RTRS - Soybean importers to rely more on South America -Oil World

AMSTERDAM, May 14 (Reuters) - Major importers of soybeans will rely on increasing volumes from South America in the next six months as exports from the U.S. slow down because of lower stocks, Oil World said on Tuesday.

The German analyst said higher U.S. exports between September 2012 and February 2013 depleted stocks in the world's top exporter, making export rationing inevitable.

"The situation will improve only with the arrival of new crop U.S. soybeans into the second half of September," Oil World said.

"As a result, China and other soybean-importing countries will remain highly dependent on sharply increasing South American soybean exports in May/August 2013."

Exports from Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay are expected to rise sharply in May to 10.8 million tonnes, from 10 million in April and 9.6 million tonnes in May 2012.

"A major change has happened in Brazil with an extension of the working hours at the ports from eight hours to 24 hours for the five days from Monday to Friday," Oil World said.

"This change came into effect at the port of Santos from April 24 and the ports of Paranagua and Rio Grande from May 3."

The German analyst said exports from Brazil will reach 7.6 million tonnes unless rains interrupt shipping.

It said China's soybean imports are expected to rise noticeably in May, June and July as it moves to replenish stocks following lower-than-expected imports in January to April.

"Chinese soybean imports had fallen to only 15.5 million tonnes in January to April 2013, compared with 18.1 million tonnes a year earlier," Oil World said.

Oil World said higher soybean shipments are expected to reach the European Union, indicating that soybean crushing is turning out higher than expected in the second half of the season.

RTRS - India's April palm oil imports down, refiners rely on stocks

NEW DELHI, May 14 (Reuters) - India's palm oil imports declined for a third straight month in April, a trade body said, as refiners in the world's biggest buyer used stocks and processed the new rapeseed harvest.

But India, the world's largest importer of edible oils, is still on track to surpass last year's record purchases of 10 million tonnes of cooking oil as demand rises with a swelling population and increasing wealth.

India's overseas purchases of palm oil hit an all-time high in January as leading producers Indonesia and Malaysia made their exports attractive by varying tax levels. But imports have been falling since then as India retaliated in the second half of January with a duty on crude palm oil purchases.

In April, refined palm oil imports soared 84.5 percent to 253,489 tonnes, keeping the fall in overall palm oil imports limited to 30 percent at 498,960 tonnes, Mumbai trade body the Solvent Extractors' Association said on Tuesday.

Refined palm oil imports rose as the spread with the crude variant narrowed to $15-20 in April as against $30-35 in March. Imported refined palm oil is currently quoted at $845 per tonne on the country's west coast, while the delivered price for crude palm oil is $825 per tonne.

"A small spread with crude oil led to the almost doubling of refined palm oil imports," said B.V. Mehta, executive director of SEA.

Imports of vegetable oils, including non-edible oils, fell by almost a third to 654,827 tonnes in April, led by the drop in palm oil imports, the data showed.

The trade body also lowered last month’s total imports figure in the statement to 889,415 tonnes due to a downward revision in non-edible oil imports.

"Huge stockpiles and new rapeseed crop kept the monthly palm oil imports down," said Pradip Desai, managing director of Mumbai-based broker Palmtrade Services Pvt Ltd.

India's total stocks of edible oil at the start of April were a record 2.1 million tonnes, or nearly 45 days of consumption against the usual stock of a month's needs.

But due to the lower palm oil imports, the total stocks of cooking oil stood at 1.8 million tonnes at the end of April, down 14 percent from the previous month, the SEA data showed.

India buys mainly palm oils from Malaysia, Indonesia and a small quantity of soyoil from Brazil, Argentina.

India imports about 60 percent of its cooking oil demand of 17 million tonnes, with palm oil's share at about 80 percent.

For the half year to April, India's vegetable imports rose about 13 percent to 5.3 million tonnes from a year ago, on track to surpass last year's record purchases. India's vegetable oil year runs from November to October.

Soyoil imports rose 8.5 percent in April to 50,999 as some delayed cargoes from South America arrived. Sunflower imports fell 2.5 percent to 88,368 tonnes as the start of summer cut appetite for fried foods.

Trader's highlight

DJI - NEW YORK, May 14 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rallied to fresh highs on Tuesday as investors picked up large-cap companies' shares on the expectation that central bank stimulus will help propel the rally further.

Gains were broad, but growth sectors outperformed their peers with bank stocks leading the way. Bank of America , up 2.8 percent at $13.34, was the Dow's biggest percentage gainer, while Citigroup Inc rose 2.4 percent to $50.09.

Wall Street has rallied without a significant correction since the start of the year, pushing major indexes to all-time records and sending the S&P 500 up almost 16 percent for 2013 so far.

The ascent has been driven in large part by the Federal Reserve's easy monetary policy, designed to stimulate the economy, though investors' focus has turned to when the Fed may start to rein in its bond-purchase program.

"The developed economies of the world are all easing aggressively, the money is looking for a home, and it's ending up in the stock markets," said Bucky Hellwig, senior vice president at BB&T Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama.

