Corn (Source: CME)
US corn futures end lower, unable to buck the broader commodity selling trend, despite ongoing supply worries and a sluggish start to the planting season. Market was also pressured by slowing export demand, a potential sign that high prices may be reducing demand for corn. Corn for July delivery, the most actively traded contract, ended down 20 3/4 cents, or 2.8%, to $7.08 3/4 a bushel. New crop December contract dropped 9 1/2 cents or 1.4% to $6.55 3/4.
Wheat (Source: CME)
US wheat futures slump, pressured by another wave of risk aversion from money managers turning cautious about commodities and global economic conditions. Wheat was swept up in the broader based commodity sell-off, as traders concerned about slower consumption amid economic worries weighed on prices, analysts say. A bounce in the US dollar and subsequent plunge in energy and metals overshadowed wheat crop and planting issues, analysts adds. CBOT July wheat settles down 18c, or 2.3%, at $7.54 a bushel.
Rice (Source: CME)
US rough rice futures closed limit down for the second consecutive day, with the July contract tumbling 5% to $14.14/hundredweight. The daily limit expanded to 75c. The standard limit is 50c. Broad based liquidation of commodities pressured the market despite issues for crops in Texas and planting concerns in the Delta, analysts say.
Commodities Sink Most Since 2009 as Stocks Fall (Source: CME)
Commodities plunged the most since 2009, led by oil and silver, and stocks posted the biggest three-day drop since March as selling of energy futures drove down equities. The dollar strengthened and Treasuries jumped. The Standard & Poor’s GSCI index of 24 commodities sank 6.5 percent at 4:32 p.m. in New York and has lost 9.9 percent this week. Oil tumbled 8.6 percent, the most in two years, to $99.80 a barrel. Silver dropped 8 percent, extending the biggest four- day slump since 1983 to 25 percent. The MSCI All-Country World Index of shares in 45 nations fell 1.1 percent. The dollar rose 2 percent versus the euro, making commodities quoted in the greenback more expensive for holders of other currencies. “It’s panic,” said Michael Shaoul, chairman of Marketfield Asset Management, which oversees $1 billion in New York. “You have those super crowded trades. Now you’re in liquidation mode.
There’s nothing to do with weak U.S. economic data. It’s not a global financial crisis. It’s a classic liquidation move in a crowded trade.”
World Food Prices Rise to Near-Record High as Inflation Speeds Up, UN Says (Source: Bloomberg)
World food prices rose to near a record in April as grain costs advanced, adding pressure to inflation that is accelerating from Beijing to Brasilia and spurring central banks to raise interest rates. An index of 55 commodities rose to 232.1 points from 231 points in March, the United Nations’ Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization said in a report on its website today. The gauge climbed to an all-time high of 237.2 in February before dropping 2.6 percent in March.
India worried about farm labour costs- policy adviser
NEW DELHI, May 5 (Reuters) - India is worried about the impact on inflation from rising farm labour costs, although a good harvest should dowse some of the fire in consumer prices, Ashok Gulati, chairman of the agriculture ministry's commission on farm costs and prices, said.
The government had already purchased about 19 million tonnes of wheat by May 2 and is heading for nearly double the grain stocks it needs by end-June, he told Reuters in an interview.
India's weather office sees on schedule monsoon retreat
NEW DELHI, May 4 (Reuters) - India's June-September monsoon rains are expected to withdraw on schedule, the chief of the weather office said on Wednesday, unlike last year when late end-season rains hit sugar output in the world's biggest consumer.
Monsoon rains irrigate around 40 percent of farms in India, which is the world's second-biggest producer of rice, wheat, sugar and cotton, and are crucial for the livelihoods of many of the two-thirds of India's 1.2 billion who live in rural areas.
UK regulator approves Baltic ship futures screen
LONDON, May 4 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange has won UK regulatory approval to run a platform for centralised electronic trading of dry freight derivatives, which will go live shortly with support from some brokers, the exchange said.
Freight forward agreements (FFAs), which allow a buyer to take a position on freight rates at a point in the future, are not currently traded on an exchange.
U.S. corn extend gains on tight supply, forecast rain
SYDNEY, May 5 (Reuters) - U.S. corn futures rallied for a third straight day on Thursday, supported by tight old crop supplies in the United States and forecast rain likely to slow planting which is already running late in the Midwest corn belt. "Corn will continue to hold out on its own while there's no surprise there's some recovery in soybeans and wheat futures," said Brett Cooper, senior manager, markets, for FCStone Australia.
