China Raises Interest Rates In Surprise Move

19/10/10 -- China has surprised the market by raising interest rates for the first time since 2007, in an attempt to curb rising domestic housing prices and persistent inflation.

The move could also be seen as the latest twist in the ongoing dispute between China and the US over the value of the yuan, ahead of this weekend's G20 meeting in South Korea.

The talk seems to be that maybe the US and China have reached and accord on exchange rates, and that the Chinese may now be more willing to accept the yuan moving higher. That may curb demand for imported commodities, and as well all know China regularly account for 75% or more of all US soybean weekly export sales these days.

With Chinese demand for commodities almost single-handedly keeping the global market going at the moment, one or two raging bulls might fancy cashing in a few chips this afternoon.