Friday, September 30, 2011

20110930 1118 Global Market & Commodities Related News.

GLOBAL MARKETS-Equities steady after rise, euro holds gains
HONG KONG, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Asian stocks steadied on Friday with big gains unlikely as investors looked to take profits after three days of gains, while the euro held its tiny increase following Germany's approval to expand the euro zone bailout fund. "There is still a lot of uncertainty... Economic growth in Europe and the U.S. is not that good and that will put pressure on the euro and give a bid to the dollar," said Joseph Capurso, strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Asian Stocks Fall, Headed for Biggest Quarterly Drop in Almost Three Years (Bloomberg)
Asian stocks dropped for the first time in four days, with the regional benchmark index set for its biggest quarterly decline since December 2008, as U.S. economic reports failed to soothe investors’ concern that growth in the world’s largest economy is faltering. Li & Fung Ltd., a supplier of toys and clothes to Wal-Mart Stores Inc., sank 5.1 percent in Hong Kong. Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest carmaker, dropped 0.9 percent in Tokyo. Samsung Electronics Co., South Korea’s No. 1 exporter of consumer electronics, fell 1.9 percent in Seoul. Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia’s second-biggest oil and gas producer, added 0.8 percent after crude oil futures gained. “Sentiment ebbs and flows very quickly nowadays,” said Tim Schroeders, who helps manage $1 billion in equities at Pengana Capital Ltd. in Melbourne. “People are still very uncertain about the macro-economic outlook at this stage and risk-off prevails until greater certainty comes to light in policy response.”

COMMODITIES-Prices up on day but headed for quarterly loss
NEW YORK, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Oil and most commodities rose on Thursday after Germany voted to expand the euro zone rescue fund, easing worries over Greece, but prices were broadly poised to end the quarter lower due to September's losses. Copper, the key economic indicator, was headed for its largest quarterly loss since the fourth quarter of 2008 as concerns over Chinese demand and global macroeconomic pressures painted a bearish outlook for the industrial metal.

Oil up on euro hope, U.S. data
NEW YORK, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Oil rose on Thursday, following an initial rebound in broader markets after Germany's lower house approved new powers for the euro zone's crisis fund and U.S. economic data beat expectations. "Oil is being battered back and forth by changing perceptions about how the economy is going to do in the next year or so and there's no clear answer," said Gene McGillian, analyst at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut.

NYMEX-Natural gas ends down 1 pct on bearish EIA, weather
NEW YORK, Sept 29 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures ended lower on Thursday, with moderate weather forecasts for next week and a government report showing an unexpectedly large weekly build in inventories pressuring the complex. "It was a shocking (bearish EIA build) number," a Massachusetts-based trader said.

Euro Coal-Oct S.African trades at $111.50/T
LONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Prompt physical coal prices were stable again on Thursday despite volatility in equity and other commodity markets but South African Richards Bay prices remain under pressure. "Coal has remained relatively stable during the past week while most other markets have been all over the place," one European trader said.

US crude oil imports down in July-EIA
WASHINGTON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil imports continued to decline in July, falling 622,000 barrels per day from a year earlier, the Energy Information Administration said on Thursday. Crude imports averaged 9.310 million bpd in July, down more than 6 percent from the 9.932 million bpd imported during the month in 2010.

Uruguay to import fuels due to refinery shutdown
MONTEVIDEO, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Uruguayan state energy company Ancap will import fuels worth an estimated $600 million while the country's only oil refinery is closed for maintenance until December, an official said on Thursday.
Ancap's La Teja refinery on the outskirts of the capital Montevideo was shut at the start of the month, forcing the company to rely on imports to meet the needs of motorists, farmers and state electricity company UTE.

At $80, oil shale slow-down closer than you think
NEW YORK, Sept 29 (Reuters) - As commodity markets unravel, oil traders looking for signs of a floor in oil prices would do as well to watch producers in North Dakota as closely as they watch officials in Saudi Arabia.
Just as the boom in oil shale production in places like the northern Bakken and Eagle Ford, Texas, has shocked analysts with its speed and breadth, a sharp slowdown in growth if U.S. oil prices tip below $70 a barrel may also come as surprise.

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