Reuters Daily Agriculture Brief 080409

FIRST ON REUTERS:

Reuters makes a big splash with U.S. planting, price outlooks

The exclusive grain price outlook from the Reuters Food and Agriculture summit got big play among U.S. grains and oil traders. Brokerage houses found it valuable enough to circulate in notes to their clients as soon it hit the wire. Traders quoted the Reuters story in their daily wires distributed before the Chicago Board of Trade markets opened on March 18, fueling more speculation on what USDA was going to say in its March 31 planting intentions report. Trader expectations that the USDA would forecast farmers to plant a couple million less corn acres in 2009 versus a year ago, got the direction right and were near the mark. They also helped keep CBOT new-crop December corn prices supported above $4 a bushel before the report was released on March 31.

GRAINS:

US grains extend fall on weak equities, firm dlr

PARIS/SINGAPORE, April 8 (Reuters) - U.S. grain and soybean futures extended their falls as equities and oil continued to pull back and the dollar to climb amid investor nervousness over the U.S. earnings season getting underway.

"We are seeing global equity markets under further pressure," said Garry Booth, a trader at commodity brokers MF Global Australia.

Asia Grains-China seeks June soy, Aussie wheat sales brisk

SINGAPORE, April 8 (Reuters) - Chinese buyers are seeking June delivery soybeans from South America this week, while Australian exporters are eyeing wheat buyers for the last quarter after selling out until September.

Black Sea wheat continued to make inroads into Asia with more sales likely to Indonesia and Vietnam after initial purchases in the past few weeks.

EDIBLE OIL/OILSEEDS:

Palm steady as bullish stocks offset weak crude

JAKARTA, April 8 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm futures were steady by midday, bouncing back from early falls after a bullish Reuters poll on end-March palm stocks offset downward pressure from weaker crude oil prices, traders said.

"After Reuters poll came out, the market inched up from negative territory. The poll was a bit bullish because our minister only put 1.5 million tonnes," said a trader at a Kuala Lumpur-based brokerage.

POLL-Malaysia's March palm oil stocks seen at 20-month low

KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 (Reuters) - Malaysia's March palm oil stocks are likely to slide 12.8 percent to a 20-month low, slowing slightly as exports remained flat and output notched weak growth after months of decline, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.

March's inventory level in the world's second-largest producer is seen at 1.36 million tonnes from February, the lowest since July 2007, feeding fears of a squeeze in global vegetable oil supplies, according to a median estimate of five plantation houses.

FINANCIAL MARKETS:

Stocks fall, yen rises on earnings worries

LONDON, April 8 (Reuters) - World stocks slipped for a third session in a row and government bonds and the low-yielding yen gained as poor earnings from U.S. aluminium group Alcoa sparked concerns about other corporates.

"The market is taking a reflective pause ... Obviously Alcoa was a massive disappointment and was worse than expected," said David Buik, partner at BGC Partners.

BEYOND THE HEADLINES:

India March edible oil imports seen up 33 pct

NEW DELHI, April 8 (Reuters) - India's edible oil imports are expected to rise by a third in March from a year ago because of low prices, further swelling stocks built with heavy purchases in recent months, leading traders and importers said.

The average of estimates from 14 leading traders across India showed imports in March were likely to rise to 561,600 tonnes, with figures ranging from 500,000 tonnes to 650,000 tonnes.