20121004 1220 Global Commodities Related News.

DTN Closing Grain Comments 10/03 14:52 (CME)
Soybeans Stage Impressive Recovery
A return of commercial interest, possibly signaling fresh Chinese business, stoked a strong rally near support in the bean market Wednesday. Corn and wheat had a quiet day with the former trading near unchanged for a majority of the day.

Pro Farmer: After The Bell Wheat Recap (CME)
Wheat futures improved to mixed trade in late-morning trade. Chicago and Kansas City futures ended mixed, while Minneapolis futures ended slightly higher. Early pressure in the wheat pit was tied to spillover from soybeans and a lack of fresh news, but as soybeans firmed around midday, wheat followed suit.

Wheat Market Recap Report (CME)
December Wheat finished up 1 1/2 at 873, 5 1/2 off the high and 15 up from the low. March Wheat closed up 1 at 884. This was 15 1/2 up from the low and 5 1/2 off the high.
December Chicago wheat ended the session nearly unchanged while KC ended lower and Minneapolis higher. Long liquidation continued overnight as outside market instability became prevalent following the European open and the downside momentum accelerated after it was announced that the US failed to do any of the Egyptian wheat tender overnight. Egypt bought 240,000 tonnes of French and Argentinian soft wheat for December 11-20th shipment. The spread between French and US soft wheat narrowed from the last tender and there was no Russian or Ukrainian wheat offered. The wheat market rallied late in the session after corn and soybeans climbed off session lows and turned positive. The lower trader early on was linked to weather forecasts that suggest more rain for areas of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas next week which will likely ease soil moisture deficits for wheat planting. Outside markets offered very little support throughout the day with crude oil trading 4% lower and the US Dollar climbed higher.
December Oats closed up 3 at 363 1/4. This was 5 1/4 up from the low and 2 1/4 off the high.

Pro Farmer: After The Bell Corn Recap (CME)
Corn futures improved to choppy trade around midday and the market remained in a similar posture into the close. Futures settled 1 1/2 to 2 1/4 cents lower through the July contract, while deferred months were roughly 1 to 3 cents higher. Futures faced pressure overnight and this morning, but around midday, a rebound in soybeans returned some bargain buying interest to the corn market.

Corn Market Recap for 10/3/2012 (CME)
December Corn finished down 1 1/2 at 756 3/4, 6 3/4 off the high and 9 3/4 up from the low. March Corn closed down 2 1/4 at 757 1/2. This was 9 1/4 up from the low and 6 3/4 off the high.
December corn ended the session slightly lower on the day but traded into positive territory near the closing bell. Corn found support late in the session after soybeans and wheat rallied off session lows. Midsession weakness was linked to sharply lower wheat and soybean markets and profit taking after a closely followed trade house reported their average corn yield at 123.9 bushels per acre vs. 121.4 previously. Production rose to 10.827 billion bushels vs. 10.607 previously. The USDA in September showed a 122.8 yield and production at 10.727 billion bushels. Additional pressure was added after Ethanol production for the week ending September 28th averaged 785,000 barrels per day. This is down 3% vs. last week and down 9% vs. last year. Corn used in last week's production is estimated at 82.4 million bushels vs. 84.9 the week prior. Weekly ethanol production and weekly corn usage in ethanol production were pegged at their lowest levels since October 30, 2009. The US Dollar traded higher throughout the day and crude oil fell 4% which limited gains in the grain market. November Rice finished down 0.13 at 15.24, 0.08 off the high and equal to the low.

India's Oct-Sept'12 coffee exports fall from record levels (Reuters)
Coffee exports from India eased from the previous year's record levels, falling 8.6 percent in the coffee year that started in October 2011, weighed by depleting stocks and lack of buyers for arabica.

Oil Trades Near Two-Month Low as U.S. Output Rises, Demand Drops (Bloomberg)
Oil traded near a two-month low in New York after the government reported that U.S. crude production climbed to the highest level in more than 15 years while fuel consumption decreased. Futures fluctuated after dropping 4.1 percent yesterday, the most since June, following an Energy Department report that output rose by 11,000 barrels a day to 6.52 million last week, the most since December 1996. Fuel demand fell 0.3 percent to 18.3 million barrels a day in the four weeks ended Sept. 28, the lowest level since April. Crude and distillate stockpiles declined as gasoline supplies increased.
“The market just believes that there is too much supply, and when it doesn’t have the economic activity to back it up, generally the price must go down,” said Jonathan Barratt, chief executive officer of Barratt’s Bulletin, a commodity newsletter in Sydney, who sees prices as low as $82 a barrel if inventories don’t shrink and the global economy doesn’t improve. “We don’t have the economic activity that should send prices higher.” Crude for November delivery was at $87.99 a barrel, down 15 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 11:02 a.m. in Tokyo. It earlier fell as much as 26 cents, or 0.2 percent. Futures dropped $3.75 yesterday to close at $88.14, the lowest level since Aug. 2. Prices are down 11 percent this year.

