To download the full report (PDF document) please click here COLUMN: Grain traders should join livestock pit protests: Maguire --Gavin Maguire is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own. To get his real-time views on the market, please join the Global Ags Forum. --
CHICAGO, Dec 15 (Reuters) - So far the most vocal protests to the proposed CME agriculture market settlement changes - that will use screen-based trades to determine market closes - have come from livestock traders, who feel threatened that new screen-based settlements could quickly render their pit-based careers obsolete.
And while livestock traders and brokers are indeed more vulnerable to potential screen replacement in both futures and options marketplaces than their counterparts on the grain floor, grain traders would be foolish to think their pit-based dominance of the options arena will last forever. Ambitious renewable energy targets flawed-Gerard Wynn
--The author is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own--
LONDON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Ambitious targets for renewable electricity in the medium-term are likely unfeasible, given they demand forced, early write-offs of fossil fuel power plants and may downplay rival shale gas and the unpredictability of wind and solar power.
The European Commission on Thursday unveiled its "Energy Roadmap 2050" laying out options for making sweeping carbon emissions cuts through a combination of efficiency and renewable energy and other low-carbon technology. ENERGY: Brent rises above $104 on supply concerns; econ woes weigh
SINGAPORE, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Brent crude futures rose above $104 on worries about supply disruption after the U.S. Congress approved a bill imposing sanctions against Iran's central bank, limiting buyers' ability to pay for oil they buy from the Islamic Republic.
"The geopolitical tensions surrounding Iran are putting a floor, keeping prices supported at current levels despite growing worries about the economy," said Ben Le Brun, market analyst at OptionsXpress. "China can run but can't hide from what's going on in Europe. The fallout will hurt everybody."
Reliance finalises 2012 gasoil term deal with at least 4 buyers
SINGAPORE, Dec 16 (Reuters) - India's Reliance Industries has finalised the gasoil term contract for 2012 with at least four buyers and is negotiating with a few more at premiums higher than this year, sources with knowledge of the matter said.
It is selling the 500 ppm sulphur gasoil at premiums of between $3.00 and $3.10 a barrel to Middle East quotes and the 10 ppm sulphur gasoil at premiums of between $4.25 and $4.50 a barrel, they said.
Saudi Aramco in final stages of gasoil, jet term for 2012
SINGAPORE, Dec 15 (Reuters) - State oil company Saudi Aramco has finalised its gasoil and jet fuel term contracts for 2012 with a few buyers and sellers, industry sources said on Friday.
The company has settled term premiums for jet fuel loading from Jubail at $2.10 a barrel on a free-on-board (FOB) basis to Middle East quotes and for jet fuel loading from Rabigh at $2.80 a barrel, they said.
China starts pumping oil into northwest reserves -sources
BEIJING, Dec 15 (Reuters) - China has started pumping oil into new reserve tanks in its landlocked northwest since September, in a move that may have swelled the country's crude imports to a peak in November and is likely to bolster its imports in December.
An estimated 17 million barrels of crude oil, or a rough daily rate of 190,000 barrels, have flowed into both commercial and strategic tanks, recently completed in the remote Xinjiang region and Gangsu province, industry sources told Reuters.
PetroChina adds fuel supply amid shortages -paper
BEIJING, Dec 16 (Reuters) - PetroChina Co Ltd , China's second-largest refiner, was running its refineries at full capacity and will buy more fuel from external sources to cover ongoing domestic shortages, China Petroleum Daily reported on Friday.
Current output of refined oil products was 268,000 tonnes per day, up 2 percent from a year earlier, the newspaper said. The newspaper is run by parent China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC).
Keystone project has Montana approval, governor says
Dec 15 (Reuters) - Montana has given final approval to the controversial Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL oil pipeline, even though the project still faces obstacles with the federal government and Nebraska, the governor said on Thursday.
Governor Brian Schweitzer told Reuters that an important component of the project for Montana is an "on-ramp" to feed oil from his state into the proposed pipeline.
