Bloomberg - Cooking Oil Imports by India Seen Advancing for a Third Month

Bloomberg - Cooking oil imports by India, the world’s second-largest consumer, probably climbed for a third month in February after palm oil prices tumbled and speculation of a tax increase spurred buying by refiners and traders.

Full article : http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-10/cooking-oil-imports-by-india-seen-advancing-for-a-third-month.html

RTRS - Norway drops Asian palm oil firms in show of green credentials

OSLO, March 8 (Reuters) - Norway's $710 billion sovereign wealth fund has pulled out of 23 Asian palm oil companies after accusing them of causing deforestation, winning praise from environmentalists.

It said it sold stakes in the firms after a review of companies that have cleared forests for palm oil plantations in Malaysia and Indonesia. Palm oil is used in many foods and consumer goods such as soaps, lipstick and peanut butter.

The fund is one of the world's biggest investors, underpinned by Norway's oil and gas assets. Last year it expanded its investment guidelines to include deforestation as a threat to future growth.

Stakes in firms including Wilmar , KL Kepong  and Golden Agri-Resources Ltd  were sold during 2012, according to the fund's annual report released on Friday.

Of these, the biggest holding had been in Singapore-listed Wilmar, worth 382 million crowns ($67.29 million).

"In the first quarter of 2012 we sold our stakes in 23 companies that by our reckoning produced palm oil unsustainably," the fund said, without naming any firms.

Norway has given more than any other developed nation to help slow deforestation, partly as a way to avert climate change. Indonesia is home to the world's third-largest expanse of tropical forests and is the top prodicer of palm oil. Malaysia is the world's second largest producer.

The companies deny that they are a threat to forests.

Golden Agri's website, for instance, says: "we aim to be the leader in sustainable palm oil production." Wilmar and KL Kepong similarly say that they support best practices and standards to protect the environment.

DOUBLE STANDARDS

The Rainforest Foundation environmental group has long accused Norway of double standards by investing billions of dollars in palm oil or soya farmers while also giving cash to nations from Brazil to Indonesia to slow deforestation.

"We are very happy with this development in the palm oil sector," said Nils Hermann Ranum, of Norway's branch of the Foundation.

Still, he said that Norway should do more to pull out of other sectors that cause deforestation, such as logging companies, oil and gas firms, soya and meat producers.

By the Foundation's estimates, Norway had investments totalling $13.2 billion in companies damaging rainforests at the end of 2012, against $14.4 billion a year earlier. "They need a more coherent policy," he said.

Norway has programmes to slow deforestation worth $1 billion each for Brazil and Indonesia, as well as smaller projects in nations from Guyana to Tanzania.

Many companies, including Anglo-Dutch consumer group Unilever Plc  and Swiss food group Nestle , have cracked down on palm oil suppliers in recent years because of worries about deforestation.

Deforestation accounts for up to about a fifth of greenhouse gases from human sources. Forests soak up carbon dioxide as they grow and release it when they burn or rot.

Yngve Slyngstad, head of Norway's fund, told Reuters that Oslo was trying to invest more in palm oil producers whose policies did not damage forests that are home to endangered animals such as orang-utans and absorb greenhouse gases.

"We have sold many of the small companies and concentrated investment in larger companies who often have a better practice," he said.

Among palm oil firms, the fund more than quadrupled its holdings in Malaysia's Sime Darby to a value of 688.8 million crowns at the end of 2012 from 150.7 million crowns a year earlier.

Trader's highlight

DJI - NEW YORK, March 8 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed out a historic week with another day of gains on Friday, as the Dow hit yet another record closing high on a payrolls report that surpassed even the most optimistic forecasts.

The S&P 500 climbed for its sixth straight day, putting it less than 1 percent from an all-time closing high. The benchmark S&P index rose for its ninth positive week out of the last 10. All three major U.S. stock indexes racked up their biggest weekly gains since the first week of the year.

Hiring in the United States jumped in February with non-farm payrolls adding 236,000 last month, surging past expectations for a gain of 160,000 jobs and even topping the highest forecast of analysts polled by Reuters. The unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent, the lowest since December 2008.

"This was a lot higher than anyone was expecting, and it definitely shines light on the fact that the economy is improving," said Owen Fitzpatrick, head of U.S. equities at Deutsche Bank Asset and Wealth Management in New York.

"While in the near term, we may be overdue for a pause, given how much we've run. It is very constructive to see numbers improve like this," Fitzpatrick said.

For the year, the Dow is up 9.9 percent, while the S&P 500 is up 8.8 percent and the Nasdaq is up about 7.5 percent.

The day's gains were offset by a decline in some bank shares in the wake of the Federal Reserve's "stress test" results. While the results were largely positive and as expected, with the Fed saying the biggest U.S. banks had enough capital to withstand a severe economic downturn, investors took the opportunity to book profits in the group.

"Financials have had a good run, so people are selling on the news, except for Citi, which was a real outlier on the positive side," Fitzpatrick said.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 67.58 points, or 0.47 percent, to 14,397.07, another record closing high. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index advanced 6.92 points, or 0.45 percent, to 1,551.18. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 12.28 points, or 0.38 percent, to end at 3,244.37.

