Quick Overview

• U.S. Economic growth will slow and inflation will ease in 2007, with energy prices and a falling dollar posing the biggest risks to a pick-up in prices, a panel of Wall Street analysts forecast on Monday.
  
  

• The U.S. Census Bureau said that wholesale sales were down 0.5% in October while inventories were up 0.8%.
  
  
  

• China posted a trade surplus of 22.92 bln $ in November, down slightly from 23.83 bln in October, customs data showed. The trade surplus in the first 11 months was 156.52 bln $, up from 91 bln YoY.
  
  

• China's consumer price index rose 1.3 pct YoY, the National Bureau of Statistics said.
  
  
  

• Major oil-exporting countries have been moving away from dollar deposits to increase reserves in other currencies, including the Euro and the Japanese yen, the Bank for International Settlements has said. Dollar-denominated bank deposits by OPEC members decreased by 5.3 bln $ in the second quarter of 2006, while Euro-denominated deposits rose by 2.8 bln $ and yen deposits by 3.8 bln $.
  
  

• The National Association of Realtors expects U.S. existing home sales down 8.6% in 2006 and down 1.0% in 2007.
  
  

• Japanese Consumer Confidence for November out at 48.9 vs. 48.8 expected.
  

• French Industrial Production MoM for October out at -0.1% vs. 0.5% expected.
  

• Mexican stocks rose to an eighth straight record close on Monday
  
  

• Cocoa stocks in Nybot warehouses fell 3,978 145-pound bags to total 3.808 million bags.
  
  
  
  
  

• The USDA's 2006-2007 U.S. ending stocks estimate of:
  Corn was unchanged at 935 million bushels.
  Soybeans were unchanged at 565 million bushels.
  Wheat was increased from 418 to 438 million bushels.
  Sugar was increased from 1.87 to 1.98 million tons.
  Cotton was increased from 6.0 to 6.3 million bales.
  

• The USDA's 2006-2007 world ending stocks estimate of:
  Corn was increased from 90 to 93 million tons.
  Soybeans were increased from 55.2 to 55.7 million tons.
  Wheat was increased from 119 to 121 million tons.
  Cotton was increased from 51.0 to 51.5 million bales.
  

• The USDA increased its estimate of the Florida orange crop from 135 to 140 million boxes with a projected yield of 1.58 gallons a box at 42.0 degrees Brix.
  

• The Florida Department of Citrus said YoY inventories of frozen concentrated orange juice were down 40%.