the pressure. Traders awaiting Friday's USDA report, which they expect will show little change to the wheat balance sheet. Report released before Friday's open. CBOT March wheat ends down 3 1/2c to $5.97 a bushel, CBOT MGEX March wheat ends down 2c to $8.21 1/4 and KCBT March wheat ends up 2 3/4c $6.58 1/2.
US wheat, corn extend losses; EU summit eyed
SINGAPORE, Dec 8 (Reuters) - U.S. wheat and corn futures extended losses as concerns about weakening demand resurfaced and speculators turned cautious ahead of a make-or-break European Union leaders summit to resolve the region's deteriorating debt crisis.
"It seems that for the past week, wheat is the one that has been more volatile. It's more prone to huge swings, more than corn. I think corn is supported at $5.80 level," said Lynette Tan, an analyst with Phillip Futures.
Argentina wheat crop estimate raised - Rosario
BUENOS AIRES, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Argentina's 2011/2012 wheat crop is expected to come in at 12.8 million tonnes, higher than an earlier forecast of 12.4 million tonnes due to improved weather conditions in a major wheat-producing region, the Rosario grains exchange said on Wednesday.
The exchange did not change its 2011/12 soy output forecast of 49.5 million tonnes and kept the corn output estimate for this season at 26 million tonnes.
Canada court says Ottawa broke law on Wheat Board
WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Dec 7 (Reuters) - A Canadian judge ruled on Wednesday that Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz broke the law by not consulting with the Canadian Wheat Board or holding a farmer vote before moving to end the board's grain marketing monopoly.
The Federal Court's decision does not have the power to derail a government bill to end the monopoly on marketing wheat and barley from Western Canada, but it gives the Wheat Board ammunition in its public relations campaign calling for Ottawa to let farmers decide the CWB's fate.
Russia grain exports to slow, dominance broken
MOSCOW, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Russia's grain exports are set to slow in the face of rising competition from rivals Argentina, Australia and Kazakhstan, participants at an international grains forum in Moscow said on Wednesday.
Egypt's decision to purchase mostly Argentine wheat at a tender this week was seen as signalling the end of a period when Russia has been able to secure as much as 90 percent of the business to the world's leading wheat importer.
Chilly in U.S. for a week, no harm seen to crops
CHICAGO , Dec 7 (Reuters) - Chilly weather was forecast for at least the next week in the U.S. Midwest and Plains, but no harm to crops was expected, an agricultural meteorologist said Wednesday.
A blanket of insulating snow protected the hard red winter wheat crop from cold temperatures in the Plains, and the 2011 corn and soybean harvest was almost complete.
Russia seen exporting at least 25 mln tonnes of grain
MOSCOW, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Russia is expected to export no less than 25 million tonnes of grain in the current 2011/12 season, deputy agriculture minister Alexander Solovyov said on Wednesday.
"Exports this year are expected to be no less than 25 million tonnes, which will be a record volume," he told an international grain forum.
Wheat Prices Shredded With Near-Record Crop Boosting Reserves: Commodities (Source: Bloomberg)
The biggest slump in wheat prices in three years may have further to go as expanding harvests from Russia to Canada bolster inventories to the most in a decade. The U.S. Department of Agriculture will predict tomorrow a 3.4 percent gain in stockpiles to 202.89 million metric tons by June, according to the average of 16 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Prices that fell 35 percent from a 29-month high of $9.1675 a bushel in February will drop 11 percent more to $5.30 in the next 12 months, Credit Suisse Group AG forecasts. Global food costs tracked by the United Nations have declined 9.6 percent from a record in February, helping to contain inflation as economic growth slows. Corn and soybeans are also tumbling after farmers responded to record-high prices by planting more crops. Combined output of wheat, corn and soy will jump 3.4 percent to a record 1.8 billion tons this season, 32 percent more than a decade ago, the USDA said last month.
FAO: North African 2011 Wheat Output Seen At 19.3M Tons (Source: CME)
North Africa's wheat output is forecast to hit 19.3 million metric tons in 2011, up by 20% on year, due to decent levels of rainfall, the United Nation's Food body said in its latest quarterly Crop Prospects and Food Situation report. "Adequate rains and water availability in the main growing areas of Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, had a positive impact on yields," the FAO said. In Egypt, the largest producer in the North African region, the harvest is estimated at 8.4 million metric tons, or 17% above last year's poor crop. Imports of wheat in the 2011-12 to North Africa are expected to be slightly lower than a year earlier, due to better harvests this year. However, the region will import around 23 million tons of wheat in the current marketing year, well above the average of the previous five years, the FAO added. North African countries depend heavily on wheat imports from abroad, with Egypt standing as the world's largest importer at 10 million tons in 2010-11.
