Wheat prices fell over the past week despite a brief late surge on reports that drought-ravaged Russia plans to import the commodity, while oil futures extended losses on poor US economic data.
GRAINS AND SOYA: Wheat futures rallied on Thursday as a report said Russia was planning this year to return to the Soviet practice of importing millions of tonnes of grain to overcome a shortfall caused by a record drought.
For the 2010-2011 agricultural year, Russia could import at least 5 million tonnes of grain, a source close to the leadership of the ministry of agriculture told the Vedomosti daily.
Until the current drought, which has destroyed one-quarter of its crops, Russia was one of the world’s top grain exporters. In the last year, it was the world’s No. 3 exporter of wheat. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has banned Russian grain exports in a bid to keep the Russian domestic market well supplied with grain and prevent sharp rises in prices.
Wheat soared to US$8.68 a bushel (about 25kg) on Aug. 6 — the highest level for 24 months.
By Friday on the Chicago Board of Trade, wheat for delivery in December fell to US$7.13 a bushel from US$7.34 the previous week.
Maize for December rose to US$4.29 a bushel from US$4.27.
November-dated soyabean meal decreased to US$10.04 a bushel from US$10.44.
OIL: Prices fell further this week, hammered by a raft of poor economic data which sparked questions about the strength of the recovery in leading energy consumer the US.
Despite a positive start to the week, oil was hit hard on Thursday when gloomy data showed the number of Americans filing new weekly claims for jobless benefits jumped unexpectedly to 500,000, the highest level in nine months.
The mood was further dampened when the Federal Reserve of Philadelphia said manufacturing activity in the mid-Atlantic region has dropped this month.
By late on Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Texas light sweet crude for delivery in September sank to US$73.81 a barrel from US$75.58 the previous week.
On London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent North Sea crude for October stood at US$74.62 compared with US$75.28 for the now-expired September contract.
PRECIOUS METALS: Gold prices reached seven-week highs, helped by the metal’s safe-haven status in times of economic unease.
By late on Friday on the London Bullion Market, gold advanced to US$1,223.50 an ounce from US$1,214.25 a week earlier.
Silver grew to US$18.14 an ounce from US$18.06.
On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum fell to US$1,512 an ounce from US$1,527.
Palladium climbed to US$478 an ounce from US$473.
COFFEE: Coffee futures rallied close to 12-year highs on keen demand from speculators, traders said. Prices hit US$1.8150 a pound (0.45kg) in New York on Monday.
By Friday on the New York Board of Trade, Arabica for December stood at US$1.8090 a pound compared with US$1.7735 for September, which had been the most traded contract the previous week.
On London’s futures exchange, Robusta for delivery in November fell to US$1,760 a tonne from US$1,774.
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
BULLY TACTICS: Beijing has continued its incursions into Taiwan’s airspace even as Xi Jinping talked about Taiwan being part of the Chinese family and nation China should stop its coercion of Taiwan and respect mainstream public opinion in Taiwan about sovereignty if its expression of goodwill is genuine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) made the comment in response to media queries about a meeting between former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) the previous day. Ma voiced support for the so-called “1992 consensus,” while Xi said that although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have “different systems,” this does not change the fact that they are “part of the same country,” and that “external
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source