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Argentina downpour ‘damaging’ for soy and corn, weather analysts say

A new front of heavy rains over key grains regions of Argentina could be “very damaging” to the South American country’s current soy and corn crops and could dent production, a local grains exchange and a weather expert said on Wednesday. Argentina, one of the world’s top two exporters of soybean oil and meal, and the third largest for corn, has seen strong rains well above normal levels so far this month, initially boosting dry soils but now starting to saturate farmland. “The rains we’re getting are totally unneeded, very ...

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Palm oil reverses course amid production growth uncertainty

Malaysian palm oil futures dropped on Thursday, erasing earlier gains, amid uncertainty over production growth and some correction in rival vegetable oils. The benchmark palm oil contract FCPOc3 for June delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed down 0.54% at 4,249 ringgit ($901.55) per metric ton, after rising as much as 0.96% earlier in the day. The contract weakened after the Southern Peninsular Palm Oil Millers Association (SPPOMA) reported higher output figures for March 1-20, a Kuala Lumpur-based trader said, and as rival palm oil on the Dalian exchange ...

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Russian grain chief says BRICS exchange idea gaining traction

A Russian idea backed by President Vladimir Putin for a BRICS grain exchange that would allow buyers to purchase directly from producers is gaining traction ahead of summit of the group in October, the head of the Russian Union of Grain Exporters said. China and India are the world’s biggest wheat producers and Russia the biggest exporter of the grain so any exchange based on the BRICS grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa as well as Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and United Arab Emirates would have global clout. ...

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Steel buyers focus on forecasts after price U-turns

Interest in MEPS International’s 12-month forecasts surged as the importance of an expertly-compiled market outlook was highlighted by a sharp decline in hot rolled coil prices – a marked turnaround from increases on either side of the New Year period. MEPS has forecast that the Europe average hot rolled coil price will bottom in May after increasing by over 21% between October and February. In the United States and Canada prices which grew by 52% and 38%, respectively, during quarter four of last year, started their decline in January. MEPS’s ...

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LME plans to list Saudi port as a copper and zinc delivery point

The London Metal Exchange (LME) plans to list Jeddah, a Saudi Arabian Red Sea port city, as a new delivery point for copper and zinc subject to consultation on a technical change to the LME’s warehouse location framework, it said on Tuesday. The warehouses, registered with the LME, the world’s largest and oldest metals trading venue, are usually located in areas of net metals consumption or top transit hubs such as Rotterdam. “Saudi Arabia is an increasingly important global metals hub and Jeddah fully meets with the operational and logistical ...

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Base metals up as Fed rate-cut outlook lifts risk appetite

Prices of most base metals climbed on Thursday, lifted by enhanced risk appetite after the U.S. central bank indicated it would stick with its interest rate cut plans for this year. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) CMCU3 was up 1.4% to $9,051 per metric ton by 0415 GMT, while the most-traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) SCFcv1 climbed 0.8% to 73,180 yuan ($10,165) per ton. The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday but still saw the rates falling at least three-quarters ...

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Fitch Ratings Raises Several Global Metals and Mining Price Assumptions

Fitch Ratings has increased medium-term and mid-cycle price assumptions for aluminium and zinc due to higher demand and tight supply expectations. Higher short- and medium-term assumptions for iron ore and metallurgical coal, and our 2024 assumption for copper largely reflect supply-side constraints. Increased gold assumptions for 2024-2026 are due to the higher geopolitical premium. Our reduced 2024-2025 nickel assumptions reflect market oversupply. We have added price assumptions for 2027 to the set. The increased 2024 copper assumption reflects supply-side disruptions and lower production guidance from producers, which, together with a ...

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Soybeans jump to two-month high on Argentina weather, wheat rises 1%

Chicago soybeans rose for a second session on Thursday to hit a two-month high, as excessive rains in Argentina raised worries over supplies and triggered short covering. Wheat rose for a third session in four and corn bounced back. “Beans seem to be the main driver at the moment because of Argentina’s storms,” said Andrey Sizov, managing director at agricultural consultancy SovEcon. “The funds were already in short-covering mode and the weather disruption seemed to speed things up substantially. Looks like some funds were caught off guard.” The most-active soybean ...

