Oil, Gold Near Records as Dollar Drop Lures Investors

(Bloomberg) - Crude oil and gold traded near records after a slump in the dollar against major currencies boosted the appeal of raw materials as an inflation hedge.

Oil reached a record $100 a barrel yesterday and gold soared to its highest ever. The dollar fell as traders increased the odds of a Federal Reserve cut in borrowing costs this month to 100 percent. Palm oil gained to a record today, soybeans were near a 34-year peak and corn was close to an 11-year high.

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Corn Declines on Speculation U.S. Farmers Sowed Record Number of Plants

(Bloomberg) -- Corn fell for the first time in five
sessions in Chicago on speculation that a jump in the number of
viable plants this year will produce the largest-ever crop in the
U.S., the biggest global exporter.

U.S. farmers may harvest a record number of ears per acre,
Bill Nelson, a vice president for A.G. Edwards Inc. in St. Louis,
said in a report to clients today after touring fields across the
Midwest last week. Temperatures as much as 6 degrees Fahrenheit
below normal limited stress in fields that received 25 percent of
normal rain in the last 30 days, Nelson said in the report.


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Owens to sell two facilities in Belgium and Norway

(Reuters) - Owens Corning also said it was in "active discussions" with
Saint-Gobain on the potential conversion of the proposed joint
venture into an outright acquisition by Owens Corning of the
French company's Vetrotex business.





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Corn, Soybean Futures Fall in Chicago on U.S. Forecast for Normal Rainfall

(Bloomberg) -- Corn and soybean futures fell in
Chicago on a forecast for normal rainfall in the U.S. Midwest
grain growing areas over the next six to 10 days.

Corn prices fell as much as 5.1 percent and traded down 4.3
percent at $3.53 a bushel at 10:45 a.m. Singapore time. Soybean
prices declined as much as 4.4 percent and traded down 3.2
percent at $9.1950 a bushel. The U.S. National Weather Service
predicted normal rainfall for the Midwest in its six to 10 day
forecast issued on Sunday.


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Argentina stocks close at record high on energy shares

(Reuters) - The MerVal index of 21 leading rose 0.56 percent to
end at 2,266.09 points, surpassing the previous day's
record-high close of 2,253.30 points.




"The MerVal's new high was focused on the renewed boom of
Tenaris and other from the energy sector like
Petrobras, but selectivity was the order of the day," said
Dionisio Corneille, director of the Corneille brokerage.


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Corn Falls as U.S. Crop May Be Larger Than USDA's Record Estimate in June

(Bloomberg) -- Corn in Chicago fell on speculation
the U.S. harvest will be larger than the government forecast a
month ago after farmers planted more of the grain than they
signaled in March.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture tomorrow will forecast
a crop of 12.972 billion bushels, 4.1 percent more than the
record 12.46 billion projected last month, according to the
average estimate of 11 analysts. A crop of that size would be
23 percent bigger than last year's harvest.


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Corn Rises as U.S. Exports Improve After Price Drops to Eight-Month Low

(Bloomberg) -- Corn in Chicago gained for a second
straight session, after falling to an eight-month low, as
overseas demand for U.S. supplies rose.

U.S. exporters reported net sales of 1.068 million metric
tons of corn in the week ended June 28, 42 percent more than
the previous week, the Department of Agriculture said today. An
additional 860,900 tons were sold for delivery in the next
market year, which starts Sept. 1. And unknown buyers have
purchased at least 116,000 tons since yesterday, the USDA said.


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Soybeans May Rise in Chicago as U.S. Farmers Cut Plantings; Corn May Gain

(Bloomberg) -- Soybeans may rise to a three-year
high on the Chicago Board of Trade after U.S. farmers planted
the fewest acres in 12 years. Corn may climb as livestock and
dairy producers snap up the cheapest supplies since April.

Twenty of 25 traders, farm advisers and merchants surveyed
June 29 recommended buying soybeans, and 14 said to buy corn.
Soybeans for November delivery rose 6.1 percent last week to
$8.8175 a bushel, the eighth gain in nine weeks. December corn
tumbled 8.1 percent to $3.5075 a bushel, capping a two-week
decline of 16 percent, the largest such drop since July 1997.


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