COPPER HITS THREE YEARS HIGH AS SPECULATORS PILE INTO MARKET
Copper hit a three-year high and nickel touched its strongest in eight months on Tuesday as mostly technical signals prompted speculators and funds to pour more cash into base metals. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange struck $6,642.50 a ton, the highest since November 2014, before paring gains to $6,620 in official open outcry trading, a gain of 0.5 percent. It rose 1.5 percent in the previous session.
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SILVER, GOLD TRADE LOWER
Silver and gold were trading lower on Thursday on account of subdued demand in precious metals from jewellers, industries and retailers. MCX gold was down 0.09 per cent, or Rs27, at Rs29,137 per 10 gram around 10.50 am (IST), while MCX silver was down 0.08 percent, or Rs32, at Rs39,042 per 1 kg at around the same time.
SPDR Gold Trust GLD, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange traded fund, said its latest holdings remained unchanged at 799.29 ton.
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EGYPT TO REJECT ROMANIAN WHEAT AS PROSECUTOR DECIDES FATE
Egypt’s public prosecutor is looking likely to reject and re-export a cargo of Romanian wheat shipment purchased by its state grain buyer GASC for containing poppy seeds, it is said on Tuesday. A report on the 63,000 ton cargo, which was inspected at the Red Sea port of Safaga, was submitted to the prosecutor’s office and contains evidence of the presence of poppy seeds.
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IVORIAN COCOA ARRIVALS SEEN AT 1,940,000 TONS
Cocoa arrivals at ports in top grower Ivory Coast reached around 1,940,000 tons by August 20 since the start of the season on October 1, 2016, exporters estimated on Tuesday, up from 1,449,000 tons in the same period of last season.
Exporters estimated that around 7,000 tons of beans were delivered to the port of Abidjan and another 8,000 tons to San Pedro for a total of 15,000 tons between August 14 and 20. That compares with 5,000 tons during the same period of the previous season.
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RAW SUGAR SLIPS, ARABICA COFFEE AT 5-WEEK LOW
Raw sugar futures fell on Tuesday as speculative buying petered out and gave way to producer hedging, while arabica coffee slipped to a five-week low as fund selling persisted. October raw sugar was down 0.17 cent, or 1.26 percent, at 13.35 cents per.
Prices made solid gains in the previous session, after more supportive chart signals lifted the market and triggered technical buying. However, fund buying had mostly subsided by Tuesday amid softening technical signals, while a persistently bearish fundamental picture reinforced negative sentiment.
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UGANDA’S COFFEE EXPORTS JUMP 59PC
Uganda’s coffee exports jumped 59 percent last month from a year earlier after good weather conditions this year boosted the crop.
Uganda is Africa’s largest exporter of coffee, one of the country’s key sources of foreign exchange. It predominantly cultivates Robusta beans but produces some Arabica beans as well. Some 427,204 60-kg bags were shipped during the month, up from 268,490 bags exported in July 2016, state-run Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) said in a report on Tuesday.
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CORN EDGES UP FROM NEAR 5-MONTH LOW
US corn rose for the first time in four sessions on Thursday, edging up from a near five-month low touched earlier in the session, after a widely watched crop tour reported lower yield estimates in a key producing region. Soybeans edged higher for a third consecutive session, while wheat also nudged higher.
The most active corn futures on the Chicago Board Of Trade were trading up 0.2 percent at $3.56-1/2 a bushel, having earlier hit a low of $3.55-1/4 a bushel – the lowest since March 31. Corn closed down 1.2 percent on Wednesday and has slid more than 7 percent this month.
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GOOD DEMAND SUPPORTS CORN, SOY BASIS BIDS
Spot basis bids for corn and soybeans at processors and elevators in the US Midwest drew support from improved demand after farmers curtailed sales of both grains. Farmers were reluctant to move corn and soybeans in anticipation of better money for their crops if futures prices can shrug off recent losses. Reduced corn bids for barges headed to US Gulf Coast exporters depressed bids at a river terminal in Morris, Illinois by 6 cents per bushel. Soybean bids at the same elevator were up a penny, aided by light farmer selling.
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ZIMBABWE’S RAW MILK PRODUCTION DECLINES
Zimbabwe’s raw milk production during the seven months to July declined a marginal 0.84 percent to 37 million litres compared to 37.32 million litres over the same period in 2016. According to figures released by the Ministry of Agriculture’s Dairy Services Department, production dipped during the first quarter of the year where it was affected mainly by incessant rainfall.
Agricultural experts contend that high rainfall affects animal health, reducing milk production. The figures show that milk production picked in June to 5.39 million litres, before climbing to 5.81 million litres in July.