Widespread showers raised the hopes of Georgian cotton and peanut producers. The rains were generally too late to improve corn prospects, and only delayed the beginning of harvest. Worms and insects continue to attack cotton, peanuts, pastures and hay. Weeds are plentiful in many fields but overall crop conditions show a slow but steady improvement. Soil moisture ratings are the highest since mid May. Corn harvest in South Georgia made good progress, although interrupted by several showers. Only a few late planted fields in the northern part of the State will benefit from the improved soil moisture. Cotton conditions show just a slight improvement, although the eastern parts of the State remains dry.

Shanghai copper drifts lower

Shanghai copper drifted lower in early trade on Tuesday on renewed selling pressure reflecting a weak Japanese yen and lower London prices, traders said. The benchmark November 1998 contract shed 80 to 16,430 yuan ($1,984) per tonne earlyin the morning session. It opened at 16,350 yuan. "Copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) extended losses, which triggered heavy selling in the Shanghai market," one trader said. "Another negative factor was that the yen was still weak." Traders said although long position holders were seen supporting prices at lower levels, the market trend was still pointing towards a further retreat. They said they expected the local red metal to lose more ground in the rest of the session. In Shanghai, spot copper prices were little changed at 15,500 to 15,550 yuan level. Aluminium did not trade early in the morning session. "Active hedge selling emerged in early trade on fears that Kansais bond may not attract investors," said a senior dealer at a Japanese brokerage house.

Indonesian olein stable

Indonesian palm olein was stable in early trading on Tuesday and traders expected prices to fall soon because of increasing supply. Traders said olein was sold at 5,100-5,200 rupiah/kg. "The market is quite activetoday. The problem with this cooking oil issue is that everybody likes to talk. From ministers to traders...this is confusing," said one Jakarta-based trader. On Monday, buyers rushed to buy cooking oil because of press reports that stocks have diminished. Traders said members of the Indonesian Palm Oil Producers were scheduled to meet Indonesian President BJ Habibie on Tuesday to discuss cooking oil issues. Cooking oil prices have soared amid scarcity triggered byan export boom of crude palm oil, the raw material of olein which is used as cooking oil. A tumbling rupiah against the US dollar has made exports profitable because exporters would earn the hard currency.

High prices of cooking oil, along with other basic essentials, have raised concern among Indonesians who have to struggled to make ends meet amid a crippling economy.

Gulf crude trade dwindles

A handful of Oman and Murban crude cargoes are still left uncommitted for the September spot market, but talk was muted, traders said onTuesday.

A seller with a September Murban cargo said he was offering the crude at a premium of 15 cents per barrel above the official selling price. He said he expected buying interest to emerge at ADNOC plus10 to 15 cents. Other traders said bids were unlikely to emerge at a level above ADNOC plus 10 cents. About three 500,000-barrel cargoes and a partial cargo of September Murban are believed to be still seeking buyers. The remaining Murban cargoes are believed to be in the hands of majors and a Japanese trader. Some two to three cargoes of September Oman are believed still available. Sellers were aiming for a level at around MPM plus 15 cents. In the latest announcement, Qatar cut its term price formula for July-lifting Qatar Marine to Asia by three cents per barrel and Qatar Land by five cents compared to the previous month.

Kuala Lumpur tin up

Malaysia's spot tin price climbed back above 23 ringgit a kg on Tuesday, boosted by a strong demand from Europe, traders said. The price closed at23.15 ringgit ($5.59) a kg, up 33cents. "We did not expect such strong demand from European buyers given the firmer ringgit and larger premium," said a local trader. Traders said they were not aware of any new developments to support the European demand. Japanese buyers returned to the sidelines after making small purchases on Monday, while local interests were seen taking part of the days volume of 70 tonnes, traders said. Turnover was 63 tonnes on Monday. The local price premium over the London market widened to$240 a tonne from $155 on Monday following the price rise and ringgits strength against the dollar, traders said.

US West Coast crude oil diffs flat

Differentials for US West Coast waterborne crude oils were flat, and outright prices fell amid ample supply and thin trade, dealers said.