For now, investors are betting that the central bank will be careful not to remove its support too soon in order to not disrupt the economic recovery it is trying to foster, Hellwig said.

So far, declines in the market have been met with buying and investors are trying to gauge how long that can last.

"People are indeed trying to participate in the rally, but at the same time, they're trying to be cautious," said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer of Commonwealth Financial, based in Waltham, Massachusetts.

The S&P 500 financial sector index rose 1.7 percent, while the S&P transports group index gained 1.4 pct.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 123.57 points, or 0.82 percent, to close at a record 15,215.25. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 16.57 points, or 1.01 percent, to end at a record 1,650.34. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 23.82 points, or 0.69 percent, to 3,462.61, its highest close since November 2000.

Oils - NEW YORK, May 14 (Reuters) - Brent crude oil prices fell on Tuesday after a global energy watchdog described world supplies as "comfortable" and analysts forecast a continued build in the U.S. 

crude inventory, while gasoline rose 1 percent on expected inventory draws ahead of the summer driving season.

U.S. crude prices tumbled further late in the trading session, following news that an outage on TransCanada's 590,000-barrel-per-day Keystone oil pipeline would be resolved by Tuesday.

Earlier in the session, strong U.S. equity markets helped support U.S. crude.

U.S. crude's slide allowed Brent to regain some of its premium to the U.S. crude oil after it had earlier narrowed to the lowest level since 2011.

Brent crude oil fell 22 cents to settle at $102.60 per barrel, after trading largely within a $1 range. U.S. crude settled down 96 cents at $94.21 per barrel.

CBOT Soybean - May 14 (Reuters) - Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade ended mixed on Tuesday, with most-active July lower on profit-taking after rising to a six-week high, traders said.

• The spot May contract  expired at $15.24-1/2 per bushel, up 3-1/2 cents on the day, after reaching $15.45, the highest spot price on continuous charts since Nov. 2.

• CBOT has reported no deliveries of soybeans or soymeal so far in the May delivery cycle, underscoring tight supplies and firm cash markets.

• After CBOT May contracts expired, traders took profits on long July/short November soybean positions.

• Drier weather early this week in the U.S. Midwest will boost plantings before more showers develop late on Wednesday and continue into the weekend, with the heaviest rain in the northern Midwest.

• The National Oilseed Processors Association's monthly soybean crush data on Wednesday should show the U.S. crush for April at 125.5 million bushels, a poll of eight analysts projected, down from NOPA's March crush of 137.080 million bushels.

• The average of analysts' estimates for NOPA's April U.S. soyoil stocks figure was 2.653 billion lbs, down from NOPA's March figure of 2.765 billion.

• Chinese soybean production will drop 3.9 percent this year in its third straight annual fall, boosting imports by the world's top buyer, an official think tank said.

• Major soy importers will rely on increasing volumes from South America in the next six months as exports from the United States slow because of lower stocks, oilseed analyst Oil World said. A northern stretch of the Illinois River that has been closed since Saturday for emergency lock repairs may reopen to commercial navigation as soon as Tuesday evening, the U.S. Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers said.

BMD CPO - SINGAPORE, May 14 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil futures edged lower on Tuesday, dropping for a second straight session as worries about weak exports and a firm ringgit kept investors on the sidelines.

Malaysian palm oil exports fell 16.7 percent in the first 10 days of the month from the same period a month ago, weighed by slowing demand from Europe and China, said cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services.

Another surveyor Societe Generale de Surveillance reported a steeper 18.4 percent drop.

"There are two main reasons the market is down today: a strong ringgit and the weak exports figure. Support level is at 2,280 ringgit," said a trader with a foreign commodities brokerage in Kuala Lumpur.

A firmer ringgit , which rose about 0.3 percent against the dollar on Tuesday, makes the feedstock more expensive for overseas buyers and refiners.

At market close, the benchmark July contract  on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was down 0.4 percent at 2,301 ringgit ($770) per tonne, after trading between 2,291 and 2,327 ringgit.

Total traded volumes stood at 26,482 lots of 25 tonnes each, lower than the average 35,000 lots.

Malaysian palm oil stocks eased 11.3 percent in April, due to a combination of stagnant production growth and higher-than-expected exports and local consumption.

The market is now waiting for Malaysia's palm exports data for the May 1-15 period due Wednesday to gauge demand.

India's palm oil imports declined for a third straight month in April, Mumbai trade body the Solvent Extractors' Association said on Tuesday, as refiners in the world's biggest buyer used stocks and processed the new rapeseed harvest.

In other markets, Brent crude slipped below $103 per barrel on Tuesday, caught between hopes of a revival in global economic growth and worries over demand after bearish reports from the West's energy watchdog.

In vegetable oil markets, U.S. soyoil for July delivery fell 0.3 percent in late Asian trade. The most-active September soybean oil contract on the Dalian Commodities Exchange closed 0.1 percent lower.