Japan's Nikkei 225 Average, Topix Falls; Toyota, JFE Holdings Lead Decline

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese shares dropped, paced by
companies that rely on the U.S. market, after Caterpillar Inc.
said its profit dropped on lower North American sales. Exporters
such as Honda Motor Co. and Komatsu Ltd. led losses.

Investors also refrained from betting heavily on stocks
before the upper house election, which will be held on July 29.
The Nikkei newspaper reported yesterday Japan's ruling coalition
may lose its majority in the election, citing its own poll.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Hog Futures Decline on Concern U.S. Exports to Weaken; Cattle Futures Fall

(Bloomberg) -- Hog futures fell in Chicago for the
first time in three sessions as traders focused more on
decreasing U.S. pork exports to Mexico and Russia and less on the
prospect of rising Chinese demand. Cattle prices also fell.

Mexico, the second-largest buyer of U.S. pork behind Japan,
has imported 30 percent less than a year earlier, the U.S.
Department of Agriculture said last week. Exports to Russia, the
fifth-largest buyer, are 25 percent behind last year's pace, the
USDA said. The price of pork rose 7.1 percent in the past two
days on speculation demand from China would rise.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

U.S. Raises Oil Price Forecasts Because of Increased Demand, OPEC Cuts

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. government increased its
estimated price for crude oil this year and in 2008 because of
rising fuel consumption and production cuts by the Organization
of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil, the U.S. benchmark, will
average $65.56 a barrel this year, the Energy Department said in
its monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook. The forecast is up 2.3
percent from $64.06 estimated last month. Oil will average
$66.92 in 2008, up 3.2 percent from $64.83 in last month's
forecast.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Philippine May Export Growth Accelerated on Electronics, Mineral Shipments

(Bloomberg) -- Philippine export growth quickened
in May on increased shipments of computer parts and minerals.

Overseas sales gained 6.1 percent from a year earlier to
$4.12 billion, the National Statistics Office said in Manila
today. Economists expected an 8 percent advance. Exports rose a
revised 5.1 percent in April, the slowest pace this year.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Indian Sugar Exports May Double in 2008 Amid Global Surplus, Minister Says

(Bloomberg) -- Sugar exports from India, the world's
second-largest producer, may double in 2008 because of a
domestic surplus, adding further pressure to prices that have
plunged 44 percent in the past year.

The country may export as much as 3 million tons next year,
Akhilesh Prasad Singh, India's minister of state for agriculture,
consumer affairs, food and public distribution said today.
Exports may be 1.5 million tons this year, he told reporters at
the 9th World Beet and Cane Growers Conference in Brisbane.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

India's Rupee May End Four-Week Rally on Central Bank Sales, Survey Shows

(Bloomberg) -- India's rupee may end a four-week
rally, a Bloomberg News survey showed, on speculation the
central bank will sell the currency to halt a fall in exports.

Capital flows into Asia's fourth-largest economy helped
push up the rupee 9.5 percent this year. Infosys Technologies
Ltd., India's second-largest computer-services provider, may
miss its local-currency sales forecast because of the stronger
rupee, which lowers the value of overseas revenue, Credit Suisse
said last week. Exports declined in the five months through May.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Japanese Stocks Climb, Led by Toyota; Topix Gains the Most in Eight Weeks

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks climbed, sending the
Topix index to its best performance in almost eight weeks.
Exporters led the advance after the Federal Reserve said the
housing slowdown won't keep the U.S. economy from expanding and
the yen weakened.

Toyota Motor Corp. advanced to a three-month high, while
Sony Corp. gained for the first time in five days.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Japan May trade surplus Y389.5 bln, +9.3 pct y/y

(Reuters) - Exports rose 15.1 percent from a year earlier to 6.5651
trillion yen, compared with economists' median forecast of an
11.1 percent rise, data from the Ministry of Finance showed.




Imports rose 15.5 percent to 6.1755 trillion yen, against the
market consensus for a 10.5 percent increase.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

"Near-recessionary" growth until '08: report

(Reuters) - Exports, business investment and wealthy consumers will
help propel the recovery from below-trend growth through the
first quarter of next year, according to the outlook by the
UCLA Anderson Forecast unit.




The economic forecasting unit sees the Federal Reserve as
hesitant to lower interest rates despite the first quarter's
weak growth and an outlook for "continued softness" this year
while core inflation holds above its "comfort zone."


