Thursday, January 12, 2012

20120112 1555 Global Market & Commodities Related News.

Shares subdued as Spain auction puts investors on edge
TOKYO, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Asian shares were subdued and the euro hovered near a 16-month low as worries about euro zone sovereign funding kept investors risk-averse ahead of a Spanish debt sale that is seen as a key test of confidence.
"The month-on-month CPI was lower than the same month in the past few years. That means inflation is no longer a main concern for policymakers," said Zhiwei Zhang, economist at Nomura in Hong Kong. "China is more worried about an economic slowdown now and will continue the policy easing cycle."  

FOREX-Euro claws higher but gains seen capped
TOKYO, Jan 12 (Reuters) - The euro struggled higher in Asia on Thursday, moving away from a fresh 16-month low hit overnight, but its gains were capped ahead of a bond sale by Spain that is seen as a test of confidence in Europe's ability to meet its funding needs.
The single currency edged up 0.1 percent to $1.2714, after earlier bouncing off support at $1.2700, ahead of an option barrier at $1.2650 and another said to lie at $1.2590. The euro fell as low as $1.26615  on trading platform EBS in New York on Wednesday. Resistance is seen at the overnight high around $1.2790.

Soy up after losses; corn, wheat firm ahead of US report
SINGAPORE, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Chicago soy edged higher , recouping some of the previous session's deep losses, while corn and wheat firmed ahead of a key U.S. report on global demand and supply of agricultural commodities.
"Rains in Argentina were probably little better than some of the pessimistic forecasts which led to weakness in soybean prices overnight," said Victor Thianpiriya, agricultural commodity strategist at ANZ.

China to issue extra 1.1 mln T cotton import quota for 2012 -website
BEIJING, Jan 12 (Reuters) - China will soon issue another 1.1 million tonne cotton import quota for 2012, an industry website reported on Thursday, citing industry sources.
The extra quota will be subject to a sliding tariff ranging from 5 percent to 40 percent, according to a report published on www.cottonchina.org, a website run by Cotlook Ltd, the China Cotton Association and the China National Cotton Exchange.

Philippines says likely hit 2011 farm output goal
MANILA, Jan 12 (Reuters) - The Philippines' farm output growth in 2011 may have hit a government target of 3-3.5 percent, helped by favourable weather early in the year that boosted crop harvests led by rice, corn and sugar, the agriculture minister said on Thursday.
Rice output would have been better if not for a series of typhoons in the second half, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala told reporters.

Glyphosate-resistant weed spreads to Canada crop belt
WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Jan 11 (Reuters) - A weed resistant to a widely used chemical to protect crops has spread for the first time to Western Canada, the country's grain and canola belt.
Kochia weed turned up in three fields in Southern Alberta last August, despite the use of glyphosate, and Canadian government scientists have now confirmed that it is resistant to the farm chemical, seed company Monsanto Canada  said on Wednesday.
 
Rains come but Argentine farmers say need more
BUENOS AIRES, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Rains hit parts of Argentina's grains belt early Wednesday, moistening fields parched by drought, but farmers said the showers came to late to revive corn crops and clamored for government aid.
Weeks of dryness have shrunk Argentina's corn exporting capacity, which the world was counting on to replenish supplies after a disappointing U.S. harvest. The South American country is also a major soy producer.

Ghana cocoa buys hit 556,847 T by Dec 29 -Cocobod
ACCRA, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Cocoa purchases declared to Ghana's Cocobod reached 556,847 tonnes by Dec. 29 since the start of the 2011/2012 harvest season on Oct. 14, data from the industry regulator showed on Wednesday.
The figures, which covered the first 11 weeks of the 2011/12 main crop, were up 7.3 percent over the first 11 weeks of last season, according to the data seen by Reuters.

Brent firms as tensions between Iran, West mount
SINGAPORE, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Brent stayed near $113 on worries about supply disruption from Nigeria and Iran which offset pressure from a high inventory build and persisting eurozone debt woes.
"Clearly, there are reasons for the market to be jittery," said Jeremy Friesen, commodity strategist at Societe Generale in Hong Kong.

Japan to reduce Iran oil imports for US sanctions
TOKYO, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Japan's finance minister pledged after talks with U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Thursday to steadily reduce oil imports from Iran in support of U.S. sanctions on Tehran over its disputed nuclear programme.  Geithner welcomed Tokyo's cooperation, which could be an encouraging sign for U.S. foreign policy after China, a big buyer of Iranian crude, rebuffed U.S. appeals to starve Iran of much-needed revenue from oil sales.

