Yen Strengthens to 11-Year High Versus Euro on Demand for Safety

The yen gained to a more than 11-year high against the euro as investors sought the perceived safety of the nation’s debt amid a deepening European crisis and slowing U.S. growth.  Japan’s currency strengthened against all its major counterparts for a second day as the premium investors receive for buying debt of the U.S., U.K. and Germany instead of Japanese securities fell. The euro rose from the weakest in almost two years versus the dollar as Spanish and Italian bonds rallied. Data showed the U.S. economic expansion slowed before tomorrow’s Labor Department payroll report.

Corn, Soybeans Called Higher on Dry Weather; Wheat May Decline

What follows are opening calls for U.S. grain and oilseed markets, which open at 5 p.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade.
-- Corn futures may open 1 cent to 2 cents a bushel higher on the CBOT because of dry weather in the past weeks in parts of the U.S. Midwest, including Iowa and Illinois, the biggest growers, Dave Marshall, a farm-marketing adviser at Toay Commodity Futures Group LLC in Nashville, Illinois, said in a telephone interview.
-- Soybean futures may open little changed to 1 cent a bushel higher in Chicago on the lack of rain in the past week in the U.S., Marshall said. Soybean-oil futures are expected to open steady to 0.1 cent higher, and soybean-meal futures may open little changed to $2 higher per 2,000 pounds.
-- Wheat futures may open steady to 1 cent a bushel lower on the CBOT, the Kansas City Board of Trade and the Minneapolis Grain Exchange as the harvest progresses in the U.S. Plains, boosting supplies, Marshall said.

Crude, Copper, Gold Set for Monthly Drops: Commodities at Close

The Standard & Poor’s GSCI gauge of 24 commodities rose 0.3 percent to 605.15 at 4:55 p.m. Singapore time. The UBS Bloomberg CMCI index of 26 raw materials increased 0.2 percent to 1,451.411.

CRUDE OIL

Oil was poised for the biggest monthly drop in more than three years in New York on speculation Europe’s worsening debt crisis and a slowing U.S. economy will reduce fuel demand...

SOFTS HIGHLIGHTS: Top Stories Of The Day

Arabica coffee futures in New York fell to a new 22-month low Thursday as expectations of a record harvest from top grower Brazil continued to weigh on the market...

Global stocks weakest in 8 months; U.S. bond yields hit lows

Stocks ended May with their largest loss in eight months and commodities also took a battering after a spate of worrying U.S. economic data on Thursday hit markets already reeling from Europe's debt troubles.  The euro had its worst performance since September too, repeatedly hitting a near two-year bottom.  U.S. bond yields fell to record lows as fears about Spain's troubled banks and Greece's possible exit from the euro zone spurred a global race for safe assets.

NY coffee ends at 22-mth trough; sugar down, cocoa up

Arabica coffee futures closed at a 22-month low on Thursday, marking their sixth straight monthly fall as investor worries about Spanish banks' debts pressured global markets. Raw sugar futures also finished lower in narrow dealings, closing down for the third straight month, while U.S. cocoa finished up on July/September spreading but ended May with its biggest monthly fall in six months.

Zambia Corn Policy Hurts Other Crops, World Bank Says

Zambia shouldn’t set a producer price for corn because farmers are discouraged from growing other crops like soy and peanuts, the World Bank said.  The policy has “limited private-sector investments in the agricultural sector and constrained much desired growth and job creation,” Kundhavi Kadiresan, the lender’s country director for Zambia, said in an e-mailed statement today from the capital, Lusaka. Zambia’s Food Reserve Agency said yesterday that it would pay 1.3 million kwacha ($243) a metric ton for corn, according to the state-controlled Times of Zambia newspaper.  The government of Zambia, southern Africa’s biggest corn producer after South Africa and Malawi, is the largest buyer of grain in the country, with the nation’s Food Reserve Agency purchasing 1.8 million metric tons of the 3 million tons produced last year, according to the Zambia Agricultural Commodities Exchange Ltd.  “It is our hope that government will reconsider its policy of setting prices for corn to allow prices to be determined by prevailing market conditions,” Kadiresan said.

