Returning worries about the debt crisis in the European Union also hurt the commodities. European leaders were meeting yesterday at summit in Brussels. Investors are concerned that previously planned measures won’t be enough to contain spread of the problems across the eurozone.

Corn traded near $6.3200 per bushel today as of 00:43 GMT on CBoT, following the slump from $6.3925 to $6.3200 yesterday. Soybeans traded at $11.8900 per bushel today after falling from $12.1425 to $11.8525.
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Yesterday, soybeans advanced as the pledge of the US Federal Reserve to keep interest rate record low till 2014 was supporting commodities. The Standard & Poor’s GSCI Spot Index of 24 commodities added 1.5 percent yesterday.

Futures for delivery of rubber in July went down to 316.4 yen per kilogram ($4,087 per metric ton) before trading at 317.3 yen on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange. Soybeans fell from $12.2175 to $12.1825 per bushel as of 6:31 GMT on CBoT after reaching the highest price since January 3 of $12.3500 yesterday.
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China’s gross domestic product increased 8.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, following the 9.1 percent expansion in the third quarter. That was the slowest growth in 10 quarters. The report fueled talks that the country will perform measures to stimulate economic growth.

ZEW Economic Sentiment for Germany increased from -53.8 to -56.1 (month-on-month) in January, the highest level since July 2011. Economic expectations for the eurozone improved to -32.5 this month from -54.1 in the month before.

Standard & Poor’s downgraded credit ratings of several European countries on January 13. Markets were downbeat somewhat after the action, but quickly recovered as such move was expected and generally priced in.

February futures for delivery of crude oil advanced $2.01 (2 percent) to $100.71 per barrel on NYMEX. Brent oil rose from $111.42 to $111.57 per barrel as of 23:54 GMT today on ICE. Corn price was higher from $6.0125 to $6.0600 per bushel on CBoT today, while soybeans rallied from $11.6300 to $11.8275 per bushel.
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Earlier, the agricultural commodities were rising as adverse weather posed threat to crops in South America. Nevertheless, the estimates of the USDA showed that lower supply from the region will be mostly offset by production in other parts of the world.

Wheat slipped from $6.4125 to $6.0500 per bushel as of 23:47 GMT today on CBoT. Corn tumbled from $6.5125 to $6.1150 per bushel, while soybeans fell from $11.9775 to $11.7350 per bushel today.
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The continuing drought in Brazil and Argentina is worse than forecasters previously estimated and yield may be lower than was anticipated. The US Department of Agriculture predicted that Argentina will harvest 29 million metric tons of corn and 52 million tons of soybeans.

The problems in the European Union reduced demands for commodities, including corn and soybeans. A report of the European Commission showed that the economic sentiment in the eurozone declined.

Corn closed at $6.4350 per bushel on CBoT today after opening at $6.4200 and climbing to $6.4950. Soybeans fell from $11.9800 per bushel to close at $11.8852, following the advance to $12.0900.
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Coffee fell as inventories grew. ICE-monitored stockpiles rose for the fifth consecutive week and have increased 20 percent since November 1. The prices may still rebound as the forecast of the US Department of Agriculture showed that the balance of supply and demand may result in deficit. Coffee prices declined from $2.1340 to $2.1095 per pound on ICE.
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Agricultural commodities, specifically corn, soybeans and wheat, haven’t joined the rally as the US Department of Agriculture boosted its forecast for the next year’s inventories. The outlook for the global stockpiles of corn was 4.6 percent higher than in the previous estimate, for soybeans 1.5 percent higher and for wheat 2.9 percent above the previous forecast.

January futures for delivery of crude oil advanced $1.07 to $99.41 per barrel on NYMEX, while Brent jumped from $107.78 to $108.68 per barrel today as of 21:48 GMT on ICE. Copper rallied from $3.4720 to $3.5560 per pound on COMEX. Corn fell from $5.8900 to $5.8500 per bushel, soybeans slumped from $11.3100 to $11.0575 and wheat traded near its opening price of $5.7675 after falling to $5.6775 today on CBoT.
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Corn was up from $5.8000 to $5.8575 per bushel on CBoT today, following the intraday drop to $5.7000 per bushel. Soybean price advanced from $11.2550 to $11.3000 per bushel today after falling earlier to $11.2025 per bushel.

