Breaking News-INTERVIEW-UPDATE 1-Malaysia's Sime to spend 3-5 bln rgt on palm

KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 (Reuters) - Malaysia's top planter Sime Darby will spend 3-5 billion ringgit ($918.3 million-1.53 billion) on its oil palm estates this year as global demand for the vegetable oil grows, a senior official said on Wednesday.
Sime owns 530,000 hectares of estates planted with oil palms in Malaysia and Indonesia and has another 300,000-400,000 hectares of concessions from Liberia and Malaysia's Sarawak state that are yet to be developed.

Breaking News-RTRS-Europe oils-Palm oil prices in Europe edge up in Q1

AMSTERDAM, March 31 (Reuters) - Prompt prices for crude palm oil in Europe rose slightly in the first quarter of 2010, boosted by firmer crude oil and dollar weakness, though slower demand from the energy and feed sectors has limited gains.
Prompt crude palm oil was offered at $817.50 a tonne cif Europe on Wednesday, up 1.6 percent since the end of 2009, helped by rallying crude oil prices but faced with slowing demand from consumers.

Breaking news-RTRS-UPDATE 1-China traders warned off Argentine soyoil -source

BEIJING, March 31 (Reuters) - A trade body under China's Ministry of Commerce urged traders in a meeting not to buy soyoil from Argentina, a trader who attended the meeting said on Wednesday.
The trader cited officials at a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce for Import & Export of Foodstuffs, part of the Ministry of Commerce, as saying the move was part of a wider trade dispute.

Breaking News - RTRS-UPDATE 1-China to restate standard on crude soyoil imports

BEIJING, March 31 (Reuters) - China's quarantine bureau will re-emphasise quality standards for crude soyoil imports, effectively limiting imports, trade sources said on Wednesday.
The authority will tighten checks on solvent residue levels in imports of crude soyoil cargoes, ensuring all imported cargoes have a maximum residue level of 100 parts per million (ppm), they said.

Breaking News-RTRS-UPDATE 5-Argentine port workers end strike after deal

PUERTO GENERAL SAN MARTIN, Argentina, March 31 (Reuters) - Argentine port workers reached a deal on Wednesday with exporters in one of the world's leading grains suppliers to end a strike that stoked supply worries and had driven global soy prices sharply higher.

Trader's Highlight

DJI-NEW YORK, March 31 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday as a report showing a surprising drop in private- sector employment stoked concerns about the health of the labor market two days before the government's key jobs data.

Wall Street took a one-two punch from ADP Employer Services data showing U.S. private-sector employers unexpectedly cut jobs in March and a separate report that showed U.S. Midwest business activity expanded less than expected last month.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 50.79 points, or 0.47 percent, to close at 10,856.63. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> shed 3.84 points, or 0.33 percent, to 1,169.43. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> fell 12.73 points, or 0.53 percent, to end at 2,397.96.

NYMEX-NEW YORK, March 31 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures on Wednesday ended at their highest level this year and posted the loftiest settlement for a front-month crude contract in almost 1.5 years as a weakening of the dollar attracted buying.

The day's rally extended gains to a third day in a row. Front-month crude ended higher for the fifth consecutive quarter, gaining $4.40, or 5.54 percent, in the latest period.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, May crude settled up $1.39, or 1.69 percent, at $83.76 a barrel, the highest settlement since Oct. 9, 2008's $86.59. It traded from $82.22 to $83.85, below the year's high of $83.95 hit Jan. 11.

CBOT-CHICAGO, March 31 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade grains and soy complex close on Wednesday.

CBOT-SOYBEANS - May down 33 cents at $9.41 a bushel; November down 8-1/2 at $9.18. Pressured by USDA's higher-than-expected U.S. March 1 stocks figure of 1.270 billion bushels, above the average trade estimate of 1.208 billion.

CBOT-SOYOIL - May down 0.36 cent at 38.31 cents per lb. Following sharp sell-off in soybeans, but firm tone in crude oil limits declines.

FCPO-KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 (Reuters) - Malaysia crude palm oil futures made little upward progress on Wednesday as firmer ringgit offset stronger global markets and higher export data.

Benchmark June crude palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Deravatives Exchange ended up 0.2 percent or 6 ringgit, at 2,551 ringgit ($780.8). Trading volume shot up to 14,487 lots of 25 tonnes each compared with the usual 10,000 lots.

REGIONAL EQUITIES-BANGKOK, March 31 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian shares fell on Wednesday, taking a breather after recent strong inflows pushed Indonesia and other regional markets higher, a trend analysts said may continue as Asia leads the global economic recovery.

Indonesia <.MIID00000PID>, which is hovering near an all-time high, was the star performer in the January-March quarter with a gain of 6.5 percent, against a 1.47 percent rise in the MSCI index of Asian shares outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS>.

Singapore <.FTSTI> fell 1.6 percent on Wednesday and ended the quarter 0.35 percent lower, making it Southeast Asia's worst performer. The market is trading at 15-18 times estimated 2010 earnings, analysts said.

In Kuala Lumpur, gaming group Genting fell 1.9 percent but top planter Sime Darby edged up 0.11 percent. Sime Darby said it would spend 3-5 billion ringgit on its palm estates this year as global demand for the oil grows.

NYMEX Crude Daily: Bias to little upside potential

Market rebounded sharply had improved the immediate technical landscape to bias upside potential. As for now, we are looking at the immediate upside resistance at USD83.95 followed by USD86.00-87.00. To the downside, support is pegged at USD80.00

FCPO Daily: Remains sideways to lower

Nothing much changes on the immediate technical landscape despite market defended at 2500 level. Thus, market looks may continue to move sideways to lower in near term. As for now, we continue to look for the upside resistance at 2595-2600. While, immediate downside support is lies at 2500 followed by 2470-2462 (gap left over since 3/2/2010).