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Persian Gulf Crude Oil Tanker Rates May Rise as OPEC Increases Production

(Bloomberg) -- The cost of shipping Middle East
crude to Asia, which fell yesterday for the first time in five
days, may rise as OPEC members increase oil production,
bolstering tanker demand.

The expectation of higher output may allow operators to
negotiate higher charter rates, said Nikos Varvaropoulos, a
tanker broker for Optima Shipbrokers in Athens. The
International Energy Agency, an adviser to 26 oil-consuming
nations, said June 12 that the Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries' production will climb by 700,000 barrels a
day in the third and fourth quarters.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Japanese Stocks May Slip, Led by Toyota, After U.S. Housing Concerns Mount

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks may drop for the
first time in four days after confidence among U.S. homebuilders
fell to the lowest in 16 years, raising concern that a slumping
housing market may curb growth in the world's biggest economy.

Exporters including Toyota Motor Corp. and Advantest Corp.
may pace declines. Investors will also be looking to data on new
housing starts set to be released tonight, and mortgage
applications figures due tomorrow for clues on the U.S. real
estate market.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Oil Trades Near Nine-Month High on U.S. Refinery Slowdowns; Iran Concerns

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil traded near a nine-month
high in New York after a drop in U.S. refining raised concern
that fuel supplies may remain below average.

Maintenance at refineries last week cut processing rates to
a six-week low, prompting oil companies to produces less diesel
and heating oil in an effort to boost gasoline stockpiles. Oil
also rose after Iran, the second-largest producer in the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, rejected United
Nations demands to suspend its uranium enrichment.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Philippine Coconut-Oil Exports Slump in May After Typhoons, Growers Say

(Bloomberg) -- Exports of coconut oil from the
Philippines, the world's biggest producer, almost halved in May
as domestic demand rose and damage from typhoons last year
curbed output, an industry executive said.

Overseas sales fell 45 percent to 69,279 tons from a year
earlier, United Coconut Associations of the Philippines Inc.
Executive Director Yvonne Agustin said, citing a preliminary
report from industry members. Exports in the first five months
halved to 260,129 tons from a year earlier, she said.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Crude Oil Rises on U.S. Refinery Maintenance, OPEC's Ample Supply Outlook

(Bloomberg) -- Oil futures rose on concern that
refinery maintenance in the U.S. will limit increases in
gasoline supplies and OPEC's reluctance to boost output will
reduce crude stockpiles.

Valero Energy Corp., the largest U.S. refiner, closed two
gasoline production units at processing plants in Louisiana and
Houston yesterday. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries doesn't see the need to increase production amid ample
crude supplies, Abdalla el-Badri, the group's secretary general,
said in an interview in London yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Japanese Stocks May Advance on Higher Metals, Crude Oil Prices, Weaker Yen

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks may climb, led by
trading companies, after commodities prices rose at the end of
last week. Exporters could advance after the yen weakened against
the dollar and euro, boosting the value of their overseas sales.

Mitsubishi Corp., Japan's largest trading company, and Honda
Motor Co., the most dependent of Japan's big three automakers on
overseas sales, may rise.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Japanese Stocks Drop, Led by Exporters on Concern U.S. Rates Won't Be Cut

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese shares declined by the most
in a month. Exporters paced losses on concern the U.S. Federal
Reserve will lift borrowing costs in Japan's largest overseas
market after a report showed home sales unexpectedly climbed.

Canon Inc., the world's largest digital camera maker,
dropped 2 percent and Toyota Motor Corp., the world's No.1
automaker by market value, fell 1.5 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Japan's Exports to U.S. Fall for First Time in Two Years, Slowing Growth

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's exports to the U.S. fell for
the first time in two years, underscoring the nation's reliance
on faster growing markets in Asia and Europe.

Exports rose 8.3 percent in April from a year earlier,
cooling from 10.3 percent in March, the Ministry of Finance said
today in Tokyo. Shipments to the U.S. dropped 4.8 percent, the
steepest decline since May 2004.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Rising exports to boost growth

The competitiveness of South Africa's exports will be improved through continued regulatory reforms and better infrastructure and productivity, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said on Monday.
This would help to boost economic growth and attract greater investment in the long term.

Read more at FIN24.co.za