Breaking News-RTRS-Nestle says drops palm oil supplier after report

AMSTERDAM, March 17 (Reuters) - Nestle , the world's biggest food group, said it had stopped buying palm oil from Indonesia's Sinar Mas due to concerns about rainforest destruction, following a similar move by consumer goods firm Unilever.
Nestle's announcement came after Greenpeace released a report on Wednesday which looked into how the company was sourcing palm oil.
Switzerland's Nestle, which uses the edible oil in its food products such as KitKat bars, said it had replaced Sinar Mas with another supplier for further shipments after conducting its own investigations into its palm oil supply chain.

Breaking News-RTRS-UPDATE 1-Dry spell in Malaysia's key palm oil state till April

KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 (Reuters) - El Nino-driven dry weather in Malaysia's key palm oil producing state of Sabah is expected to continue till April, a weather official was quoted as saying by state news agency Bernama on Wednesday.
Sabah's metereological department director general, Abdul Malik Tusin, said the situation was not as bad as in 1997 but the current hot weather was not "normal".

Breaking News-RTRS-Small delays for ships loading Brazil soy - ports

SAO PAULO, March 16 (Reuters) - Ships waiting to load soy in Brazil, the world's No. 2 producer, are experiencing slight congestion at ports due to bad weather, port sources said on Tuesday, but delays were minor compared with peak harvest time last year.
Traders in soy futures traded on the Chicago Board of Trade had cited delays in Brazil as one of the factors causing prices for the oil seed to firm and last week had talked of delays extending for 14 to 16 days.

Breaking News-RTRS-ANALYSIS-US soyoil lures funds on biofuel optimism

CHICAGO, March 16 (Reuters) - Investment funds are betting
U.S. soyoil futures, up 9 percent since February, will keep
rallying as the Obama administration pushes for greater use of
biofuels to reduce dependence on crude oil.
The United States is set to reinstate the $1-a-gallon tax
credit for biodiesel, with recent approval from the U.S. Senate
as part of a jobs creation package. The tax credit expired on
Dec. 31, sharply reducing production of biodiesel made from
soyoil.

FCPO Daily: Technical rebound

Technical rebound following a recent sharp drop. However, market momentum remains weak and looks may continue to move bias sideways to lower in near term. Immediate upside resistance is pegged at 2600 followed by 2630-2640. While, downside support is lies at 2546 followed by 2542-2523 (gap left over on 8/2/2010).

Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, March 17 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks gained on Wednesday, pushing the Dow to a 17-month high, after a benign February inflation reading supported the Federal Reserve's renewed pledge of low interest rates.

The market reacted positively to a drop in the February Producer Price Index, further supporting the near-zero interest rates that have propelled the rally in equities.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 47.69 points, or 0.45 percent, to end at 10,733.67. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 6.75 points, or 0.58 percent, to 1,166.21. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> advanced 11.08 points, or 0.47 percent, to 2,389.09.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, March 17 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures settled higher on Wednesday after a government oil inventory report showed falling fuel supplies and as the dollar softened in the wake of the Federal Reserve interest rate decision.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, April crude rose $1.23, or 1.51 percent, to settle at $82.93 a barrel, trading from $81.72 to $83.09.

CBOT-CHICAGO, March 17 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade grains and soy complex close on Wednesday.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - May up 14 cents per bushel at $9.59. Ended near day's high on late short-covering, buy-stops and fund buying. Weak dollar and firm crude oil supporting soy in addition to support from concern about a potential strike of Argentine truckers and port workers.

CBOT-SOYOIL - May up 0.46 cent per lb at 39.83. Support from gains in soybeans and firm crude oil.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures ended up 1 percent on Wednesday on a technical rebound, after the market hit one-month lows the previous day, but a stronger ringgit curbed gains.

Benchmark June crude palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose 26 ringgit to 2,595 ringgit ($783.5) per tonne. On Tuesday, the market dropped as much as 25 ringgit to 2,550 ringgit, a level unseen since Feb .12. Overall traded volume rose to 15,515 lots at 25 tonnes each, from the 10,000 lots.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, March 17 (Reuters) - Indonesian stocks hit two-year
highs on Wednesday as foreign investors piled into Southeast Asia, lured by the prospect of better returns after the U.S. Federal Reserve renewed a pledge to keep rates near zero.

Thailand <.SETI> approach 20 month highs, Singapore <.FTSTI> hit an eight-week high, Malaysia <.KLSE> and the Philppines <.PSI> each posted smaller gains, while Vietnam <.VNI> extended losses for a second day.

Singapore's benchmark index rose 0.8 percent. Among actively traded stocks, Genting Singapore was up 1.6 percent and CapitaLand rose 2.5 percent.

In Kuala Lumpur, the index was up 0.24 percent, reversing a four-day fall, led by gaming group Genting Malaysia and financial AMMB Holdings each gaining almost two percent.

DJI Daily: Hits Fresh New High

Market hits fresh new high to stay above 10,000 physiological resistance levels. Thus, more room to bias upside potential. As for now, we are looking for the immediate upside resistance at 10,800 to 11,000. While, immediate downside support is looking at 10,600 levels.

FKLI Daily: Nothing much changes

Nothing much changes on the immediate technical landscape as 1300 physiological support levels defended well. Market may continue its sideways mode in near term. We continue to look for the immediate upside resistance at 1315-1320 followed by 1325-1337 levels. While, immediate downside support is looking at 1300 levels followed by 1291-1288 (gap left over on 5/3/2010).