Rice (Source: CME)
U.S. rice futures end lower, falling to their lowest price in more than a week amid poor demand. Weak exports and a lack of global crop worries have sent prices tumbling the past three months. Traders awaiting Friday USDA report. Jan CBOT rice ends down 16 1/2c to $14.22 a bushel.
World Food Prices Could Be Bottoming Out - FAO (Source: CME)
World food prices could be bottoming out, a United Nations official said after its monthly index experienced its fifth straight decline, its longest slide in over two years. "We are seeing that month-on-month declines in the world food price index are becoming less steep, despite the recent announcements from various countries that grain production this year will be higher than previously anticipated, so one would expect the falls to be more drastic," Abdolreza Abbassian, senior economist at the FAO, told Dow Jones Newswires. Food and Agriculture Organization's November food price index, which measures the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities, was down 0.5% on the prior month to 215 points, led mainly by declines in wheat prices. The index slumped 4% on-month in October, led by sharp price declines in cereals, oils, sugar and dairy products, after hitting a record 238 points in February.
"Prices technically should be lower than what they are and declines deeper than what we are witnessing, so this suggests that food prices could be bottoming out," FAO's Abbassian said. Russia, a major Black Sea grains producer, could harvest between 95 million-100 million metric tons next year, similar to levels reaped during 2008, one of the country's largest harvests on record, Andrey Sizov Sr., senior economist and chief executive of analysis body SovEcon, told Dow Jones Newswires. "The healthy projection forecast is a result of an increase in acreage and improved winter planting conditions," Sizov Sr. said. This year, Russia is already expected to harvest a healthy 92 million tons of grain, of which 34.7 million tons is winter wheat.
Still, the FAO's Abbassian warned that drought issues in Ukraine could also be helping to support the modest food price declines. Offre & Demande Agricole said the condition of winter crops is poor in the Ukraine and market participants are closely watching the weather in Eastern Europe. However, Abbassian said it was too early to speculate about the condition of crops in 2012. The FAO said that a strong U.S. dollar and a weaker global economic outlook also contributed to lower cereal prices in November.
Vietnam coffee production hits peak, downtrend ahead-Vicofa
HO CHI MINH CITY, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Coffee production in Vietnam, the world's top robusta producer, has reached its peak, yielding around 1.2 million tonnes under the current 2011/2012 crop, and output would be declining in coming years, a senior industry official said on Thursday.
The Southeast Asian country is forecast to consume 100,000 tonnes in the current crop year, or 8.3 percent of the output, up from 7 percent in the previous season, Chairman Luong Van Tu of the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association said.
Weather helping Brazil's next cane crop -CTC
SAO PAULO, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Favorable weather and a near 5 percent increase in planted area should lead to an increase in cane output in Brazil's center-south next season, sugar cane research center CTC said Wednesday.
Cane yields will rise after falling to their lowest level in 24 years this season, due to adverse weather since 2009 and the lack of investment in the replanting of cane fields with fresh, more productive stalks.
Ivorian Sifca to invest 56.5 mln euros to boost sugar
ABIDJAN, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Ivory Coast agro-industry group Sifca will invest 56.5 million euros ($75.6 million) in sugar planting and plantations to boost production by nearly a third from 2014 in order to satisfy local demand, the company's chairman said on Wednesday.
The project is aimed at reaching a maximum annual sugar cane production capacity of about 1 million tonnes, producing 115,000 tonnes of sugar, Jean Louis Billon told a news conference in Abidjan. Current production is about 87,000 tonnes.
India coffee exports seen falling 15 pct in 2011/12
NEW DELHI, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Coffee exports from India, the world's sixth-biggest producer, were likely to fall some 15 percent in 2011/12, Coffee Board Chairman Jawaid Akhtar said on Wednesday, as a burgeoning Indian middle class expands domestic consumption.
Exports for the year ending March 31, 2012 were seen between 240,000-250,000 tonnes as against 294,000 tonnes a year ago, Akhtar said.