Global growth fears knock wind out of market

Major commodities mostly fell on Thursday to conclude one of their worst months since the financial crisis, as escalating fears over the euro zone's debt problems and weak U.S. data crushed investor risk appetite this month.  The benchmark Thomson Reuters-Jefferies CRB index .CRB has tumbled nearly 11 percent in May, the second-largest monthly decline since the darkest days of 2008, stoking debate over whether the decade-long bull market for raw materials may be winding down.  U.S. and Brent crude oil tumbled into their biggest monthly losses since December 2008, while copper slid 11 percent in May to erase all of this year's gains. Gold ended the day up slightly but registered its fourth straight monthly decline -- its most in a dozen years.

Markets are trading mixed at morning

Corn futures are trading mixed to mostly lower. Corn futures are lower after a rally in the overnight session on weather concerns. However, the euro zone debt crisis continues to weigh down market prices. Prices should see some support as the dollar index is down and calls for rain over the U.S. Corn Belt has decreased.  Soybean futures are trading 1 to 2 cents lower. Soybeans futures along with corn futures showed initial signs of improvement in early morning trade as dry weather concerns in the Midwest moved to the forefront. Gains were short lived as the debt crisis in the EU continues to loom over the market. Demand for U.S. soybeans is firm and should lend support to futures prices.  Wheat futures are trading 2 to 5 cents lower. Wheat prices are down for the third consecutive day. Rains in Russia and Australia dragged prices down followed by ongoing pressure from outside markets. The downgrade of the Spanish banking system, economic slowdown in China, and the euro zone debt crisis continue to weigh on the market. However, the weak dollar index should lend support to the market.  Cattle futures are called to open lower. Cattle prices experienced sharp declines on the close yesterday and pressure from outside markets are expected to weigh cattle prices down on the open. Prices should see support as boxed beef prices continue to increase and trade in the cash market is expected to improve.

Oil Prices Head For Biggest Monthly Drop Since 2008

The price of oil is headed for its biggest monthly decline since December 2008.  Oil has dropped more than 16 percent so far in May, erasing all of its gains for the year. That's helped lower gas prices and provided a little financial relief to cautious consumers. Prices are falling on expectations that the world won't use as much oil this year as previously thought. Europe's financial crisis is the most immediate concern, but there have been plenty of signs of weaker demand.

Argentina may have bumper soy, corn crop next year

Argentine growers could gather bumper soy and corn harvests next season as forecasts for wetter weather bring hope to drought-hit farms, a senior U.S. Department of Agriculture official said on Wednesday. Dryness from the La Nina phenomenon walloped the Pampas farm belt in December and January, reducing yields and slowing supply from the world's No. 3 soybean exporter and No. 2 corn provider. On top of that, some growers have had to suspend harvesting after uncommonly heavy May rains caused flooding. The extreme weather swings have prompted a raft of 2011-12 harvest forecast cuts for a country being counted on to help meet rapidly rising global food demand.   But the 2012-13 season, which starts with October and November soy and corn plantings, looks promising, Melinda Sallyards, agricultural counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires, told the Reuters Latin America Investment Summit.

Asian Currencies Weaken Most Since September on Europe, China

Asian currencies had the biggest monthly loss since September as China’s economy slowed and a banking crisis in Spain curbed appetite for emerging-market assets.  The Bloomberg-JPMorgan Asia Dollar Index lost 2.7 percent since April 30 as global funds pulled $7.8 billion from South Korean, Taiwanese and Indonesian stocks, exchange data show. India’s rupee led losses, reaching a record low today as the government said the economy grew 5.3 percent last quarter, the smallest gain in nine years. Indonesia’s rupiah fell to the weakest level since November 2009 while China’s yuan and Malaysia’s ringgit both touched their lowest levels this year.