European Commodity Day Ahead: Cotton, Rubber Advance to Records

Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) -- The following are the top stories on metals, agriculture and shipping.

Metal Prices: ($/ton)
                 Last      %Chg
Aluminum       $2,375.25   -0.1
Copper         $9,243.25   +0.5
Lead           $2,459      +0.4
Zinc           $2,308.25   +0.9
Nickel        $24,781      +0.9
Tin           $25,905      -1.1

Other Markets:
                       Last      %Chg      %YTD
U.S. Dollar Index     80.378     -0.3      +3.2
Crude Oil            $89.40      +0.7     +12.7
Gold              $1,385.90      +0.1     +26.3
MSCI World Index   1,263.80      +0.3      +8.2

TOP STORIES:

Cotton Surges by Exchange Limit to Record on Supply Shortfall

Cotton futures in New York jumped to a record, gaining by the daily limit for a second day, on speculation that global demand led by China will surpass supply.

Rubber Climbs to Record on Tire Demand, Production Disruptions

Rubber futures climbed to a record on speculation that a global shortage will worsen as tire demand increases and wet weather hurts supplies from producers including Thailand, the biggest grower. The cash price also surged to an all-time high.

EXCLUSIVES:

African Gold Rush Kills Children as Miners Discover Lead Dust

Gold fever brought death to Umoru Musa’s nine-family compound in Sunke, a mud-brick village in northern Nigeria.

NMDC to Buy Australian Iron Ore Mine as Rio Alliance Stalls

NMDC Ltd., India’s biggest iron-ore producer, plans to buy a mine in Australia after an alliance with Rio Tinto Group to purchase and develop reserves in India and overseas stalled.

INDUSTRIAL METALS:

Copper Advances for a Third Day in London, Shanghai, New York

Copper advanced on optimism that the economic recovery in the U.S. remains on track, boosting the demand outlook for the metal amid supply disruptions at the third-largest copper mine.

MINING:

Atlas Iron Agrees to Buy Giralia for A$828 Million

Atlas Iron Ltd., an Australian iron ore producer, agreed to buy Giralia Resources NL in a deal that it said values the company at about A$828 million ($822 million).

PRECIOUS METALS:

Gold Advances for Third Day as European Debt Concerns Persist

Gold advanced as European sovereign-debt concerns increased demand for the precious metal as an investment haven, with holdings in exchange-traded products rising to an all-time high.

AGRICULTURE:

Ivory Coast Post-Election Tensions Threaten Increasing Violence

Post-election tensions in Ivory Coast threatened violence in the leading cocoa grower, as the UN rejected a government order to withdraw its peacekeeping force and mercenaries entered the country to support President Laurent Gbagbo.

Soybeans Drop From Five-Week High as Some Farmers Secure Gains

Soybeans fell for the first time in three days as some U.S. farmers sold the oilseed from stockpiles to lock in gains following their climb to the highest level in five weeks. Corn was little changed and wheat dropped.

South Korea to Suspend Milling-Wheat Import Tariff Next Year

South Korea will temporarily remove an import tariff on milling-wheat shipments from Jan. 1 to help “stabilize” local prices, the nation’s finance ministry said.

ECONOMIES:

China’s Wang Says ‘Concrete Action’ Taken on EU Debt

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan said China has taken “concrete action” to help the European Union with its debt problems as he officiated the opening of a one-day forum in Beijing to discuss economic and trade relations.

OTHER MARKETS:

Oil Imports to Slow in China as Economy Cools: Energy Markets

The growth in China’s appetite for oil may ease next year as the government takes steps to tackle inflation and work on expanding refineries slows.

Euro Rises as China Says Taken ‘Concrete Action’ to Help Europe

The euro rose, ending a two-day decline, after Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan said the nation had taken “concrete action” to help the European Union with its debt problems.

(Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aPDymqdeSnig)