Wheat yield potential low in western Kansas
RUSSELL SPRINGS, Kan., May 4 (Reuters) - Wheat fields in western Kansas showed below-average yield potential as dry weather has plagued the crop since planting in the fall, crop scouts on an annual tour found on Wednesday.
Scouts on one leg of the Wheat Quality Council's tour of hard red winter wheat fields in Kansas pegged average yield potential at 31 bushels per acre, based on a survey of eight fields. A year ago, scouts on the route which runs through counties such as Kearny, Logan and Wichita calculated wheat yields at 39 bushels per acre.
Rapid French maize planting almost over - growers
PARIS, May 4 (Reuters) - Planting of this year's maize crop in France is virtually finished after dry conditions enabled early and rapid fieldwork, growers group AGPM said on Tuesday.
The weather had also favoured fast and consistent emergence of maize (corn) plants, although crops may face risks subsequently from late frosts or persistent dryness, it said.
Russian crops set for near average weather in May
MOSCOW, May 4 (Reuters) - Weather conditions necessary for successful spring crops sowing and normal winter crop development will be close to average in May in the European and Asian parts of Russia, the weather forecasting service said.
Temperatures and precipitation for the whole month in most crop-growing regions will be close to the average registered over the years by the Rosgidromet service which was set in 1930, it said on its web site (meteoinfo.ru).
Spain grain stocks dwindle as harvest nears -trade
MADRID, May 4 (Reuters) - Spanish grain stocks in ports and warehouses are declining as dealers and consumers in the major importer wait to see how the domestic wheat and barley harvest fares next month, trade sources say.
Unlike northern European exporters, Spain is not suffering from drought, and although weather in May will be crucial, farmers are cautiously optimistic.
Mexican Sugarcane Growers Upbeat On Next Harvest (Source: CME)
The leader of Mexico's sugarcane growers says he's optimistic the 2011-2012 harvest will yield more sugar that the current one if the weather holds up. "If the upcoming season is a normal one with tropical storms and a few freezes, but less aggressive than this year, without a doubt we're going to surpass the current harvest," Carlos Blackaller, president of the National Union of Sugarcane Producers, said in an interview. High sugar prices have been luring Mexican farmers of other products into the sugar business, he said. Also, productivity has been increasing as well-financed producers use profits from high prices to hire more labor and to invest in improved agricultural practices. This should contribute to better production next season in Mexico, the world's sixth-largest sugar producer, Blackaller said. Mexico's sugar harvest usually begins in November and runs to July of the following year.
This season, Mexico is on track to produce about 5.2 million tons of sugar, up from 4.8 million tons during the 2009-2010 season, according to sugar officials. The average yield of sugarcane per hectare has been about 67 tons this season, and it could reach 70 tons next season, Blackaller said. He added that about 37% of plantations are using irrigation systems rather than relying on rainfall, and that percentage is expected to keep growing. Four years ago, about 30% of sugar plantations were irrigated. "There's a better use of water," Blackaller said. Rene Martinez, director of the national sugar chamber, which represents the country's sugar mills, was less optimistic about the 2011-2012 harvest, saying it didn't rain when it should have in January and February during planting for the next harvest. "It's an indicator that the 2010-2011 season will be a hard one, with production probably lower than this season's," Martinez said.
"Normally when you plant, you cross your fingers and hope for rain, and since it didn't rain we're expecting bad yields." Blackaller said industrial productivity has increased roughly 6%, and that many of Mexico's 54 sugar mills have been renovated and improved as their owners seek to take advantage of the bullish market. Migration has been a problem in the sugar industry in the past, with growers abandoning their plantations to find work in the U.S. or in Mexican cities. But this year, Blackaller said high prices have kept producers "rooted to their plantations." Mexico is expecting to export a record 1.3 million tons of sugar this year amid rising U.S. demand and the displacement of domestic sugar consumption with high fructose corn syrup.
Sugar at 8-month low, coffee consolidates
LONDON, May 5 (Reuters) - Sugar futures fell to fresh eight-month lows on Thursday as improving crop prospects weighed, while ICE arabica coffee prices eased to trade below the 34-year high hit earlier in the week. Sugar futures hit eight-month lows in early trading, as the improving supply outlook in key producers Brazil and Thailand was bearish for the market.