AGRICULTURE: U.S. soy rises for 2nd day on LatAm weather concerns
SINGAPORE, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Chicago soybeans rose around half a percent on Friday, gaining for a second straight day on concerns over dry weather in South America which is likely to boost demand for U.S. beans.
"Dry weather in South America is very supportive factor for soybean and we expect the January contract will rise to around $11.30 to $11.50 next week," said Kazuhiko Saito, chief commodities analyst at Fujitomi Co. in Tokyo. China 2012 cotton area forecast to decline 8.2 pct -survey BEIJING, Dec 16 (Reuters) - China's 2012 cotton-growing area is forecast to decline 8.2 pct due to falling cotton prices, according to a survey published on an industry website on Friday. Planned cotton acreage was estimated at 4.86 million hectares, or 72.94 million mu, said www.cncotton.com, operated by China National Cotton Reserves Corp.
Philippines may export rice by 2014 -farm secy
MANILA, Dec 16 (Reuters) - The Philippines could become a rice exporter by 2014, or a year after attaining self-sufficiency in its national staple, and will study possible varieties it could sell to the international market, the agriculture secretary said.
The Southeast Asian country, the world's biggest rice buyer in recent years, has been working to expand rice acreage and build post-harvest facilities to achieve the goal of producing enough rice for domestic consumption by 2013, as well as exports of the grain, Proceso Alcala told reporters late on Thursday.
Canada Wheat Board bill becomes law, Ottawa takes control
OTTAWA/WINNIPEG, Dec 15 (Reuters) - The Canadian Parliament gave final approval on Thursday to a government bill to end the Canadian Wheat Board's 68-year-old grain marketing monopoly, allowing the government to take control of the board from farmers who oppose its plans.
Legal challenges, however, threaten to leave farmers and the grain industry in limbo into the New Year.
Argentine wheat outlook up to 13.6 mln T-exchange
BUENOS AIRES, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Argentina should harvest 13.6 million tonnes of wheat in the 2011/12 crop year, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said on Thursday, revising up a previous forecast of 13.0 million tonnes due to the impact of earlier rains on yields.
Argentina is a leading global supplier of wheat, and Brazil is its biggest market. Farmers are gathering the grain now, and they normally finish harvesting in January.
Kenya expects maize surplus by June 2012
NAIROBI, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Kenya expects a surplus of 6.45 million 90kg bags of maize by the end of June 2012 thanks to improved rains, its agriculture ministry said in a brief seen by Reuters on Thursday.
The ministry said its maize stocks as at November 30 stood at 16.58 million bags from 14.4 million the previous month, with the state-run National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) holding 2.29 million bags.
BASE METALS: Copper rebounds on signs of U.S. economic recovery
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Copper rebounded in early Asian trading, erasing declines for the week, after the U.S. economy showed signs of recovery while Europe's debt crisis slowed demand in emerging markets.
The most-traded February copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange gained 0.92 percent to 53,540 yuan ($8,400) a tonne. Prices tumbled to a three-week low of 52,820 yuan in the previous session. Futures have lost 26 percent this year.
Japan Nov copper cable shipments fall 0.4 pct yr/yr
TOKYO, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Japanese copper wire and cable shipments fell 0.4 percent in November from a year earlier to an estimated 60,400 tonnes, marking the second-lowest level for that month in the past 35 years, an industry body said on Friday.
Japan's appetite for copper, often seen as a gauge of economic activity and already weak in the wake of the global financial crisis, took a fresh beating after the March earthquake prompted user industries to reduce domestic production.
Power loss damages Rio UK aluminium smelter
LONDON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - A power cut this week at Rio Tinto Alcan's Lynemouth aluminium smelter in northeastern England has knocked out one of the plant's production lines and partially curtailed the other, a company spokesman said on Thursday.
Loss of power in the energy-intensive aluminium smelting process becomes critical beyond 5 to 6 hours as metal solidifies in the pots.