OIL-Oil falls as global economic data dims demand outlook
NEW YORK, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell sharply on Wednesday as disappointing economic data from China and Europe reinforced concerns about slowing growth and a weakening demand for petroleum, even as supportive U.S. data strengthened the dollar.
"The global economy is in a rut, and even with supportive EIA data crude is down," said Dan Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago.

US oil stocks fall unexpectedly last week, distillates drop-EIA
NEW YORK, Oct 3 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil stocks declined unexpectedly last week and distillate inventories fell more steeply than forecast, government data showed on Wednesday.  
Domestic stocks of crude dropped by 482,000 barrels in the week to Sept. 28, the Energy Information Administration reported, despite an increase in imports. Analysts polled by Reuters ahead of the data release had forecast a stock gain of 1.5 million barrels.

NATURAL GAS-US natgas futures post 1st loss in 7 sessions
NEW YORK, Oct 3 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures ended lower on Wednesday for the first time in seven sessions, hit by a slightly milder turn in the extended weather forecast and profit-taking ahead of Thursday's inventory report despite the still-cool outlook for next week.
"The latest forecast from NOAA is showing a slightly smaller area of colder temperatures with the severity of the cold also eased somewhat. The early winter season demand bump may not be as large as thought just a week or so ago," Energy Management Institute's Dominick Chirichella said in a report.

EURO COAL-Stable prices, flurry of S.African trades seen
LONDON, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Prompt physical coal prices were barely changed again as the market waited for a much-needed seasonal rise in demand to absorb some of the persistent oversupply.
"There were various types of buyers involved, I wouldn't say it's driven by Indian buying," one European trader said.

Recap Energy Market Report (CME)
November crude oil prices experienced a wide range downdraft on the session, with very active trading volume. Prices trended lower throughout the session and breeched last week's low of $88.95 in the process. Early weakness came on demand concerns in the wake of weaker than expected economic readings in China and Europe. While there was a round of positive US economic data this morning, traders said the more dominant concern was a global economic slowdown. This morning's EIA inventory data showed an unexpected decline in crude stocks last week of 482,000 barrels. Current inventory levels stand at 364.698 million barrels, which is the highest for this week since 2010. However, soft import activity of 8.106 million barrels per day contributed to the weekly stock draw. The refinery operating rate was 88.2%, up 0.8% from last week. November crude oil managed a brief reprieve from early selling but ultimately turned lower, falling to its lowest level since August 2nd in late-afternoon trade.

METALS-Copper slips after 4-day rise, economic woes drag
SINGAPORE, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Copper fell on Wednesday after climbing for four days, as a fragile global economy and Europe's lingering debt crisis curbed buying interest, with a week-long public holiday in top copper consumer China keeping trading volumes extremely thin.    
"On one hand you have the more positive vibe from U.S. players with people encouraged by policy action there. But data from China is still showing the economy is bottoming -- not yet improving -- and you still have this political paralysis going on ahead of the leadership transition in China," said ANZ commodity strategist Nick Trevethan.

PRECIOUS-Gold holds near 11-month high on Spain caution
SINGAPORE, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Gold held near an 11-month high on Wednesday, as uncertainty over Spain's bailout plan kept investors on their toes while they wait for a key U.S. job market report to shed light on the effectiveness of the latest stimulus measures.
"The real challenges will again drive the market," said Jeremy Friesen, a commodity strategist at Societe Generale in Hong Kong.

Gold Market Recap Report (CME)
The gold market waffled around both sides of unchanged today but eventually the market righted the ship and clawed back into positive ground. As suggested in the mid day coverage, gold at times this morning seemed to fall in the face of better than expected US data but it should be noted that gold was quickly able to recover after the impact of the ISM report. Gold was probably held back slightly today by weakness in the Euro, Canadian and energy prices. Some bulls suggest that the resiliency in gold today was largely the result of looming ECB and BOE meetings. Perhaps gold drafted some lift off news that ECB gold holdings rose in a quarterly report. Another issue that might have provided some lift in gold prices today were headlines that the South African Mineworkers Union and the Chamber of mines agreed to re-open wage negotiations for the gold mining sector.