Cocoa Falls, Caps Longest Slump in 50 Years, on West Africa Supply Outlook (Source: Bloomberg)
Cocoa fell, capping the longest slump in 50 years, on speculation that supplies from West Africa, the world’s biggest producing region, will exceed initial estimates. Cocoa for March delivery dropped 0.5 percent to settle at $2,131 a metric ton at 12:02 pm. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. The price dropped for the 11th straight session, the longest slump since at least 1961, according to Bloomberg data. Earlier, the commodity touched $2,078, the lowest for a most- active contract since November 2008. Output in Ivory Coast, the world’s top producer, may be 1.43 million tons in the year ending Sept. 30, up 3.2 percent from its prior forecast, Ecobank Transnational Inc., based in Lome, Togo, said. Global supplies will exceed demand for the second straight year, Marex Spectron Group Ltd, a London-based broker, has said.
World coffee consumption seen rising at steady level-ICO
HO CHI MIN CITY, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Global coffee consumption is expected to rise steadily next year despite the economic slowdown to be on par with the 2.5 percent annual average growth seen in the past decade, a senior industry executive said on Thursday.
"Consumption is going to be very well despite the economic turbulence," Roberto Olivier Silva, executive director of the London-based International Coffee Organization (ICON) told Reuters in an interview.
German sugar crop going well, big output seen
HAMBURG, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Germany's sugar beet harvest is progressing very well in favourable weather and the country is likely to achieve the forecasts of a sharp rise in sugar output, the head of German sugar industry association WVZ told Reuters on Wednesday.
"Harvest progress is excellent and weather is favourable," said WVZ chief executive Dieter Langendorf. "Confidence is growing that we will achieve our production targets."
Vietnam's 2011/12 coffee output seen up, costs a concern
HO CHI MINH CITY, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Vietnam's coffee output from the 2011/2012 harvest due to end next month is likely to be 9 percent higher than the previous harvest, a senior industry executive said on Wednesday, as farmers invest more in improving yields.
Output is expected to rise to 1.25 million tonnes, equivalent to 20.83 million bags, beating a previous forecast by Vietnam's coffee industry body. This could put pressure on global prices if supplies are released into the market quickly, though farmers are trying to hold on to stocks to avoid a glut.
Crude Oil Heads for Weekly Decline Before Europe Debt Accord, OPEC Meeting (Source: Bloomberg)
Oil headed for the biggest weekly decline since September in New York as investors speculated that fuel demand will falter amid signs Europe is struggling to tame its sovereign debt crisis. Futures were little changed after dropping the most in three weeks yesterday as European Central Bank President Mario Draghi signaled the ECB won’t increase government bond purchases to end the crisis. Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude exporter, is in no rush to agree to a new OPEC quota at the group’s Dec. 14 meeting, Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said. “Europe is the driving feature of all these risk markets,” said Ric Spooner, a chief analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney. “The obvious implications for all commodity markets is if we’re going to continue to have poor confidence levels, then that’ll impact negatively on world demand and has the potential to soften prices.”
Gold Declines Most in Two Weeks as Draghi Damps Debt-Purchase Speculation (Source: Bloomberg)
Gold fell the most in more than two weeks after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said he didn’t signal plans to purchase more bonds to spur growth. Equities and the euro retreated after Draghi said the ECB’s bond-purchase program was not eternal or infinite, damping speculation that the central bank will increase debt buying to fight the region’s crisis. The U.S. Dollar Index, a six-currency gauge, climbed for the first time in four days. “The market is once again completely focused on what’s going on in the euro zone,” Matthew Zeman, a strategist at Kingsview Financial in Chicago, said in a telephone interview. “Gold has been acting like any other risk asset. When people go into risk-off mode, gold suffers the consequences, like everything else, while the dollar and Treasuries benefit.”
Gold Traders Most Bullish in a Month on European Debt Crisis: Commodities (Source: Bloomberg)
Gold traders are more bullish as investors buy metal at the fastest pace in a year to protect their wealth from Europe’s escalating debt crisis. Eighteen of 26 surveyed by Bloomberg expect the metal to advance next week, the highest proportion since Nov. 11. Holdings in exchange-traded products backed by gold rose 108.6 metric tons to a record from the start of October, the most since the second quarter of 2010, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The extra bullion is valued at $5.99 billion. Investors are now making a $130 billion bet on gold as European leaders meet in Brussels to seek ways to tackle the crisis that means Germany and France are under threat of losing their AAA rating from Standard & Poor’s. The European Central Bank yesterday cut interest rates for a second consecutive month to shore up growth, increasing the appeal of gold, which earns investors returns through price gains.
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