PRECIOUS METALS: Gold up 1 pct on U.S. data, Spain bond sale
SINGAPORE, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Spot gold rallied 1 percent as a smooth Spanish bond auction and upbeat U.S. jobs data supported sentiment, but prices were on track for their biggest weekly drop in nearly three months on a year-end flight to cash.
"People prefer to hold cash in hand at the year end," said Dick Poon, manager of precious metals at Heraeus in Hong Kong.
Investors' cash grab shreds gold's safe-haven status
NEW YORK/LONDON , Dec 15 (Reuters) - A dash for cash has overwhelmed gold's traditional status as a safe haven in times of uncertainty, putting the metal on course for its first quarterly fall since end-September 2008 when the global credit crunch was at its worst.
Money managers said on Thursday gold's outlook remains bleak as they liquidate gold positions in a scramble for the safety of the U.S. dollar at the end of a difficult year, with the fettering euro zone debt crisis causing cash markets to seize up.
Perseus unit plans Ivory Coast gold mine
ABIDJAN, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Occidental Gold, a unit of Australia's Perseus Mining Limited , said it would seek a gold mining license from Ivory Coast after discovering a significant deposit in the West African state.
The company had announced positive drilling results in the Tengrela region in northern Ivory Coast last week. GLOBAL MARKETS: Asian shares, euro gain after upbeat U.S. data
SINGAPORE, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Asian shares rose and the euro edged higher, as signs of strength in the U.S. economy temporarily broke through gloom over the European debt crisis that had driven a sell-off in riskier assets over the past three days.
"The American economy is continuing to improve and they are still the biggest economy in the world ... so if America is doing well that is going to help us all," said Michael Heffernan, senior client adviser and strategist Austock Group. CHART OF THE DAY: SOUTH AFRICAN PHYSICAL COAL PRICES FOB RICHARDS BAY BEYOND THE HEADLINES: Asia frets over oil as US eyes new Iran sanctions
SEOUL/TOKYO, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Plans for fresh U.S. sanctions to isolate Tehran have sent shudders among Asian governments who fear they will have no way to pay for Iranian crude imports and face rising costs to fuel the region's growing economies.
Top buyer China, meanwhile, is looking to cash in on the pressure Tehran faces to snap up discounted Iranian crude.
Chevron lawsuit highlights Brazil investment risks
RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec 15 (Reuters) - A $10.6 billion lawsuit against U.S. oil company Chevron and rig operator Transocean could further cool an increasingly chilly investment climate in Brazil's natural resources industry.
The suit, filed in response to a small oil spill off Brazil's coast on Nov. 7, will likely drag on for years and seeks to shut down the companies' local operations. But its biggest impact may be on investors, both foreign and Brazilian, who are being asked to spend upward of $600 billion to turn Brazil into one of the world's top three or four oil producers.
US wheat suppliers eye more Egypt sales
CAIRO, Dec 15 (Reuters) - U.S. grain suppliers are likely to start winning tenders to sell wheat to Egypt in February, when Russian wheat loses its competitive edge and Argentina retreats from the market, an official with a U.S. industry group said on Thursday.
Egypt, the world's largest wheat importer, has relied heavily on wheat from the Black Sea since the start of the fiscal year on July 1.
Newedge eye opportunities in China sugar, grains
LONDON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - China's expanding trade in sugar and grains and rising options volumes provide growth opportunities for brokerage Newedge, Global Head of Agricultural Business Michael Dann said.
"We're really looking very closely at what is happening in China, for sugar and for grains," he said in an interview, noting the success of the London Metal Exchange (LME) in attracting arbitrage business with the Chinese market.
Timah defends role in Indonesia's tin export ban
PANGKAL PINANG, Indonesia, Dec 15 (Reuters) - A two-month tin export halt in Indonesia helped thin an over-supplied market and cut stock levels, but the ban's failure to boost benchmark prices was due to shipments from other producing countries, an executive at state-owned PT Timah said.
Smelters in Indonesia's main tin-producing region of Bangka island stopped tin ingot shipments from Oct. 1 in a bid to prop up global prices.
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