COMMODITIES DAYBOOK: Corn Surges on Hot, Dry Weather in U.S.

Corn surged to the highest level in almost three months, and soybeans rose as hot, dry weather threatens to reduce yields in the U.S., the world’s biggest producer of both crops.

WHAT TO WATCH:
(ALL TIMES NEW YORK)
5:00 a.m. Norway’s Oil and Gas Unions Meet on Strike Action
6:00 a.m. South African Grain Import/Export Data
2:00 p.m. USDA Cattle, Hog Slaughter
4:30 p.m. API Crude Oil Inventories

TOP STORIES
Corn Rises to Highest Since April on Hot Weather; Soybeans Gain
Oil Drops After U.S. Manufacturing Unexpectedly Shrinks in June
Heating Oil Slips as Reports Point to Weaker Global Recovery
Natural Gas Futures Unchanged as Storm Blackouts Cut Fuel Demand
Copper Futures Drop Most in Week as Global Manufacturing Weakens
Gold Declines as Dollar’s Rebound Erodes Demand for Metal Haven
Orange-Juice Futures Decline Most in Five Weeks; Cotton Rises

ON THE FRONT PAGES
Argentina’s Metrogas to Receive 100 Million-Peso Loan, BAE Says
Zambian Cotton Farmers Torch Truck Over Prices, Dow Jones Says
Iran Imports 2 Million Tons of Wheat, Boosts Reserves, Fars Says

ECONOMIC DATA
(ALL TIMES NEW YORK)

4:30 a.m. U.K. June Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index
4:30 a.m. U.K. May Mortgage Approvals
5:00 a.m. Euro Zone May PPI
10:00 a.m. U.S. May Factory Orders
5:00 p.m. U.S. June Vehicle Sales

TV HIGHLIGHTS
6:00 a.m. JPMorgan Chase & Co. Economist James Glassman
7:00 a.m. Deutsche Bank’s Alan Ruskin
10:00 a.m. BlackRock Inc. CEO Larry Fink
10:40 a.m. IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde
1:10 p.m. Hinde Capital Ltd. Co-Founder Ben Davies

MARKETS (6:00 p.m. NEW YORK TIME)

                               Last        Chg        %Chg
WTI Crude Oil                  $83.75      -1.21     -1.42
Gasoline                       $2.6239     -.1033    -3.79
Natural Gas                    $2.824      0         0
Copper                         $3.465      -.025     -0.72
Gold                           $1,597.70   -6.50     -0.41
Wheat                          $7.545      +.155     +2.10
U.S. Dollar Index              81.867      +.24      +0.29
MSCI World Index               313.34      +1.23     +0.39

To contact the reporter on this story: Dan Murtaugh in Houston at dmurtaugh@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at dstets@bloomberg.net