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China coal industry group expects output growth to slow in 2024

China’s coal output is expected to increase 36 million metric tons, or 0.8%, to about 4.7 billion tonnes in 2024, a Chinese coal industry group said on Wednesday, slower than last year’s 2.9% growth. The projection comes on the back of record output in 2023, when the world’s largest coal consumer mined 4.66 billion tons of the polluting fossil fuel. The China Coal Transportation and Distribution Association (CCTD) expects domestic coal prices to decline at an accelerated pace, partly due to weakness in its real estate markets, said Feng Huamin, ...

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Dalian iron ore extends gains on hopes of improving China demand

Prices of Dalian iron ore futures extended gains into a third consecutive session on Wednesday, supported by growing expectations of a wave of production resumption among steelmakers in top consumer China. The most-traded May iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) ended daytime trade 1.23% higher at 823.5 yuan ($114.39) a metric ton. Hot metal output, widely used to gauge ore demand, is expected to see some rise this week, analysts at Chaos Ternary Futures said in a note, adding that the mounting cost competitiveness of ore following ...

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Big demand for mining licences in Saudi Arabia, says report

There has been a notable increase in the demand for mining licences across Saudi Arabia following the implementation of a new investment law in 2021, reported SPA, citing the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources. It is mainly aimed at promoting investment in the sector, spurring development and boosting the KSA’s mineral production. According to the ministry, the number of exploration licences has more than doubled (from 8 before the law was passed) to 19 in 2023, representing a growth rate of 138%. This surge is attributed to the kingdom’s ...

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Peru copper production dips 1.2% in January

Copper production in Peru, the world’s No. 2 producer of the red metal, slipped 1.2% in January from the same month the year earlier to some 205,375 metric tons, the Andean nation’s mines and energy ministry said on Tuesday. The new figures come after a 17% drop in output from MMG’s 1208.HK Las Bambas mine and a 13.4% fall from Freeport-McMoRan’s FCX.N Cerro Verde mine. That was below December’s output of around 255,000 tons, according to ministry data. Peru’s copper production should reach 3 million tons this year after hitting ...

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Copper slips on demand worries, lead drops as inventories jump

Copper prices retreated further from an 11-month peak on Wednesday, on worries about demand in top metals consumer China while lead slumped after a sharp rise in inventories. Three month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) CMCU3 dropped 0.9% to $8,897 a metric ton in official open-outcry tradingafter falling by 1.2% in the previous session. Copper prices spiked to a peak of $9,025.50 a ton on Monday, the highest since April last year, after a rare agreement by China’s copper smelters last week to cut output. But investors are ...

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Palm oil rebounds on strong exports

Malaysian palm oil futures rebounded on Wednesday, as better export figures and expectation of easing production growth in March supported prices. The benchmark palm oil contract FCPOc3 for June delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 72 ringgit or 1.71% to 4,273 ringgit ($902) per metric ton by the end of afternoon session. “Today crude palm oil futures were up on rumour of better export figures and the production increase for the first 20 days of March is lower than the increase in first 15 days,” a Kuala Lumpur-based ...

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India: Mineral Production in the Country Grows by 5.9% During January 2024

The index of mineral production of mining and quarrying sector for the month of JANUARY, 2024 (Base: 2011-12=100) at 144.1 is 5.9 % higher as compared to the level in the month of JANUARY, 2023. As per the provisional statistics of Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), the cumulative growth for the period APRIL- JANUARY, 2023-24 over the corresponding period of previous year is 8.3 %percent. Production level of important minerals in JANUARY, 2024 were: Coal 998 lakh tonne, Lignite 41 lakh tonne, Natural gas (utilized) 3073 million cu. m., Petroleum ...

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