Energy trading houses are diversifying into food commodities and metals, which makes them likely to invest in assets such as port capacity as they copy their rival Glencore Xstrata to escape excessive reliance on oil.
Oil giants Vitol and Mercuria have expanded in agricultural commodity markets by recruiting traders in the past 18 months, while Gunvor and Mercuria have also hired metals specialists and begun trading for the first time………………………………………..Full Article: Source

European authorities are close to agreeing on the final draft of markets abuse rules that will make the standard commodities market practice of trading on inside information illegal.
Commodities market players say the draft regulation, which will lay the ground work for jail terms for insider trading, could force them to reveal their trading strategies and undermine their businesses……………………………………..Full Article: Source

Commodities traders from around the world will begin gathering in Hong Kong for the annual “LME Week” on Friday - the first time the London Metal Exchange get-together will be held outside London.
About 1,000 visitors are expected to fly in for the event, including commodity traders, users and producers. Hong Kong brokers have welcomed the decision to stage the event in the city and say it will increase awareness of the little-known commodities trading here and help offset the impact of the closure of the Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange (HKMEx)……………………………………..Full Article: Source

Gold imports by India, the world’s largest consumer nation, are falling rapidly after the government imposed new curbs, according to import industry leaders. May this year saw record levels of gold bullion imports, as Indian households “front-loaded” their 2013 purchases thanks to the sharp drop in world gold prices, according to Crisil Ltd., the Indian division of financial analysts Standards & Poor’s.
“The curbs will change the financial models of jewelers in the country,” says Bhaskar Bhat the director of jewelers Titan Industries, quoted by Bloomberg………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing’s plan to co-list commodities contracts on mainland Chinese exchanges, outlined in recent weeks, has fired the starting gun in a battle for a significant share of China’s nascent commodities futures market.
China is the second-largest consumer of oil in the world, the largest consumer of base metals and a big importer of grains, but has never been a major player on the world’s commodities futures stage. Local regulation preventing foreign investors from accessing Chinese exchanges, a low local appetite for hedging and the historical centres for physical commodities trading being in the US and Europe, have conspired to stunt growth………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Gold traders are the most bullish since before the bear market began two months ago after a retreat in equities from an almost five-year high and a weakening dollar spurred demand for bullion.
Nineteen analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect prices to rise next week, with eight bearish and six neutral, the largest proportion of bulls since March 22. Global stocks that rose to the highest since June 2008 on May 22 reached a six-week low yesterday amid mounting speculation about whether the Federal Reserve will taper stimulus. The U.S. Dollar Index, a measure against six currencies, slipped to the lowest in three months……………………………………Full Article: Source

China plans to build more regional commodity trading centers in order to boost domestic consumption, according to a government plan released Wednesday. The State Council, or China’s cabinet, said more trading centers should be planned in regional transportation hubs and large cities to boost regional commerce.
Relevant departments and enterprises are encouraged to develop e-commerce through telephone and TV promotions, the plan says. Local authorities should build more low-price community grocery stores and farm produce wholesale markets to meet demand, the plan says………………………………………..Full Article: Source

It’s been a good year so far for most investments, except commodities. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index, which many consider the best measure of stock-market value, is up around 17 percent as are real estate investment trusts. International stocks are up around 10 percent. Commodities, meanwhile, are down more than 5 percent.
But when you look for a logical explanation of why commodities are in the doldrums, it gets downright confusing. Gold is down 17 percent despite the fact that central banks around the world keep printing money — something you would expect to boost the value of the precious metal………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Even 10 years after futures trading was reintroduced in agri commodities, hedging activities are yet to attract momentum. After 40-odd years of suspension, the ministry of consumer affairs reintroduced futures trading in agri commodities in November 2002, which saw the emergence of three national level derivatives exchanges — Multi Commodity Exchange, National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange and National Multi Commodity Exchange.
In addition to that, 21 regional commodity exchanges also offered futures trading in agri commodities, albeit meagrely………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has attributed the current global crude oil price volatility to continued uncertainty, stemming from the slow pace of global economic growth, continued Euro-zone debt crises, high unemployment in advanced economies and the risk of inflation in developing countries.
Already, there have been fluctuations in crude oil prices going below $98 per barrel and this is setting off warnings about the ability of Nigeria to fund its yearly budget. The National Assembly passed a N4.987 trillion budget for 2013 last December, based on oil production of 2.562 million barrel per day; however the crude oil production assumption contained in the 2013 budget was never achieved in 2012………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The classification of income as speculative or non-speculative is vital, as speculative losses can be carried forward only for four years and set off only against speculative incomes. Finance Act 2013 states that commodity derivatives would not be treated as ‘speculative transaction’ from April 1, 2013, provided.
it is executed on an electronic screen-based system through an intermediary of a recognised association (such as MCX or NCDEX); and it is supported by a contract note containing prescribed particulars………………………………………..Full Article: Source