Meanwhile, the Alaska North Slope (ANS) discount held at98 cents under US crude benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI), following a trade at that differential two weeks ago. The $0.98 cent discount markedthe narrowest differential between the two crudes in 16 months. Steadily gaining ground relative to WTI, ANS has benefitted from a combination of lower production and a decrease in competition from foreign cargoes, including crude from Canada and Latin America. Over the last six months, Alaskas crude oil output has dropped to an average of just 1.231 milllion barrels per day, a nine percent drop from the same period a year ago. With ANS differentials holding steady, the grade was left to take its lead from lower WTI prices, which fell 51 cents on the New York Mercantile Exchange, traders said.

LG Metals cuts copper price

South Koreas only copper producer LG Metals Corp said on Tuesday it cut its monthly domestic copper selling price for August by 200,000 won to 2,414,000 won per tonne, from the previous month. Traders attributed the price cut to a decline in copper prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) and the wons strong recovery against the dollar in July. LG Metals posts the monthly fixedprices for its copper cathode sales on the domestic market after reflecting the average LME cash prices and foreign exchange rates of the previous month.

Dutch sugar beet yield down

The first Dutch sugar beet forecast for 1998 showed a yield of 8.9 tonnes per hectare white value, down from 9.5 tonnes in 1997, the Institute for Sugar Research (IRS) said on Tuesday.

Korea Zinc cuts prices

Korea Zinc Co Ltd said on Tuesday it had cut its monthly domestic zinc selling price for August by 73,000 won per tonne to 1,595,000 won from the previous month. The company said it also cut its monthly domestic lead selling price by 38,000 won per tonne to 884,000 won. Korea Zinc said the price cut was in line with the wons strong recovery against the dollar in July. Korea Zinc is the largest zinc producer and the only lead producer in South Korea. Korea Zinc posts monthly fixed prices for its product sales on the domestic market after reflecting average LME cash prices and foreign exchange rates of theprevious month.

Japan's June steel exports up

Japan's steel exports rose 30.6 percent from a year earlier to 2.62 million tonnes in June, the Japan Iron and Steel Federation said on Tuesday. But in dollar terms, June steel exports fell 4.8 percent from a year earlier to $1.43 billion, it said. Of the total, exports to the United States rose by 2.7Times from a year earlier to 658,000 tonnes in June, the seventh successive month they had climbed on a year-on-year basis. Exports to South Korea rose 0.8 percent from a year earlier to 296,000 tonnes, the first gain in six months, and to Taiwan they were up 35.1 per cent from a year earlier at 305,000 tonnes, the first gain in two months. Exports to China fell 13.4 percent to 205,000 tonnes in June, falling for the second straight month on a year-on-year basis.

Cotton futures settle lower

Cotton futures on the New York Cotton Exchange settled lower on Monday after commodity fund selling "hammered" the market, analysts said. Market sentiment isbecoming bearish despite the drought damage to the Texas new crop, he said, probably because that damage has been discounted in the market. "The crop probably isn't going to get any worse," he said. Many traders were getting out of the market ahead of the us das cotton supply-demand report, due for release on Aug. 12, Scovi Lle said. That projection of the U.S. Crop may give traders a better idea of how much of the Texas crop was lost this year, he said "Theres definitely going to be losses" reflected in the re Port, scoville said. Most traders evidently expect USDA to projected a 1998-99 US crop "between 14.5 (million) and 15.0" bales, he said.

Corn, wheat futures slide

Corn and wheat futures closed slightly lower Monday at the Chicago Board of Trade, with analysts saying the fears of extended dryness in the Midwest were allayed by forecasts of rain next week. "Were heading towards mid-August without any weather threat," said Scott Stewart, analyst with the Stewart-Peterson group in West bend,."Theres less and less reason to be long." Rain is forecast for the northern midwest for the next few days. Temperatures are also expected to be normal. Traders were concerned that the midwest will remain dry and that the dryness could damage corn and soybean crops. He said that export demand is still low and that there aren't any buyers of grain. "It seems like its going to be cheaper tomorrow, so why buy it today?" Stewart asked.