Reuters Daily Agriculture Brief 090409

FIRST ON REUTERS:

Reuters first with USDA donation of dairy products to help poor, farmers
Reuters was nearly 7 minutes ahead of Bloomberg with an announcement from the U.S. Agriculture Department that it planned to donate 200 million lbs of non-fat dry milk surpluses totaling $160 million to help the poor and dairy farmers hit by high feed costs and low prices. Christopher Doering obtained an exclusive copy of the release from a source nearly two hours before USDA made the announcement. The news sparked buying and higher prices in Chicago Mercantile Exchange milk futures as the move helped trim milk and dairy supplies. An over-supply of milk and inadequate demand has led to milk prices plummeting down more than 50 percent from last year, after hitting life-time highs in 2007.

GRAINS:

Soy at new 2-month high on tight U.S. stocks, demand
SINGAPORE, April 9 (Reuters) - Chicago soybean futures extended gains, rising to a fresh 2-month high, as investors took positions ahead of a crucial U.S. report expected to show a drawdown in soy stocks.
"The soybean market is very strong, people are covering their positions before tonight's USDA supply and demand report," said Kaname Gokon, a manager at broker Okato Shoji Co. in Tokyo.

EDIBLE OIL/OILSEEDS:

Palm at new 6 mth high on supply squeeze, markets
KUALA LUMPUR, April 9 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures gained 2.9 percent to hit a new 6-month high, as investors bet on a sharp drop in stocks amid strength in crude and soyoil markets, traders said.
"The market seems to be buying on rumour of lower stocks and will sell on fact when the Malaysian palm oil board data comes out," said a trader with a local commodities brokerage.

Argentina January soyoil, meal export volumes fall
BUENOS AIRES, April 8 (Reuters) - Argentine soyoil and meal shipments fell sharply in January from the same month a year ago while exports of uncrushed beans rose, the Agriculture Secretariat said in its latest monthly report.
Argentina is the world's top exporter of soyoil and soymeal as well as the No. 3 supplier of soybeans, and overall exports of the oilseed accounted for roughly a quarter of the country's total export earnings last year.

BIOFUELS:

Ethanol adds 0.5-0.8 points to US food prices -CBO
WASHINGTON, April 8 (Reuters) - The boom in corn-based ethanol as motor fuel added from 0.5-0.8 percentage points to U.S. food prices when they were climbing at double the usual rate, said the Congressional Budget Office on Wednesday.
In a report, CBO said larger use of ethanol drove up feed prices for cattle, hogs and poultry and, in turn, resulted in higher retail prices for food.

FINANCIAL MARKETS:

Stocks up on Japan plan but gains curbed
LONDON, April 9 (Reuters) - Global equities edged higher on Japan's larger-than-expected economic stimulus package but gains were muted as investors searched for further signs of optimism in the financial crisis hitting economies from Australia to Ireland.
"It is a bear market rally, not the start of a new bull market. I don't think there is much good news coming. Most of the good news is out already like the Obama plan, the Geithner plan and the Bernanke plan but they will take three to six months to work -- if they work," said Philippe Gijsels, senior equity strategist at Fortis in Brussels.