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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TobagoJack who wrote (25136)	11/12/2007 10:37:46 PM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 220055

Malaysia Ringgit up against the trend. I wonder if some middle east oil money is being put into it. GCC countries like Malaysia.

To: TobagoJack who wrote (25136)	11/13/2007 8:43:55 AM
From: elmatador	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 220055

China's Inflation Accelerates on Surge in Price of Pork, Cash From Exports ELMAT: Easy to solve: use cash to buy pork from Brazil China's October Inflation Matches Decade High of 6.5% (Update4) By Nipa Piboontanasawat Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Inflation in China, the world's fastest-growing major economy, accelerated in October as food prices jumped, increasing pressure on the central bank to raise interest rates for a sixth time this year. Consumer prices rose 6.5 percent from a year earlier, matching the decade high in August, the National Bureau of Statistics said today, after gaining 6.2 percent in September. That was more than the 6.3 percent median estimate of 20 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Pork prices jumped 55 percent, vegetable costs were up almost 30 percent and three people were killed last week in a stampede for cooking oil in Chongqing. Rising food costs threaten to fan unrest, spur wage demands and undermine the stability of an economy that grew 11.5 percent in the third quarter. ``Food inflation has expanded into other categories -- energy, labor and asset prices,'' said Chris Leung, senior economist at DBS Bank Ltd. in Hong Kong. ``Everyone in China is feeling inflation, especially the poor.'' He expects another rate increase this year. The yield on one-year central bank bills issued today rose from the sale a week ago on speculation rates will rise. The notes were sold at a yield of 3.94 percent, a 0.15 percentage point increase. The yuan traded at 7.4307 versus the dollar as of 4:35 p.m. in Shanghai after closing at 7.4123 yesterday. The CSI 300 Index of stocks fell 0.8 percent. Wen's Pledge Premier Wen Jiabao yesterday visited poor people in Beijing's Dongcheng district, expressing concern at inflation and pledging to stabilize prices, the government said. The stampede at the Carrefour SA supermarket was after an offer of 11.5 yuan discounts on 51.4 yuan five-liter bottles of cooking oil, state media reported. Soaring consumer prices helped trigger the Tiananmen Square protests that were crushed by the army in 1989. ``Prices have been on the rise these days and I know that even a one-yuan increase in prices will affect people's lives,'' Wen said, according to a statement posted on the government's Web site. One yuan is about 13 U.S. cents. China's inflation compares with the 2.8 percent increase in the U.S. in September from a year earlier and the 2.97 percent gain in India, the world's second-fastest growing major economy, in the week ended Oct. 27. Blue Ear Disease Food prices account for a third of the consumer-price index. Pork prices soared this year after farmers cut production because of increased feed costs and outbreaks of Blue Ear Disease in pigs. Edible-oil prices, up 34 percent, climbed on reduced oil-seed crops, while bad weather pushed up vegetable prices in October, according to the Ministry of Commerce. Price increases for non-food items were 1.1 percent, the same as in September. Still, there's pressure for inflation to accelerate further. The government this month raised prices for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel as crude oil surged to records. Producer prices jumped 3.2 percent in October from a year earlier after climbing 2.7 percent in September, the statistics bureau said yesterday. October's record $27 billion trade surplus pumped more cash into the economy. M2, the broadest measure of money supply, rose 18.5 percent last month from a year earlier. Money-Supply Growth ``Money supply is growing very fast and that is worrying because it may push inflation higher,'' said Paul Cavey, an economist at Macquarie Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong. Three days ago, the People's Bank of China ordered lenders to set aside 13.5 percent of their deposits from Nov. 26, the highest proportion since at least 1987. The central bank has pushed the benchmark one-year lending rate to a nine-year high of 7.29 percent. For the first 10 months, consumer prices climbed 4.4 percent. The central bank last week forecast full-year inflation of about 4.5 percent because of consumers' expectations that prices will rise and pressure from food, energy and labor costs. Inflation of 3 percent is the central bank's annual target. A sixth increase in interest rates is likely this year, according to a Bloomberg News survey of economists. To contact the reporter on this story: Nipa Piboontanasawat in Hong Kong at npiboontanas@bloomberg.net