Japan eyes significant cut in Iran crude imports -media
TOKYO, Jan 12 (Reuters) - The Japanese government has started coordinating with the domestic oil industry on significantly cutting crude imports from Iran, aiming to secure a waiver for Japanese banks from U.S. sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme, the Yomiuri newspaper said on Thursday.
Tokyo is unlikely to ban Iranian oil imports completely as it is difficult to quickly secure alternatives, with Iran accounting for about 9 percent of total imports, and the size of the reduction will be decided based on consultations with the United States, the paper said without citing sources.

Asia solar stocks surge on strong demand hopes
HONG KONG, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Asian solar stocks on Thursday echoed a rally by their U.S. peers, with some surging as much as 20 percent on signs that prices for solar energy components are stabilising.
In Hong Kong, GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd  was up 13.2 percent, Trony Solar Holdings Co Ltd  rose 8.3 percent, Apollo Solar Energy Technology Holdings Ltd  firmed 3.5 percent and Solargiga Energy Holdings Ltd  climbed 13.2 percent.

Copper steady, eyes euro zone funding stress
SHANGHAI, Jan 12 (Reuters) - And, sendCopper was flat a day after hitting its highest level in a month, as markets turned cautious ahead of a Spanish debt auction and as Chinese buying wound down before the Lunar New Year holidays.  
"The demand picture here in China is quite mixed. We have heard that some of the home appliance makers are reporting very weak order books in January and February and will start their holidays from next week," she said.

Cyclone batters Australian iron ore shipping zone
SYDNEY, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Tropical cyclone Heidi lashed the west Australian coast on Thursday packing winds up to 120 km per hour (75 mph), forcing seaside residents to flee rising tidewaters and closing the world's biggest iron ore export terminals.   Traders predicted the storm, coupled with weather-related delays in Brazil this week, could support iron ore prices, which have been flat over the past two days.

Vale halts Brazil iron ore shipments due to rains
RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan 11 (Reuters) - The world's No. 1 iron ore exporter Vale   said on Wednesday it halted some iron ore shipments from Brazil due to heavy seasonal rainfall that has killed dozens of people and made mining hazardous.
The Brazilian miner said it will lose an estimated 2 million tonnes of ore shipments, the equivalent of nearly 1 percent of its annual output, due to the rains that have affected its operations in the southeastern region of the country.

BNP sees average 2012 metal prices below 2011 mean
Jan 11 (Reuters) - BNP Paribas said on Wednesday it expected the average price of all base metals to be lower in 2012 than in 2011, as economic and financial uncertainty will keep weighing on prices for much of the first quarter of the year.    
"But 2012 averages should all be higher than current prices and most metals are likely to make further progress in 2013," BNP Paribas analyst Stephen Briggs said in a note.

Iceland power outage hits aluminum smelters
Jan 11 (Reuters) - Century Aluminum Co  said on Wednesday that extreme weather knocked out power to its smelter in Iceland and it is in the process of resuming full operations.
The outage lasted about three hours on Tuesday and power was fully restored after about 12 hours, the California-based company said.

METALS-Copper steady, eyes euro zone funding stress
SHANGHAI, Jan 12 (Reuters) - And, sendCopper was flat on Thursday a day after hitting its highest level in a month, as markets turned cautious ahead of a Spanish debt auction and as Chinese buying wound down before the Lunar New Year holidays.  Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange  traded at $7,771 a tonne, down 0.18 percent, by 0320 GMT.

PRECIOUS-Gold steady as Spain auction, ECB meeting loom
SINGAPORE, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged higher on Thursday on concerns about the euro zone debt crisis ahead of Spain's bond auction and an European Central Bank meeting, as robust buying from China and India also supported sentiment.
Bullion built on gains from the previous two sessions, even as the euro wallowed near a 16-month low hit on Wednesday, after Fitch warned the European Central Bank to ramp up asset purchases to avoid the euro's demise.

Gold steady as Spain auction, ECB meeting loom
SINGAPORE, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged higher on concerns about the euro zone debt crisis ahead of Spain's bond auction and an European Central Bank meeting, as robust buying from China and India also supported sentiment.
"The dollar and gold are both good buys at the moment as the markets watches the situation in Europe," said an official at a large bullion house in Tokyo, adding that the close correlation between the euro and gold at the end of 2011 has already broken.

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