For commodity traders, there is more bad news in store. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cut its forecast for China’s growth from earlier estimates of 8 per cent to 7.75 per cent for 2013. This follows weak data coming from the country. The biggest impact of a slowing China will be felt in the ‘hard commodities’ (mainly metals) markets. 
China was the reason for a major bull run in these commodities till 2007 on account of its huge requirement and spending in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics. However, a lull in spending by the country resulted in a downward slide in international prices of these hard commodities………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The commodities boom of the past decade is starting to look its age. Abundant liquidity and the perception that commodities could be a ‘store of value’ pushed prices to record levels in many markets. But today, investors are rightly becoming nervous about the likely fall-out, once the Federal Reserve starts to wind down its stimulus programs.
Markets may therefore start to reconnect with the fundamentals of supply and demand. And this could provide an unpleasant shock for unprepared investors. Oil markets provide a good example of what may be in store………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A shale boom in the United States makes a winning oil trade available closer to home, Dennis Gartman of The Gartman Letter said Tuesday. “You’re going to continue to see continued expansion,” he said on CNBC’s “Fast Money.”
Gartman added that the best plays would involve railroads and refiners as the domestic energy boom, and he said that OPEC would feel a squeeze.vv”If there were a way to sell OPEC short, I would try to find a way to sell OPEC short. I’m not sure how one does that,” he said……………………………………Full Article: Source

China’s key commodity imports like oil, copper, iron ore and soybeans all dipped into negative territory year over year in April. Exporters that are China dependent, from American soy farmers to Brazilian iron ore companies, are continually seeing only patchy signs of improvement.
This sluggish picture for headline commodity imports is consistent with reports from Chinese commodity consumers that while demand has picked up in line with seasonal norms, it is not surprising to the upside…………………………………..Full Article: Source

The American energy boom is deepening splits within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, threatening to drive a wedge between African and Arab members as OPEC grapples with a revolution in the global oil trade.
OPEC members gathering on Friday in Vienna will confront a disagreement over the impact of rising U.S. shale-oil production, with the most vulnerable countries arguing that the group should prepare for production cuts to prop up prices if they fall any lower…………………………………..Full Article: Source

Once the darling of hedge funds, commodities are now looking like a poisoned chalice. Last year, hedge funds such as BlueGold, which specialized in crude oil; Centaurus, in natural gas; and Fortress Commodities, across all raw materials, shut down. Several commodities fund of funds also closed last year after clients fled.
Commodities trading, it seems – and in particular oil – is not for the faint of heart. The field is littered with failed ventures and prison sentences………………………………………Full Article: Source

Gold lost its sheen on the auspicious Akshaya Tritiya day by falling nearly Rs 400 but retail purchase got a boost with jewellers saying sales recording at least 15 percent growth.
Delhi, Mumbai and Coimbatore witnessed maximum buying on Akshaya Tritiya day, considered to be an auspicious day for buying gold and silver. Trading in Gold ETFs also rose by 14 percent to Rs 691 crore on NSE Monday………………………………………Full Article: Source

Commodity trading houses are not “too big to fail”, says a report commissioned by the banking industry’s top lobby group, which had hoped it would conclude the opposite.
The Global Financial Markets Association, which commissioned the report from a leading academic on commodity markets, had hoped to use it to persuade watchdogs to regulate their rivals. GFMA members such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase compete directly with commodity trading houses in some areas. But the report said that trading companies “pose less systemic risks” than big banks…………………………………..Full Article: Source

Gold traders are divided on whether surging demand for jewelry and bullion coins will sustain the rally in prices as a slump in holdings through exchange-traded products extends to the longest in more than eight years.
Twelve analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect prices to rise next week, with 10 bearish and five neutral. While rising coin sales and demand for physical gold in Asia drove prices up 11 percent since reaching a two-year low April 16, ETP investors sold about $9.9 billion of their metal in the 27 days through May 8, the longest retreat since September 2004………………………………….Full Article: Source

