Agriculture

Conditions in Australia’s Agribusiness sector worsened in the March quarter but recent rain has lifted expectations for the coming year.

While earnings and economic data were again mixed, Thursday’s session was dominated by a strong bounce in the US dollar, sparking life into financials and pressuring commodities.

Mixed messages had the Dow rocking and rolling its way to a 54 point rise.

A new record for oil, a near record for copper, and a big move in aluminium were highlights in a session that saw the Dow down 49.

Weekly musings from your editor. Are commodities more driven by investors, the US dollar or supply-demand dynamics? An analysis to try to find the answer.

Wall Street shrugged off weak consumer confidence numbers to post only a small fall in the Dow last night.

JP Morgan upped its bid for Bear Stearns to US$10 which, along with some slightly better housing data, helped the Dow add another 187 points.

Deleveraging of commodity positions saw a major sell off across the spectrum as Merrills gets the wobbles and nips financials in the bud. The Dow closed down 293.

A 21 point rise in the Dow belied another rollercoaster session in which traders tried to decide whether Bear Stearns could have signalled a bottom. The commodities bubble popped in a dash for cash.

Surveys of attendees at Barclays Capital’s fourth annual Commodity Investors Conference last week offer some insight into how professional investors are approaching commodity markets.