To: TobagoJack who wrote (25136)	12/3/2007 8:56:43 PM
From: elmatador	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 220055

Taming China inflation: Brazil Signs Draft Pork Export Protocol With China Chinese officials have inked a draft veterinary protocol with Brazil for the export of pork to China, the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) has learned. Although details of the pact are not available, the agreement was announced during last week's High Level Food Safety Forum in Beijing. "The Brazilians have been looking to gain official access to China for years; a realization of that objective is now within sight,” said USMEF Senior North China Representative Donald Song, who attended the event the forum in Beijing. Song added there were unconfirmed reports that AQSIQ, the China's veterinary agency, would send officials as early as this week to Brazil to finalize terms of the agreement and perhaps to inspect and approve plants. Under normal supply protocols with meat and poultry supplying countries, China reaches agreement on general terms of supply of meat and poultry, on a species basis, and then dispatches certification teams to inspect and approve facilities on a plant-by-plant basis. China, however, recognizes all USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service approved U.S. pork facilities as having export eligibility to the country. According to the China Certification and Accreditation Administration Web site, Brazil currently has 24 poultry plants and three beef plants approved to export to China. Plant accreditation has not necessarily translated into trade, however, and calculating with clarity the levels of Brazil's meat trade with China has been elusive. For example, Brazil statistics report 28,145 metric tons (mt) of poultry meat and 650 mt of beef and beef variety meat were exported to China in 2006, although USMEF understands that the three approved beef facilities have not been eligible to export to China until recently due to Brazil's foot-and-mouth disease outbreak. On Sept. 30, AQSIQ announced that Brazil could resume exports of meat from cloven hoof animals from facilities in Santa Catarina, Acre, Rio Grande do Sul and Rondonia. Direct Brazilian exports of poultry and beef to China show a declining trend, yet trade with Hong Kong has been rising sharply. Behind Russia, Hong Kong has been the largest buyer of Brazilian pork in recent years, accounting for an 18 percent share of exports in the first 10 months of this year and totaling 85,385 mt. Achieving direct export eligibility to China would constitute a big victory for Brazilian pork exporters. Chinese pork prices have surged this year, and USMEF believes that many Chinese processors consider Brazil's competitive pork prices to be a good fit for the country's raw material needs. Demand for pork by all sectors and pressure to have multiple supply lines are believed to be some of the reasons why China has finally moved on Brazil's long-standing request to approve pork imports. China only reports imports from the United States, Canada and a few European Union countries; primarily France, Denmark, Germany and Ireland. Through October, China’s pork imports increased 120 percent to 383,189 mt. Meanwhile, U.S. pork and pork variety meat exports to China through September increased 66 percent in volume to 76,772 mt and 81 percent in value to 108.9 million compared to the same time last year. Looking at exports to China, Hong Kong was the largest supplier, with exports of 193,479 mt, an increase of nearly 330 percent compared to the first 10 months of 2006. Unlike its surging beef exports, Brazil's pork exports have see-sawed in recent years, largely in line with the access vicissitudes of the Russian market, which has accounted for between 45 and 65 percent of total Brazilian pork and pork variety meat exports in the past three years. Through October, Brazil’s pork exports to Russia are still 37 percent below the record export volume of 2005. Brazil’s exports to Russia gained momentum during March through July this year, but failed to meet 2005 volume and fell below 2006 volume in September and October. Brazil’s exports could soon regain momentum since Russia recently signaled an increase in regional market access for Brazil. Brazil’s total pork exports have increased 13 percent during the first 10 months of the year, led by a 42 percent increase in exports to Hong Kong, but are still 10 percent below the record volume exported in 2005. The U.S. Meat Export Federation is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the U.S. red meat industry and is funded by USDA, exporting companies, and the beef, pork, corn, sorghum and soybean checkoff programs.