China’s voracious demand for every conceivable raw material — oil, steel, soybeans, gold, to name a few — once seemed to spell a future of endlessly rising commodity prices and falling living standards in developed nations. This was a Malthusian vision of scarcity: rising demand from the growing economies of the emerging world would couple with shrinking supplies to drive up the prices of natural resources. Gas prices would never come back down; gold would cost thousands of dollars an ounce.
The response, for many, was to bet big on China. Because it is hard to buy directly into China, many bought into the commodities that were being sucked into the gaping maw of the country’s economy: oil from Russia, iron ore from Australia and so on………………………………………..Full Article: Source

China’s main commodity imports are expected to rise in April from a month ago, supported by a seasonal recovery in demand, but the pace of growth in the second quarter will likely be capped by constraints on manufacturing.
China will release preliminary April trade data on Wednesday. Shipments of crude oil, iron ore and soybeans are all likely to have climbed for a second month, after shipments fell in February due to a week-long holiday, although copper arrivals may ease slightly due to port strikes in top exporter Chile, traders said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Gold has cratered into bear market territory. Ditto for silver and copper. Aluminum is in a big downtrend too, along with its metallic cousin nickel. The price of oil has been moving sideways and agricultural commodities are well off last year’s drought-induced highs.
Glance at a list of commodities, and just about everything other than natural gas has been doing nothing or heading south. Sure, there are occasional counter trend rallies, like Friday’s nice move upward for oil and copper on the back of stronger-than-expected U.S. payroll figures, but the overarching trend doesn’t look good………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Gold traders are the most bearish in three years after investors sold a record amount of the yellow metal held in exchange-traded products (ETPs) and prices tumbled in a bear market.
Twenty analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect bullion to drop next week, with nine bullish and four neutral, the biggest proportion of bears since February 2010. Investors sold 174 tonne through ETPs last month, and $17.9 billion of value was wiped out, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Hedge funds accumulated their secondbiggest bet against gold on record, according to US Commodity Futures Trading Commission data………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Glencore completed its takeover of Xstrata on Thursday, becoming the world’s fourth largest mining company and the world’s largest commodities trader.The announcement comes after 15 months of difficult negotiations and lengthy antitrust reviews.
The merger adds coal, copper, zinc and lead mines to Glencore’s trade empire, which will now include more than 90 commodities “from copper to barley and from oil to vanadium.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The world’s little-regulated and often secretive commodity trading houses could face new disclosure rules, and even capital requirements, because of their money lending activities, after a global regulatory watchdog’s review of “shadow banking”.
The Financial Stability Board (FSB) - a task force set up by the G20 group of major economies to improve global financial regulation in the wake of the 2008 crisis - has asked national and regional regulators to determine whether commodity traders should come under the scope of new rules………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Latin America, once as riddled with tariff barriers as it is with rivers, mountains and jungles, is about to claim global trade’s starring role. The race to head the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is now down to a Mexican and a Brazilian. Their candidacies highlight a schism that splits the region down the middle.
In terms of competence there is probably little to separate Herminio Blanco, the Mexican, from his Brazilian rival, Roberto Azevêdo. Mr Blanco casts himself as an outsider, who proved his credentials when he negotiated Mexico’s entry into the North American Free-Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994. Mr Azevêdo has been Brazil’s ambassador to the WTO since 2008, which he says has given him a ringside seat on its problems………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Dairy leads 12.6 per cent jump last month - largest rise in index’s 27-year history.Led by dairy products, ANZ’s commodity price index hit an all-time high last month but Fonterra’s auction saw prices give back nearly half of April’s gains.
In world price terms, the ANZ index climbed 12.6 per cent - the largest monthly rise in its 27-year history. It was underpinned by a 26 per cent rise in dairy prices, which make up 44 per cent of the index and without which the rise would have been only 0.2 per cent………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Oil futures are trading slightly lower in Friday’s Asian as traders take profits and look toward the U.S. non-farm payroll report due out later Friday. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for June delivery fell 0.20% to USD93.81 per barrel in Asian trading Friday after settling up 2.37% at USD93.19 a barrel on Thursday.
Traders had plenty of ammunition with which to propel crude higher Thursday. The European Central Bank cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 0.50%. Additionally, ECB President Mario Draghi left the door open to further monetary easing………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The world’s little-regulated and often secretive commodity trading houses could face new disclosure rules, and even capital requirements, because of their money lending activities, after a global regulatory watchdog’s review of “shadow banking”.
The Financial Stability Board (FSB) - a task force set up by the G20 group of major economies to improve global financial regulation in the wake of the 2008 crisis - has asked national and regional regulators to determine whether commodity traders should come under the scope of new rules………………………………………..Full Article: Source

