Oil edges lower as European debt concerns linger
SINGAPORE, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Oil edged lower, after rising more than 3 percent a day earlier on strong U.S. macro-economic data, as concerns about European debt lingered across financial markets.
"At moment the tempo is more upbeat than when we started the week, but nothing has gone away," said Geoff Howie, sales and markets strategist at MF Global in Singapore.
Indonesia Oct palm oil exports up 7.4 pct y/y
JAKARTA, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Indonesia's palm oil exports in October rose 7.4 percent to 1.45 million tonnes from a year earlier on strong demand from Asia and the United States, the latest data from the Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association showed.
October exports also rose 12.9 percent from 1.284 million tonnes shipped in September, the data showed.
Gold inches down, US data calms economic concerns
SINGAPORE, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Gold edged down in thin trade after encouraging U.S. jobless claims data calmed some worries about economic growth, but concerns over tensions on the Korean peninsula could offer some support.
"I would say sentiment is still bullish. The conflict between North and South Korea is not going be solved within a short period of time," said Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.
Asia stocks edge up but remain on shaky ground
HONG KONG, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Asian stocks barely rose, kept on a short leash by profit taking in consumer shares and investors cutting risk from their portfolios, a shift that has lifted the U.S. dollar broadly to a two-month high.
"With growth above potential in many emerging markets, particularly in Asia, the risk of broad-based inflation is real and growing," Goldman Sachs analysts said in a note.
OIL: Crude firms on U.S. econ recovery optimism
TOKYO, Nov 25 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures firmed on Thursday, extending a rally from the day before on optimism about the U.S. economic recovery, but the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States and concerns over tensions on the Korean peninsula may limit further gains.
Increasing investor risk-aversion had seen oil prices fall about 8 percent since reaching a 2010 high of $88.63 on Nov. 11.
COMMODITY MARKETS: Short-covering lifts markets ahead of holiday
NEW YORK, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Oil rose 3 percent and metals and crops were mostly up on Wednesday as positive U.S. economic data comforted investors and diverted attention from the euro zone debt crisis that had hammered prices earlier in the week.
"I think it's going to give cotton a good bullish underpinning," Sterling Smith, an analyst at Country Hedging Inc in St. Paul, Minnesota, said as better investor sentiment and prospects of Chinese demand helped cotton prices close up nearly 5 percent at around $1.16 per lb.
GLOBAL MARKETS: Stocks rebound on US data; euro falls on Ireland
NEW YORK, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Stocks rebounded on Wednesday on stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs and consumer sentiment data but lingering concerns about the European debt crisis weighed on the euro.
"Now you are getting good economic data, and you have a tug of war going on here between an improving economy and geopolitical events," said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services in Charlotte, Vermont.
ANALYSIS-Global oil glut burns off as demand recovers
NEW YORK/SINGAPORE, Nov 24 (Reuters) - An oil glut that has weighed on prices for two years is dissipating, with U.S. stockpiles falling their fastest in over a decade this autumn, crude being whisked ashore from storage at sea, and China running refineries near full bore to replenish diesel supplies.
Oil stocks are still well above levels that preceded a 2008 price surge to $147 a barrel, but a massive oil surplus accrued during the global economic downturn is being burned off.
US growth faster but not enough to dent joblessness
WASHINGTON, Nov 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. economy grew faster than previously estimated in the third quarter, but a slump in sales of previously owned homes in October indicated the recovery remains too anemic to reduce high unemployment.
The Commerce Department on Tuesday revised its estimate of third-quarter growth in gross domestic product to a 2.5 percent annual rate from 2 percent to reflect stronger spending and exports than initially thought.
China may raise 2011 inflation target
SHANGHAI/BEIJING, Nov 24 (Reuters) - China is considering raising its inflation target for 2011 even as it is campaigning to reassure people that price pressures will remain in check.
A meeting of the country's top officials next month to plot economic strategy for 2011 might pencil in inflation of 4 percent, up from a goal of 3 percent for this year, the China Business News reported on Wednesday.
German business morale jumps to record high
BERLIN, Nov 24 (Reuters) - German business sentiment rose in November to its strongest level since 1991, a survey showed on Wednesday, highlighting a rift in the euro zone as the bloc's largest economy leaves smaller states behind.
The Munich-based Ifo think tank said its business climate index, based on a monthly survey of some 7,000 firms, rose to 109.3 from an upwardly revised reading of 107.7 in October, confounding expectations for a slight fall.
The world is not running out of metals-RMG
LONDON, Nov 23 (Reuters) - The theory that the world is running out of some minerals and metals is gaining credence in some political circles, but it is not the case and higher prices will encourage more production, an industry expert said.
Worries about shortages of critical materials like rare earths outside China have lent weight to warnings of looming peaks in output of some metals -- where more is produced than is found through exploration.
PRECIOUS-Gold steady, but up in euros on Irish debt crisis
LONDON, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Gold steadied on Wednesday as mounting concern about the risk that Ireland's debt crisis could spread to other euro zone economies pushed the euro price of bullion to its highest level since June.
A deadly exchange of military fire between North and South Korea on Tuesday has further unsettled investors, putting Asian stocks under pressure and encouraging a sweep into perceived safe havens such as gold, government bonds and the Swiss franc.
FOREX-Euro extends fall on euro zone contagion fears
LONDON, Nov 24 (Reuters) - The euro fell to a two-month low against the dollar on Wednesday, extending losses on uncertainty over Ireland's plans to tackle its debts and fears the crisis could spread to other peripheral euro zone countries.
Peripheral government bond yield spreads over Germany widened and a North Korean statement in the wake of Tuesday's artillery clash that the South's action was driving the peninsula to the brink of war prompted investors to seek safe-haven currencies.
Shares stabilise after Korea attack; euro off 2-mth low
SINGAPORE, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Shares in Asia and Europe steadied from a sell-off following North Korea's deadly shelling of a South Korean island, but tension on the divided peninsula supported safe-haven assets such as gold and Japanese government bonds.
"Korea trades at a discount to the region on a valuation basis ... If you look back at the last five years when we've had scares they were all seen as buying opportunities," said Todd Martin, Asia equity strategist with Societe Generale.