Vietnam raises 2011 coffee export f'cast to 1.3 mln T
HANOI, May 5 (Reuters) - Vietnam raised its coffee export forecast for calendar 2011 by 4 percent to 1.3 million tonnes, or 21.67 million bags, the Agriculture Ministry said, citing rising shipments of the commodity so far this year.
Higher coffee export volume from the world's top robusta producer, plus rising shipments from Indonesia, may help ease concern over tight supply which has been behind recent gains in London's robusta futures market.
Greece 2011/12 sugar output to remain steady-attache
WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - Following are selected highlights from a report issued by a U.S. Department of Agriculture attache in Greece: "According to unofficial estimates, 2011/2012 sugar production, consumption and trade is forecast to remain steady from the previous year. The Hellenic Sugar Industry is the only sugar producer in Greece and one of the most significant agricultural industries of the country. Thus far, Greece does not produce bioethanol from sugar or other crops."
Brazil's CS cane crop falls behind schedule-Unica
SAO PAULO, May 4 (Reuters) - Some Brazilian sugar and ethanol mills are taking longer than expected to begin harvesting cane in the center-south region, as producers choose to wait for yields to improve, cane industry association Unica said on Wednesday.
Drier weather in the cane-rich region since mid-April has sped up harvesting that was delayed after Brazil suffered with the rainiest first-quarter in 40 years. Yet, the volume of cane per hectare and its quality both have been frustrating, Unica's technical director Antonio de Padua Rodrigues said.
Cuba says sugar harvest over at 6 pct above plan
HAVANA, May 4 (Reuters) - Cuba's sugar harvest ended 6 percent above expectations, the official daily Granma reported Wednesday, weighing in at around 1.15 million tonnes of raw sugar, Reuters has estimated.
"Thirty five mills, or 90 percent of those open, met their plans as did 12 of 13 provinces," the country's top sugar reporter, Juan Varela Perez, wrote in a page-long article summing up the season.
Indonesia offers 2 mln hectares for sugar plantations
JAKARTA, May 4 (Reuters) - Indonesia's forestry ministry has offered two million hectares of degraded and forest land to be used as sugar plantations, as it looks to boost domestic output in Southeast Asia's largest sugar consumer, an official said on Wednesday.
Prolonged rains in Java island, which supplies 60 percent of Indonesia's sugar output, delayed the domestic crushing season from May to June last year, and reduced the sugar content in cane, resulting in lower production.
French Cereals Cultivation Little Changed Through April 1 (Source: CME)
An estimated 9.3 million hectares of cereals were seeded and under cultivation as of April 1 in France, little changed from a year earlier, bolstered by plantings of soft wheat and spring barley, the French Agriculture Ministry's statistical arm Agreste reported. Plantings of soft wheat were up 95,000 hectares to 5 million as of the beginning of last month, with spring barley plantings up 34,000 hectares to 1.5 million. The agency noted, though, that durum wheat and winter barley plantings were down 34,000 and 69,000 hectares, respectively. Agreste said the expanse of land under cultivation for cereals not only was largely on a par with the previous year, but also in line with the five-year average of 2006-10. France is Europe's largest wheat producer, followed by Germany and Poland.
FAO: World Food Prices Unchanged In April (Source: CME)
World food prices held steady in April as a rise in international grain prices was offset by declines in the prices of sugar, rice and dairy, the United Nations' food body said. The Food and Agriculture Organization's food price index averaged 232 points last month, little changed from March but still 36% higher than the same time the year before. Grain prices in particular strengthened, with the FAO's cereal price index rising 5.5% on the month to leave it 71% above April 2010. Gains were led by an 11% rise in the price of maize and a 4% increase in wheat, the FAO said. With stocks now forecast to fall to their lowest level since the food crisis of 2008 by the end of the 2010-11 crop season, director of the FAO's trade and market division David Hallam said high prices look set to continue into next year.
"With demand continuing strong, prospects for a return to more normal prices hinge largely on how much production will increase in 2011 and how much grain reserves are replenished in the new season," he said. However, while grain prices remain at historically high levels, a 7% decline in the FAO's sugar index and a 2.4% fall in the price of dairy helped to keep the overall index stable. Large exports of rice also helped to keep prices for the world's most widely-consumed grain subdued, the FAO said.
