US wheat ends lower: US wheat futures ended fractionally lower after once again making new contract lows early at the Chicago and KC markets. Late day recoveries were based on local buying and professional short covering. The wheat market should uncover strength in the week ahead. The NWS 6-10 day forecast called for continued dry conditions in Canada and in the Western HRW wheat belt into May 10th. Also, with the SRW wheat crop starting its heading phase in the next 10-14 days, weather will become a much morecritical factor for the market. Additional rain and lack of sunshine will greatly increase the possibility for disease outbreaks which could reduce yields. In export news, Sri Lanka bought 72,000 MTs of optional origin wheat while the CCC acquired small PL 480 tonnages for Tajikistan and Bolivia. Export demand for US wheat remains weak with EU priced $3/MT cheaper. Bulgaria also announced plans to offer 100,000 MT of milling wheat to the world market. The Kansas Wheat Quality Tour starts on Monday. ARC expects the Tour to uncover a good to excellent crop.

KCBT wheat April volumes up: April trading volume of hard red winter wheat futures at the Kansas City Board of Trade - 154,894 contracts - was up 10.4 per cent from March, the KCBT reported Friday. April volume was down 23.8 per cent from the same month a year ago, when a total of 203,194 contracts changed hands, the grain exchange said. Trading volume for wheat options in April was down 48.2% from the same month a year ago, the KCBT said. ThisApril, a total of 7,007 wheat options contracts changed hands, down from 13,538 contracts in April 1997, the KCBT reported. Compared to March, when 6,705 wheat options contracts traded, April wheat options volume fell 4.5 per cent, the exchange said. Open interest in wheat futures at the end of April stood at 44,325 contracts, up 27.1 per cent from the end of April 1997, when open interest stood at 34,871 contracts. Open interest at the end of April was down 3.7 per cent from 46,015 contracts at the end of March, the KCBT reported.

USDA authorises wheat sales: The US Department of Agriculture authorised Angola to buy $10 million in US commodities under a concessional financing provision of Public Law 480. The authorisation will allow Angola to buy $5 million or 27,000 metric tons of US wheat, $2 million or 5,000 metric tons of US rice and $3 million or 4,000 metric tons of US soybean and/or cottonseed oil, the USDA said Friday. Under the PL480 or Food for Peace law, the US may grant concessionalfinancing for sales of US commodities to those developing countries that have demonstrated potential to become commercial markets. The contracting period for this authorisation is May 1-September 30. The deliver period for wheat is May 8 to September 30, while the delivery period for the rice and veg oil is May 29 to September 30.

Japan firm suffers losses: Japan's agricultural cooperative associations held a total of 670,000 tons of rice `old rice' from the 1996 crop year at the end of March, slightly more than double their average monthly sales of all rice, The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported in its Saturday morning edition. The newspaper estimated that the agricultural cooperatives carrying a combined Y45 billion loss on unsold inventories.

Comex copper ends higher: Comex copper futures ended higher on short covering done mainly by investment funds, traders said. Copper prices moved lower early in the day, but traders said they reversed on fund short covering after nearing resistance at 82cents. "We made a new low and that brought on a little bit of a reversal," one New York-based trader said. However, traders said they aren't looking for a long-term rally, pointing out that the market's current strong fundamental picture is expected to break down as the summer slow-period nears. Though London Metal Exchange warehouse stocks fell by 2,675 metric tons to 262,200 tons Friday, cancelled warrants totalled 12,875 tons, down from 17,000 tons earlier in the week.

US copper cash premiums strong: Premiums in the US copper cash market remain strong, but dealers are beginning to worry about the summer months, a seasonal slow period for copper. Dealers reported premiums in the northeast as high as 4.50 cents above the Comex settlement price. Premiums elsewhere in the US were set at 2.75 to 3.25 cents. The Comex May copper contract settled at 82.60 cents Thursday. "Business is as good as it's ever been. Demand remains strong, and it'll continue through June," one dealer said, adding that he issold out through both May and June. "Beyond that I'm hopeful, but I'm a little bit nervous." While some dealers reported an improvement in Union Pacific railroad deliveries, others said they are still experiencing trouble. Premiums in the Northeast, where business from rod and wire mills is strongest, have been higher than premiums in the rest of the US as a result of transportation problems. Dealers have reported prolonged delays in rail transportation ever since the merger of Union Pacific and Southern Pacific railroads.

Canada firm mulls copper project: International Pursuit Corp said it has extended the time for entering into a formal joint venture agreement with Minoro Mining & Exploration Corp. for the development of the Hinoba-an copper project in the Philippines. In a news release, the company said the agreement was supposed to have been entered into by Thursday, but was extended to enable Minoro to arrange the necessary equity financing which to date hasn't been finalised. It didn't specifythe length of the extension. As reported, International Pursuit completed its Hinoba-an scoping study in February. This was the first part of its proposed joint venture agreement with Minoro to develop the Hinoba-an copper deposits. International Pursuit said that while there remains no assurance that the transaction will close, `active discussions' are underway with third party institutions who would provide the necessary funding `which have been encouraging.' International Pursuit is a mining and exploration company.

Euro gasoline prices steady: European physical gasoline barge prices were steady, compared with morning levels, despite an absence of liquidity in the market because of public holidays across Europe, said traders. However, a Rotterdam refinery Eurograde (premium unleaded) barge deal was done at $162.00 a metric ton, unchanged from late morning prices levels, according to market participants. An Anglo Dutch major was heard to have purchased the barge. On the paper market two May swapswere heard traded, one at $159.50 early in the morning, and a later deal at $165.25 after Eurograde physical prices rose to $162.00 a ton, said sources. At 1649 GMT, June Brent crude oil futures at the International Petroleum Exchange were trading up by 37 cents at $14.93 compared with the open of $14.56.

New York cotton settles higher: Cotton futures on the New York Cotton Exchange settled mostly higher after short-cover buying, traders said. Ray Streker, a trader with LFG, Inc, a commission house in New York, noted that speculators covered shorts when the market found strong technical support at its intra-day lows. Trading was `relatively thin' ahead of the weekend, however, he said. The July contract is still stuck in a channel between 64.00 cents per pound and 66.00 cents, Streker said. US export sales are `good,' he said, but "there's still a lot of fear in the market because of last month's tender by China to sell as much as 300,000 metric tons of cotton." Many traders believe that China,typically a strong buyer of US cotton, may cancel purchases from the US that are already on the books, he said.

Euro cotton prices fall: Raw cotton prices were lower and trade was quiet in Europe, as markets in most of mainland Europe were closed for a public holiday.

(Compiled from agencies)