NEW YORK, June 11 (Reuters) – ICE raw sugar futures pared
some early losses on Tuesday after a much-awaited report from
Brazil’s cane industry group showed a sharp drop in sugar
crushings and that mills favored ethanol production over cane
sugar during the second half of May.

But sugar prices failed to rally when Unica also said it
expected the fast pace of cane crushings in the world’s largest
producer to resume in June with the return of dry weather.

NEW YORK/LONDON, June 11 (Reuters) – ICE raw sugar futures
eased to their lowest level in about three years, pressured by a
huge harvest in top grower Brazil, before the release of
Brazilian cane industry data due later on Tuesday.

Arabica coffee dropped under pressured from surplus supply,
and ICE cocoa was down in light volume against a backdrop of
favourable crop weather in West Africa.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Gold prices held onto gains in late Wednesday trade as investors sought safer assets after a private U.S. jobs reading fell short of expectations.

The sluggish hiring pace by U.S. firms in May curbed speculation that the Federal Reserve may begin to taper its $85 billion monthly bond-buying program, part of a set of stimulus measures by the Fed known as quantitative easing, or QE.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Gold rose sharply on Thursday as investors sought its safe-haven status after the dollar and equity markets were hit by a slew of weak manufacturing data that indicated stagnant global economic growth.

Stock markets around the world fell, extending the previous day’s sharp losses, on concerns about global economic growth and the timing of the ending of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s stimulus program.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Gold turned sharply lower on Wednesday, as investors weighed U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s congressional testimony warning of risks to holding interest rates too low for too long and opened the possibility of reducing bond purchases.

In prepared remarks, as expected, the Fed chief said monetary stimulus was helping the U.S. economy recover, but it was too soon to remove existing measures.

May 14 (Reuters) – Novelis Inc, the world’s
largest producer of rolled aluminum products, reported a
quarterly profit on Tuesday, versus a year-earlier loss, boosted
by stronger demand and better cost controls.

The company, a unit of India’s HindalCo Industries Ltd
, said it was able to push through unexpected headwinds
in the second half of fiscal 2013, which ended March 31, and
will continue to move ahead with numerous expansion projects.

NEW YORK, May 7 (Reuters) – Most ICE cotton contracts ended
Tuesday with modest losses, as participants prepared for the
Department of Agriculture’s first U.S. supply estimates of the
coming crop year, which many analysts expect will be hefty
though lower than current yields.

But extreme weather conditions, either too much or too
little rainfall depending on the region, has resulted in a wide
range of estimates. So some players decided to pull back their
positions ahead of the report, after a recent run up in prices.

NEW YORK, April 23 (Reuters) – Gold fell more than 1 percent
on Tuesday as a stronger dollar put pressure on prices and as
the outflow from the world’s biggest gold exchange-traded fund
(ETF) accelerated and accentuated an investor shift towards
equities and other assets.

At the mid session, gold, along with markets in stocks,
bonds, oil and other commodities, was roiled briefly by a bogus
report of explosions at the White House. Gold pulled up off its
lows on the fake report.

NEW YORK/LONDON, April 22 (Reuters) – Gold rose closed up
1.5 percent on Monday, cutting gains late in the session but
remaining supported by strong physical buying, after the price
hit a two-year low last week.

At the same time, investors reduced bullion holdings in the
top exchange-traded fund to the lowest level in nearly three
years.

NEW YORK, April 11 (Reuters) – Commodities came in mixed on
Thursday, even within sectors, as markets like gold and copper
were lifted by a weaker dollar and natural gas by falling
inventories, while easing demand forecasts pressured crude oil
prices.

As economic readings continue to improve, investors have
been reassessing their need to seek the additional returns
provided by alternative investments like commodities.