News You Can Use for Tuesday

AGRICULTURE

Kazakhs Ban Wheat Exports to `Ensure Food Security' (sorry, no web link)

(Bloomberg) -- Kazakhstan, the world's sixth-largest wheat exporter, banned exports of the grain in a bid to control domestic prices for bread and other food. The government decided today to halt exports until at least Sept. 1 to ``to ensure food security,'' Prime Minister Karim Masimov's press service said in an e-mailed statement. Masimov told the Cabinet on April 7 that the global rise in food prices was ``quite alarming.''

Agriculture ETFs Could Offset Food-Price Growth, Wall Street Journal Says Specialized exchange-traded funds are snapping up agricultural products, attracted by global demand for food and alternative fuels such as ethanol, the Wall Street Journal said in its ``Fund Track'' column.

Chicago Corn Futures Gain, Rice Reaches Record After U.S. Planting Report Corn futures in Chicago rose for a second day and rice prices reached a record after a government report showed plantings of the two U.S. crops were delayed following excessive rain. Soybeans and wheat also advanced.

India Urges States to Take Action Against Food Hoarding to Tame Inflation India's Trade Minister Kamal Nath asked state governments to crack down on hoarding of essential commodities after rising food prices pushed inflation to more than a three-year high in Asia's third-biggest economy.

XX Look for my MoneyandMarkets.com column tomorrow on this subject – the working title is “Food Wars”

ENERGY

Crude Oil Rises to a Record on Mexico Terminal Closures, China Fuel Demand Crude oil rose to a record in New York on supply disruptions in Nigeria and Mexico and rising fuel demand in China.

METALS

Gold Advances in Asia Trade on Dollar Outlook, Rising Crude Oil Prices Gold climbed in Asia on speculation the dollar may weaken after the Group of Seven nations failed to stem its decline, and record crude oil prices boosted the appeal of the precious metal as a hedge against inflation.

XX I’m liking gold here!

Copper Gains as Freeport's Indonesia Mine May Reduce Output; Tin at Record Copper rose in London on speculation lower production from the Grasberg mine in Indonesia will compound a supply squeeze. Tin climbed to a record.

CURRENCIES

Canada's Dollar to Gain as Economy 'Sits Out' U.S. Recession, CIBC Says Canada's dollar will rise to a one- year high by December as surging commodity prices shield the nation's economy from the economic slowdown in the U.S., according to CIBC World Markets.

XX we’ll put this in the “decoupling” camp, as economists argue if the global economy can decouple from a recession in the US.

Check out my new gold and energy blog at MoneyAndMarkets.com