Brent Crude Oil - NEW YORK, March 8 (Reuters) - Brent crude futures edged lower in choppy trading on Friday, pressured by a stronger dollar, while surging U.S. gasoline futures helped limit losses.

Brent April crude fell 30 cents, or 0.27 percent, to settle at $110.85 a barrel, having traded from $109.14 to $111.33.

For the week, Brent managed a gain of 40 cents, or 0.4 percent, snapping a string of three straight weekly losses.

CBOT Soybean - March 8 (Reuters) - Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade ended mostly lower on Friday after the U.S. Department of Agriculture's forecasts of U.S. and world soybean stocks came in above trade expectations, traders said.

• The unwinding of long soybean/short corn spreads added pressure.

• Still, for the week, most-active May soybeans rose 27-1/2 cents per bushel, or 1.9 percent. May soymeal  rose $5.90 a ton, or 1.4 percent. May soyoil rose 0.67 cent per lb, or 1.3 percent.

• USDA left its forecast of U.S. 2012/13 soy ending stocks unchanged at 125 million bushels, a nine-year low that was nonetheless above the average trade estimate of 120 million. Analysts had expected a drop, citing strong export demand for U.S. soy supplies.

• USDA also raised its forecast of 2012/13 global soybean ending stocks to 60.21 million tonnes, when most analysts expected a reduction.

• USDA cut its 2012/13 soybean production forecast for Argentina but left its estimate of Brazil's crop unchanged at a record 83.5 million tonnes, topping the Brazilian government's forecast of 82.1 million.

• The spot CBOT March soybean contract , which is in delivery, continued to gain against most-active May on spreads ahead of its expiration next week. The premium for March over May soybeans peaked at 38 cents, a four-month high.

• Nearby soybean contracts underpinned by firm cash markets. Cash basis bids for soybeans shipped by barge to the U.S. Gulf were mostly steady early on Friday, underpinned by good demand for spot supplies.

• Port congestion and long loading delays in Brazil have shifted some export demand to the United States at a time when U.S. demand normally declines.

• CBOT reported the number of soyoil contracts registered for delivery fell by 148 contracts late Thursday.

• CBOT reported five March soybean deliveries, one soymeal delivery and 40 soyoil deliveries.

BMD CPO - KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures inched up on Friday, posting a weekly gain of more than 3 percent, as expectations of upcoming bullish data offset investor caution after the industry's biggest annual meeting this week.

Investors took positions ahead of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) report due on Friday that is expected to show a smaller soybean supply, while a Reuters poll also showed Malaysian palm oil stocks are likely to ease in February.

But some market participants still remained cautious after a consensus on price forecasts for this year failed to emerge from the Bursa Malaysia palm oil conference that ended on Wednesday.

"The mixed views from the conference are kind of disappointing and with the focus now being shifted to the USDA tonight, I still believe the palm market will continue to be trading sideways," said Ker Chung Yang, investment analyst with Phillip Futures in Singapore.

The benchmark May contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange had edged up 0.7 percent to 2,449 ringgit ($790) per tonne, but was off a high of 2,451 ringgit, a level unseen since Feb. 26.

Total traded volume stood at 27,046 lots of 25 tonnes each, slightly higher than the usual 25,000 lots, as investors took positions ahead of the industry data.

A decline of nearly a fifth in output probably eased Malaysian palm oil stocks in February to a six-month low, a Reuters survey of five plantation companies showed on Thursday.

For the week, palm oil posted a gain of 3.4 percent, although trade volumes were thin for most of the week as market participants watched for trading cues from the conference.

China, the world's biggest soy buyer, imported 24.3 percent less of the oilseed in February on the year, due to low seasonal demand and holidays. March imports are also expected to be lower on the year, a trend that may push up domestic prices of products.

In other markets, Brent futures steadied above $111 a barrel on Friday after Chinese exports for February beat forecasts, while a restart of a crucial North Sea pipeline limited gains.

In competing vegetable oil markets, U.S. soyoil for May delivery edged up 0.3 percent in late Asian trade. The most-active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange closed 0.5 percent higher.

Regional Equities - March 8 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets ended firmer on Friday, taking cues from Asian peers, as gains in U.S. stocks and forecast-beating Chinese exports data boosted investor sentiment for the region's risky assets.

The Philippines , the region's best performer this year, hit a record high of 6,859.79 before ending at 6,833.77, making a gain of 1.62 percent.

The Philippines' second-most valuable listed firm and conglomerate SM Investments Corp, which posted a 16.3 percent increase in full-year 2012 net profit, rose 4.7 percent, driving the overall index gain.

Indonesia  gained 0.5 percent to 4,874.50, marking record close for a third straight session, led by a 1.2 percent gain in Astra International Tbk PT.

Thailand  closed 0.4 percent firmer at an 18-year high of 1,566.92, pushed up by construction shares, with Siam Cement Pcl rising 3.8 percent.

Malaysia, Asia's worst performer in 2013, edged up 0.2 percent with a $112.43 million foreign inflow, while Vietnam, the region's smallest bourse, gained 0.9 percent on bargain hunting after the market fell to an oversold territory.

Bucking the trend, Singapore  edged down 0.3 percent, weighed by developers such as CapitaLand Ltd, which fell 3 percent on market talk about more government measures to cool the city-state's property market.