
The US 2008-09 soybean crop is forecast at 81.90 million tons, down 2.5 million tons from a previous estimate after heavy rain in the US Midwest, according to Hamburg-based oilseeds analysts Oil World.
European Central Bank council member Klaus Liebscher said the bank has to be tough when deciding on interest rates and described the current inflation in the Euro zone as alarming, according to an interview with Market News International.

IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn warned on Monday of the rising threat of inflation in Latin America, urging policymakers to take steps to contain the shock to prices from energy and food.
China will cap price rises by manufacturers to keep consumer inflation stable following the country's fuel price hike, the National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement over the weekend.

Luxembourg is by far the richest country in the European Union, with Ireland second at almost half its gross domestic product per capita, while Bulgaria is the poorest, according to the latest release from the European Union statistics office.

Venezuela will replace Chile as the country with the region's highest GDP per capita and Argentina as the region's third-largest economy, according to a Latin Business Chronicle analysis of data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Brazil will be announcing this week the annual investment plan in support for agriculture and livestock which is estimated to increase 12% totaling in the region of 40 billion US dollars, said Agriculture Minister Reinhold Stephanes.
For the sixth week running the US dollar has depreciated againts the Uruguayan peso in the local Money market accumulation a loss of 9.98%. In the 26 weeks of 2008, the Uruguayan peso has increased during 19.
In five years Brazil could climb from seventh to first position as the world's main milk producer, according to Marcus Ellias head of the trust controlling the former Italian dairy giant Parmalat Brazilian branch.
Punta Arenas in the extreme south of Chile is suffering a critical shortage of staples mainly sugar, rice and flour as a direct consequence of the Argentine farmers conflict that has been dragging for over 100 days.