Weather Splits for European Wheat With Dry West and Eastern Rain

Europe’s wheat fields are facing diverging weather in the heart of the growing season. Parts of the Black Sea region and European Union faced dry spells throughout spring, hurting yield forecasts in the key exporters. Now rains are beginning to relieve crops in southern Russia and Ukraine, but dryness is persisting in western Europe.   Weather in …

House Set to Back China Sanctions Amid Rising Tensions With U.S

The House of Representatives is poised to give final passage Wednesday to legislation that would sanction Chinese officials for human rights abuses against Muslim minorities, the latest in a series of moves by Congress and the White House to put pressure on the Beijing government. The measure was approved by unanimous consent in the Senate …

U.S. Mulls Sanctions on Chinese Officials, Firms Over Hong Kong

The U.S. is considering a range of sanctions to punish China for its crackdown on Hong Kong, people familiar with the matter said, as the Trump administration weighs whether to declare the former colony has lost its autonomy from Beijing. The Treasury Department could impose controls on transactions and freeze assets of Chinese officials and …

China Abandons Hard Growth Target, Shifts Stimulus Focus to Jobs

The Chinese government abandoned its decades-long practice of setting an annual target for economic growth amid the storm of uncertainty unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic, and said it would continue to increase stimulus. Speaking at the National People’s Congress in Beijing on Friday morning, Premier Li Keqiang delivered an annual policy address that instead laid …

What to Watch as China Unveils Stimulus in Policy Meeting

China’s top leaders should reveal on Friday how much they’re planning to spend on stimulus to support the post-virus economy, when they belatedly announce their economic policy blueprint for the rest of 2020. The centerpiece event will be the work report delivered by Premier Li Keqiang, which typically contains the economic growth and spending targets, …

China Mulls Targeting Australian Wine, Dairy on Coronavirus Spat

Australian exports of wine, seafood, oatmeal, fruit and dairy are in danger of being targeted by China if Beijing decides to escalate a row over Canberra’s calls for an investigation into the origin of Covid-19, according to people familiar with the matter Chinese officials have compiled a list of potential goods that it could target …

Commodities Bounce Back on Chinese Stimulus Anticipation and Vaccine Hopes

Freight prices jumped on Monday with front month Capesize futures up over 10% on anticipation of a large stimulus package out of China later this week. This created a knock-on effect into the smaller vessels with the Panamax front month futures up over 5%. Oil futures performed well with a USD 3.00 move higher, as …

China’s Industrial Economy Improves While Consumers Remain Wary

China’s industrial output increased in April for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak, adding to early signs of a recovery that economists cautioned would be slow and challenging. Industrial output rose 3.9% from a year earlier, reversing a drop of 1.1% in March, data showed Friday. Fixed-asset investment decreased 10.3% in the first four …

Is Australia the fall guy for the China – U.S. phase one trade deal?

I own a springer spaniel called Molly, she is small and gentle and knows never to pick a fight with a bigger dog as she was on the losing end of an altercation a few years back. The Australian government has an economy that is largely dependent on exports to China, not just minerals, but …

China Increases 2019-20 Soybean Import Forecast to 91m Tons

China boosted its estimate for soybean imports for the current marketing year to 91m tons, citing better crushing profits and the implementation of the phase-1 trade deal with the U.S., according to China Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (CASDE). * That’s 3.32m tons higher than last month’s projection SOYBEANS * China’s 2020-21 soybean imports are …