High-speed traders are using a hidden facet of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s CME -1.20% computer system to trade on the direction of the futures market before other investors get the same information.
Using powerful computers, high-speed traders are trying to profit from their ability to detect when their own orders for certain commodities are executed a fraction of a second before the rest of the market sees that data, traders say………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Commodity super-cycle that began in 1990’s is far from over and it will continue to be driven by resource intensive urbanisation, industrialisation in emerging countries, according to an analysis by ETF Securities Ltd. It said that analysts have shown a tendency to confuse short term correction in prices denoting end of super cycle while such cycles have to be defined over a larger time frame extending to three to four decades.
ETFS said that the world has seen four major super cycles in the past 160 years with bull cycles ranging from 30-40 years and the immediate two previous super cycles were driven by growth in USA (1870-1913) and post war Japan from 1946-1973………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will increase shipments by 60,000 barrels a day through to the middle of May because of rising demand in Asia, according to tanker tracker Oil Movements.
The group that supplies about 40 percent of the world’s oil will boost exports by 0.3 percent to 23.61 million barrels a day in the four weeks to May 11, the researcher said today in an e- mailed report. The figures exclude Angola and Ecuador………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Imports to China may surpass 6 million barrels a day by the end of this year, according to an e-mailed report from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. US oil imports declined 21% last year, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Shipments may drop below 6 million a day in 2014, according to OPEC.
“People have been anticipating this for the better part of a decade,” said Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research in Winchester, Massachusetts………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Gold traders are the most bullish in a month after mints around the world said demand for bullion coins is surging and central banks added to reserves even as prices slumped the most in three decades.
Fifteen analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect prices to rise next week, 11 were bearish and three were neutral. Sales of gold coins from the U.S. Mint are poised for the biggest month since December 2009 and the U.K. Mint said purchases tripled in April. Russia and Kazakhstan boosted reserves for a sixth consecutive month as stockpiles across central banks climbed to an eight-year high, International Monetary Fund data show………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Since 1998, commodities have been in a bull market—the so-called supercycle, where surging demand for raw materials eclipses supply, juicing prices to abnormal highs.
Lately, though, it has been all downhill for commodities. On Morgan Stanley’s MS -0.74% recent earnings call, finance chief Ruth Porat characterized this weakness as cyclical rather than structural. But a more fundamental shift appears under way………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Europe’s share of international coal trading is rising despite a sluggish economy, as a collapse in emissions permit prices and a global oversupply of coal bolsters the fuel’s profitability in power generation.
Global coal use has been steadily rising, driven largely by soaring demand in developing economies such as China and India. But high European gas prices and healthy production levels from exporters have also made coal more attractive for electricity generation in Europe, prompting a rise in coal burn despite efforts by policymakers to curb carbon emissions………………………………………..Full Article: Source

And so another day’s trading begins in the “pit”, or floor, of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the home of the city’s energy and metal trading in downtown Manhattan.
The number of traders on the floor is a far cry from what it was 10 years ago, with the advent of electronic trading meaning more and more people now trade from offices or even the luxury of their own homes………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Commodities are cyclical. In fact the price of natural resources has fallen in real terms over the long haul since the beginning of recorded price history. Commodities have actually fallen after adjusting for inflation over their lifetime.
This adage is often not appreciated by many because they assume commodities are an inflation hedge. So unless “this time is different” we should expect commodities to mean revert or fall in price from recent year’s elevated levels………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The only thing that investors have heard recently about the copper market is that there is vast oversupply ahead as evidenced by a buildup in copper warehouse inventories globally.
Inventories at LME (London Metals Exchange) warehouses have risen in excess of 190% since October alone. Inventories are now at levels not seen since 2003 at more than 590,000 tons………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A sharp fall in commodity prices across segments in the past couple of months is expected to rescue India Inc from shrinking profitability in 2013-14.The fall is 15-20 per cent. Metal prices in India have fallen by seven to 10 per cent during the period.
Since mid-February, the commodities market has seen a reversal following the European debt crisis and fear of an early phasing out of the US Fed’s quantitative easing programme………………………………………..Full Article: Source

