
Bumper crops from the United States and Argentina have knocked Chicago soybean futures about 10% lower in January. The USDA said global soy production for Brazil, the #2 producer, should increase to a record 65-million tons. Brazil’s soy exports hit a record high of 28.5-million tons in 2009. Argentina, the third-largest producer, should see production recover to 53-million tons, up 66% from last year. Weaker soybean prices could shrink Brazil’s trade surplus, and undermine its currency. Operators in the Emerging markets, such as Brazil’s Bovespa, are spooked by the prospect of a extended tightening campaign in China, especially if the ruling authorities live up to their threats to slow the M2 money supply to 17-percent. That could slow China’s growth rate towards 8% and weaken demand for key industrial commodities, such iron ore controlled by Brazil’s miner Vale-Rio-Doce and oil pumped by Petrobras, which together account for nearly 40% of the Bovespa’s weighting. Although Brazil is expected to hike its Selic rate this year, it might not support the Brazilian real against the US-dollar. Instead, a slide in the Brazilian and Chinese stock markets could ignite panic sales of Bovespa shares, which in turn, could snowball into the unwinding of US-dollar carry trades. As traders dump Bovespa shares, and repay US-dollar margin loans, the US-dollar could climb higher by default..."
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