Futures Market News
Northeast Australia suffering from severe flooding
Jan 03, 2011 12:57 PM
Severe flooding in Northeast Australia has severely harmed the agriculture sector of the state of Queensland with damage estimates exceeding $1 billion in production lost to the natural disaster, according to media reports. Flooding and consequences are expected to last for several more weeks.
Commodities such as wheat, coal and sugar have suffered. Twenty percent of the sugarcane harvest for 2010 has been abandoned and the early stages of crops for the 2011 season were submerged by water. Three-quarters of the state's coal fields no longer are in operation. About half of the crop of the globe's fourth largest exporter of wheat has been destroyed.
"Given the scale and size of this disaster, and the prospect that we will see waters sitting potentially for a couple of weeks, we will continue to have major issues to deal with throughout January," Queensland premier Anna Bligh said on local radio late Monday.
Australia's government has intervened and the United States and New Zealand also have offered assistance and aid.
The State of Queensland will "need to buy more raw sugar from rivals Brazil and Thailand to meet sales commitments because of drenched canefields," according to Canegrowers, an industry group.
Don’t Miss Our News Updates!
Follow our breaking news stories and get a unique take on current events that may impact the commodity futures markets. Multiple new articles are posted each weekday. Subscribe to our commodity news updates by email, and receive real-time updates with our RSS feed, follow us on Twitter @DanielsTrading, become a fan on Facebook to stay informed.
SPECIAL OFFER: Free eBook — Gold Exposed: Spot Gold versus Gold Futures
Are you interested in trading gold futures but unsure of how to start?
Register for our FREE guide, and learn the ins and outs of the gold markets that will help answer many of your trading questions.
Special Offer
Register for Your Free 2-Week Trial of the dt Insider Market Advisory!
With your free trial membership, you'll receive full access to our exclusive trade recommendation service and all of the timely and accurate trade information you need to feel comfortable participating in the markets.