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Barclays Plc (BARC) were the top firms for providing over-the-counter commodity derivatives to companies hedging energy and metals exposure, while investors favored Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), a Greenwich Associates survey found.
Barclays and JPMorgan, which tied for No. 1 position, had relationships with 39 percent of the global corporations surveyed about their OTC dealers to hedge energy exposure, ahead of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley (MS), the survey found. JPMorgan also led in metals. Among investors, 59 percent said they had a relationship with Goldman Sachs, 54 percent named JPMorgan and 47 percent used Barclays………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The precious metals continue to consolidate after the major losses suffered early last week. Given the reaction to China GDP last Sunday, it will be important to keep an eye on HSBC China PMI due out on April 23rd at 2:30GMT. There will also be some important data to monitor out of the US this week such as Existing Home Sales, Durable Goods, and Advanced GDP.
Given the recent misses in global economic data, any further misses will not likely bode well for commodities markets in the coming weeks. The US Dollar Index remains fairly range bound, but any strength would also be a negative factor for commodities prices in coming sessions………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Gold traders are divided on whether bullion will extend declines after the biggest plunge in three decades generated buying from investors and jewelers.
Fifteen analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect prices to rise next week, 14 were bearish and a further five were neutral. Gold tumbled 13 percent in the two sessions through April 15, the biggest drop in 33 years, on concern European governments would follow Cyprus in selling off reserves, while an unanticipated slowdown in Chinese growth sparked declines across commodities. In the past three days, bullion has rebounded about 2 percent on the Comex in New York……………………………………..Full Article: Source

Indian gold futures edged down, hovering near their lowest level in more than 18 months, weighed by a stronger rupee, giving an opportunity for physical traders to import in the middle of the wedding season.
The actively traded gold contract for June delivery on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) was 52 rupees higher at 25,731 rupees per 10 grams, after hitting a low of 25,333 rupees earlier in the session, still near the level last seen in September 2011……………………………………..Full Article: Source

Commodity traders expect the industry to become more transparent amid the rising need for financing and regulatory pressure, even as some merchants remain closely held, company executives said.
Physical commodity traders raised $19.9 billion in equity and debt last year, up from $10.6 billion in 2010 and $1 billion in 2002, according to First Reserve Corp., a private equity energy firm. Senior executives at Cargill Inc., the largest closely held U.S. company, and Trafigura Beheer BV, which buys and sells oil and other commodities, said trading companies’ characteristic secrecy will probably diminish over time as they tap capital markets to grow their businesses…………………………………Full Article: Source

In February, against all basic economic sense, Indian Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram announced a new tax on commodities futures trading as part of his 2013-14 national budget. Should it pass, the tax would apply to all non-agricultural items, including copper and natural gas.
India’s commodity futures market, just an idea in 2003, has become one of the world’s leading exchanges in precious metals and energy, with a total turnover of 181 trillion rupees ($3.35 trillion) in the 2011-12 fiscal year. Mr. Chidambaram’s transaction tax would cripple the hedging and price discovery functions of this market. It would also cause job losses across India’s commodity trading network—all for little budgetary gain…………………………………Full Article: Source

Gold imports are likely to go down by about 25 per cent this month to around 53.25 tonnes compared to the same period last year due to the declining gold prices, a bullion trade body today said.
“The imports of the yellow metal is likely to be 25 per cent less than the corresponding month last year as the gold prices are declining steadily. Usually, when the prices drop traders hold back in anticipation of further decline, while they buy when prices rise with the fear of additional increase in rates,” Bombay Bullion Association president Mohit Kamboj told here………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The world’s top commodities traders have pocketed nearly $250bn over the last decade, making the individuals and families that control the largely privately-owned sector big beneficiaries of the rise of China and other emerging countries.
The net income of the largest trading houses since 2003 surpasses that of the combination of mighty Wall Street banks Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley, or that of an industrial giant like General Electric. They made more money than Toyota, Volkswagen, Ford Motor, BMW and Renault combined………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The world’s leading commodities trading houses such as Glencore, Cargill, Vitol, Trafigura and Mitsubishi, who represent a “vital nexus between producers and consumers of raw materials” have earned $250 billion over the past decade, surpassing the likes of JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
The commodities ’supercycle’ that began in 2000 in response to rapid Asian economic expansion has entered a period of slowing spin as prices of commodities ranging from oil to copper to gold face increasingly strong headwinds………………………………………..Full Article: Source