EU: 2010 Agricultural Exports Up 21% To Record EUR91 Bln (Source: CME)
European Union agricultural exports jumped 21% in value to a record EUR91 billion in 2010, data published by the EU's executive arm showed, making the bloc a net exporter for the first time in four years. "We estimate that 75% of the increase in value of exports is driven by an increase in volume of sales, reflecting stronger demand, while 25% may be attributed to an increase in prices" said the European Commission. Exports were buoyed by a surge in demand from emerging economies such as China and Russia as a rebound in the global economy boosted world trade by 12% to a record high, the Commission said. Rising commodities prices and a weakening euro also helped the 27-nation bloc swing to an agricultural trade surplus of EUR6 billion, and it is now the world's second-largest agricultural exporter behind the U.S. "The surplus is largely due to growth in the value of exports after the contraction of trade in 2009 linked to economic crisis and the drop in commodity prices," the report said.
"Exchange rate fluctuations may also have contributed to the upsurge in exports, given the continued weakening of the euro against a number of major currencies in 2010." Exports to China and Hong Kong both posted a record-breaking 50% jump, with the value of sales to both now generating more than EUR1 billion each, the report said. But the largest absolute increase was to Russia, where the value of agricultural imports from the EU rose nearly one-third to EUR2.2 billion, making Russia the EU's second-largest market after the U.S. Severe drought in the Black Sea, which prompted both Kiev and Moscow to restrict grain exports, are also estimated to have given EU wheat exports a EUR557 million boost and cut imports by EUR270 million, the Commission said. Wheat was the EU's second-highest value export in 2010 at EUR3.4 billion.
The EU also remains by far the world's biggest agricultural importer with imports worth EUR83 billion in 2008-10, well ahead of the U.S. More than 70% of total EU imports come from developing countries, the report said.
Oil Rises 0.6 Percent, Erasing Earlier Declines; Down 12 Percent This Week (Source: Bloomberg)
Oil for June delivery rose 68 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $100.48 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 10:29 a.m. Sydney time. Crude earlier fell as much as 0.4 percent. Yesterday, the contract fell $9.44 to $99.80, the lowest settlement since March 16 and the biggest percentage drop since April 20, 2009. Prices are down 12 percent this week, the most since the week ended May 7, 2010.
Oil Trades Near Two-Month Low, Heads for Biggest Weekly Decline in a Year (Source: Bloomberg)
Oil traded near the lowest in almost two months in New York and headed for the biggest weekly drop in a year as a surprise increase in U.S. jobless claims added to signs of slower growth in the world’s largest crude consumer. Futures were 0.2 percent lower after declining 8.6 percent yesterday, the biggest fall in more than two years. U.S unemployment claims rose the most since August and German factory orders slipped. A report today may show the U.S. generated fewer jobs in April. Oil also slid as the dollar advanced after European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said he wouldn’t raise interest rates.
German metal traders see demand growth
HAMBURG, May 5 (Reuters) - German new and scrap metal demand is growing in 2011 but at a slightly lower rate than in 2010, the association of German metals traders VDM said on Thursday.
Some 57 percent of metals traders in a VDM survey reported better business volumes on the year in the first quarter of 2011 but 30 percent reported worse volumes and 13 percent the same.
"The sector has been experiencing solid growth since 2010, growth dynamics have only slowed slightly," the VDM said.
Iron Ore-Prices steady as Chinese mills turn cautious
BEIJING, May 5 (Reuters) - Iron ore prices in China were mostly steady on Thursday, with steel mills reluctant to make big purchases amid rising uncertainties in the market.
Chinese consultancy Umetal said 63.5-63 percent Indian fines were being offered at around $188-190 per tonne, including freight, on Thursday, staying unchanged since this week.
METALS-Copper falls to lowest since Dec on demand prospects
LONDON, May 5 (Reuters) - Copper fell to its lowest since December after data pointed to weakening demand in the United States and China, and on prospects the European Central Bank will remain firm in its inflation fight.
Copper for three-months delivery on the London Metal Exchange was $8,870 per tonne at 1047 GMT, after touching a low of $8,870, in its biggest daily fall since early March.
PRECIOUS-Gold down, silver deepens its dive
LONDON, May 5 (Reuters) - Gold fell to its lowest in more than a week on Thursday and silver tumbled to a 5-week low, on track for its biggest weekly slide since 1983, caught up in a broader commodities sell-off.
A flurry of investor liquidation prompted gold to pare earlier gains and slide more than 1 percent to $1,495.70 a troy ounce, its lowest since April 26.
