TGIF -- Oil Prices Push Above $125

Oil surpasses $125 per barrel ahead of US driving season
Oil prices surged past $125 per barrel Friday on the eve of the U.S. driving season as a weakening U.S. dollar drove investors to snap up commodities.

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ENERGY

Crude Oil Rises to Record Above $125 as Nigeria Unrest Draws Speculators Oil rose to a record above $125 and was set for the biggest weekly gain in more than a year on speculation reduced exports from Nigeria will curb U.S. supplies during the peak summer driving season

Venezuela Moves Into Third Place for Oil Reserves
Venezuela added 30 billion barrels of crude oil to its proved reserves in April, bringing the total to 130 billion barrels and catapulting the country led by Hugo Chavez into the highest echelons among world producers. The addition would be enough to satisfy U.S. demand for four years.

AGRICULTURE

Corn Rallies to Record in Chicago as U.S. Sowing Delays May Cut Crop Size Corn prices jumped to a record as wet weather in the U.S. threatened to worsen planting delays and cut production in the biggest exporter, depleting stockpiles and adding to a global food crisis

Potash Contradicts UN Report, Says Supplies Tight
Potash fertilizer will be in short supply for the next five years, contrary to recent forecasts of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, the chief executive of Potash Corp of Saskatchewan said on Thursday.

Fertilizer Price Shock to Cut Farm Production (in New Zealand)
Ballance expected New Zealand farmers would use less fertiliser, affecting productivity, and the company planned to give farmers a better understanding of the global factors.

Are Pakistan's Govt Wheat Stockpiles Nearly Empty?
The local food department has started issuing permits to the flourmills to purchase wheat from the open market to ensure availability of flour in the district, as the government’s wheat godowns have run dry ... The flourmills association’s central leader Sanaullah feared a severe flour crisis in the district saying that availability of fresh wheat stocks on the market was not possible at least for the next 20 days.

Rice Gains for Sixth Day on Increased Demand, Damage From Myanmar Cyclone Rice surged for a third day by the maximum allowed as Nigeria and the Philippines, the two largest importers, sought shipments, further straining global supplies after a cyclone devastated crops in Myanmar.

CURRENCIES

Persian Gulf States May Not Form Single Currency by 2010, Stein Predicts Gulf Arab states are unlikely to form a single currency by 2010 as planned, increasing the prospect that some countries may end their currency pegs to the dollar, said Gabriel Stein, an economist at Lombard Street Research.

US ECONOMY

Trade Deficit Shrinks More Than Forecast as Imports Drop Most in Six Years The U.S. trade deficit narrowed more than forecast in March as imports dropped by the most in more than six years, reflecting the economic slowdown.

Toyota Sees Hard Times Ahead in North America
Toyota's January-to-March profit sank 28% ... evidence that even mighty Toyota can't escape the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse - the deadly combination of high fuel prices, surging raw material costs, the global credit crunch and a strong yen.

Citigroup Leads Wall Street Drive to Punish Taxpayers in Auction-Rate Debt Taxpayers from Massachusetts to California are paying Wall Street banks to end derivative contracts gone bad as they exit the collapsing auction-rate bond market, with penalties in some cases topping $10 million and compounding the pain of rising borrowing costs.

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