Wheat was a different story as it declined on the forecast that the demand will decrease, while stockpiles will grow, yet the crop was also trying to erase its losses by the end of the trading session. Economists expect China to reduce its wheat import as the nation’s economy is slowing. Market forecasters predict that the report of the US Department of Agriculture on December 9 will show that the global wheat inventories rose 202.89 million tons, compared to the November estimate of 202.6 million tons.

Wheat closed at $5.9775 per bushel on CBoT down from the opening price of $6.0050, but significantly above the daily low of $5.8825.
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The members of the US congressional debt-reducing supercommittee failed to reach agreement about budget cuts. Germany’s Finance Ministry admitted that the country’s economic growth became “noticeably slower”.

China may increase its imports of soybeans, supporting prices, but for now the negative fundamentals have upper hand. As for iron ore, even China isn’t going to support the commodity as demand in the Asian nation wanes.

Soybean settlement was at $11.5025 per bushel as of 9:24 GMT today on CBoT after falling yesterday from $11.7100 to $11.4575 per bushel and touching today $11.4100 per bushel — the lowest level since October 8, 2010.

Spot price for ore climbed to $147.40 per metric ton yesterday. Prices were up 24 percent this month, while ore dropped 31 percent in October and analysts predict it’ll resume its decline next month.
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Sugar was down on the signs of advancing output from Ukraine. Ukraine’s harvest of sugar beet was almost 29 percent larger than in the previous year as of November 1, according to the government report. The US Department of Agriculture estimated that Ukraine’s sugar exports will double in the 2011–12 season.

The USDA projections for soybeans, on the other hand, were more pessimistic. The USDA predicted that production in the USA will decline 8.5 percent to 82.9 million metric tons this year. The reason for the declining output is dry weather in parts of the United States.

March futures for delivery of raw sugar declined 1.6 percent to $0.2499 per pound by 8:21 on ICE. The weekly decline was 2.3 percent, while prices were down 22 percent over this year. Futures for delivery of soybeans in January advanced 0.7 percent to $11.755 per bushel as of 13:15 on CBoT.
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The forecasts of good weather drove soybeans down. Dry weather in Brazil and rains in Argentina should boost harvest. The problems of Europe and the resulting worries also weighted down the oilseed. Soybean prices retreated from $12.2525 to $12.2350 per bushel today on CBoT.

The European crisis also caused the drop of rubber to the lowest level in 14 months. The leaders of European nations will discuss the situation in Europe at the summit this weekend. Some economists argue that the bailout fund will be boosted. Yet others speculate that the politicians won’t be able to reach an agreement and such speculation weight the commodity down. January future fo delivery of rubber slumped as much as 4.4 percent to 25,445 yuan ($3,985) per ton in Shanghai.
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Investors wait for the European officials to agree on the Greece bail-out plan and its implementation. It’s a very important step, as with the failure of Greece or any other eurozone members the global financial climate would severely deteriorate, sending all markets (except several safe haven assets, like the US dollar and the Japanese yen) crumbling.

Cocoa was in an uptrend during the last two days and has now lost a half of its gain. Soybeans haven’t really stopped falling and now demonstrate the strongest decline since Friday. Both these agriculture commodities depend heavily on the state of the global economy. As a considerable part of their recent growth can be attributed to speculative buying, these positions are now getting closed by the traders to cover up losses in more “serious” markets — stocks and bonds.

Cocoa December futures fell from $2,704 to $2,654 per 10 metric tons as of 16:38 GMT on ICE today with an intraday low at $2,630. Soybeans November futures declined from $1,260.50 to $1,238.50 per 5,000 bushels on ECBOT.
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