Shares, euro recover on Greek debt hope, Portugal weighs
TOKYO, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Asian shares and the euro recovered earlier losses after Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos raised hopes for a deal to be reached this week to avoid a default, but markets were starting to worry that Portugal might need a second rescue.
"After the rally, most Asian assets are undergoing some kind of consolidation, but there is still hope for some kind of an agreement reached and investors are delaying expectations about this talk," said Frances Cheung, senior strategist for Asia ex-Japan at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong.
FOREX-Euro firms on Greek debt hopes; dollar at 3-mth low vs yen
SINGAPORE, Jan 31 (Reuters) - The euro rose on Tuesday, supported by hopes for a Greek debt restructuring deal that would help the country avoid a disorderly default, possibly setting itself up for a test of a key chart level.
The dollar extended its recent losses versus the yen and hit a three-month low, remaining under pressure after the U.S. Federal Reserve said last week it was likely to keep interest rates near zero at least until late 2014.
Relief in US food prices seen as crop supplies grow
CHICAGO, Jan 30 (Reuters) - After being hammered by record high food prices in 2011, which helped ignite the Arab Spring uprisings, consumers worldwide may find some relief in 2012 if U.S. farmers, induced by last year's high crop prices, plant more fields to grain this year.
Analysts polled by Reuters expect prices of corn, soybeans and wheat to tumble as much as 15 percent from a year ago, which will benefit companies that produce meat like Pilgrim's Pride Corp , Sanderson Farms and Tyson Foods Inc in terms of lower feed costs.
U.S. grains steady, nursing falls on Latam rains
SYDNEY, Jan 31 (Reuters) - U.S. grain futures were steady to firmer in early Asian trade, stabilising after heavy losses in the previous session when soy fell nearly 3 percent as the dollar gained on the euro zone debt crisis and on better-than-expected South American rainfall.
Crop-friendly rainfall of 0.50 to 1.5 inches is expected this week through all areas of Argentina which will benefit the soy crop in its key pod-setting phase and CORN.
China ban on Indian meal to benefit Canadian canola
BEIJING, Jan 30 (Reuters) - China will boost imports of rapeseed and rapeseed meal from Canada, traders said on Monday, after Beijing banned Indian meal after tests showed it contained a toxic chemical.
If China buys more rapeseed, or canola, from Canada, the world's top exporter, it could firm ICE canola prices , which have been rising for the past two weeks in anticipation of larger imports.
Brazil to breathe life into faded Cuban sugar sector
SAO PAULO, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Brazilian builder Odebrecht plans to produce sugar in Cuba, the company said on Monday, as looser restrictions on foreign investment in the communist island raise hopes of a recovery in the once-booming sector after decades of decline.
News of the project came on the day Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff begins a mostly ceremonial official visit to the country, which has been under communist rule since the Fidel
Castro-led revolution and an ensuing U.S. trade embargo.
Brazil soy harvest to speedup as rains shift south
SAO PAULO, Jan 30 (Reuters) - The soybean harvest is due to pickup speed in the coming weeks in the early maturing center-west states of Brazil, the world's No. 2 producer of the oilseed, as rains shift to the parched south where moisture is still needed.
The center-west is forecast to harvest a near-record crop this season due to excellent rain over the past weeks. States in the region such as No. 1 soy grower Mato Grosso and No. 4 Goias, are typically earliest to plant and harvest in Brazil.
Argentine grains shipping normal after boat dislodged
BUENOS AIRES, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Port authorities in Argentina's Rosario grains hub have dislodged a vessel that ran aground earlier this month, and all delayed ships have been able to set sail, an industry official said on Monday.
Argentina is one of the world's top suppliers of corn, soybeans and byproducts, and most its grains are shipped from the constellation of terminals around the city of Rosario.
ICCO pegs rise in global cocoa stocks
LONDON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - World cocoa stocks rose to 1.723 million tonnes as of Sept. 30 after bumper crops in West Africa helped produce a record surplus, according to the International Cocoa Organization's annual assessment.
Stocks were up by 295,000 tonnes on the year, with the majority held in importing countries, ICCO statistician Laurent Pipitone told Reuters.
OPEC says EU ban on Iran oil to boost prices
LONDON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - The EU's embargo on Iranian oil exports will add upward pressure to oil prices, OPEC's secretary general said on Monday, even though there is no shortage of oil on the market.
Abdullah al-Badri also said he was not concerned about too much oil in the market, even though the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is pumping about 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) more than its new target of 30 million bpd.
Brent rises above $111/bbl as supply trumps economy
SINGAPORE, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Brent crude inched above $111 a barrel, on track for its first rise in two months, as concerns over supply from Iran and South Sudan trumped worries about a global economic slowdown that could hit oil demand.
"Iran will make sure we see more upside than downside," Jeremy Friesen, a commodity strategist at Societe Generale said, although strong downside forces from the deteriorating economy capped gains.
London copper gains on outlook for long-term demand
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 31 (Reuters) - London copper inched up, heading for its biggest gain in three months, on cautious optimism that demand for the industrial metal will rebound this year with Asian economies generally resilient in the face of global financial turmoil.
Asian economies remain "generally resilient" in the face of global financial turmoil and a growing debt crisis in the euro zone, the IMF's top official for Asia and the Pacific said on Monday.
Chile December copper output up but 2011 total output falls
SANTIAGO, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Chile's copper output jumped in December from the same month a year earlier but clocked a 3.2 percent drop in 2011 from a year earlier as falling ore grades, labor woes and weather problems hammered the world's top producer, the government said on Monday.
Chile, which provides around one-third of the world's copper, produced 509,407 tonnes of the red metal in December , up 2.2 percent from the same month of 2010, the government statistics agency INE said. Chile produced 5.24 million tonnes of the red metal in 2011, down 3.2 percent from the previous year, according to the INE.
Japan Dec zinc exports up 44 pct yr/yr on China
TOKYO, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Japan's exports of refined zinc surged 44 percent from a year earlier to 12,273 tonnes in December as exports to China more than doubled, customs-cleared data showed on Monday.
Exports to China increased to 4,504 tonnes, up from 1,753 tonnes a year before, accounting for a third of Japan's total exports.
Italy's steel exports up, lag import volumes
MILAN, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Steel exports from Italy, the European Union's second-biggest producer after Germany, rose 12.5 percent year on year to 15.882 million tonnes in the first 11 months of 2011, but lagged behind import volumes, industry body Federacciai data showed on Monday.
Italy's export-focused steel industry has come under growing pressure from non-EU rivals in the past few years and, facing modest demand on core markets, needs to rethink its product range and consolidate, analysts say.
Silver coin sales hit record pace, outshine gold
NEW YORK, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Less than one year after silver's breathtaking collapse from its record-setting rally, investors are again snapping up coins at an unprecedented pace, suggesting the white metal could leave gold in the dust.
Even before the U.S. Federal Reserve's promise of further stimulus rejuvenated interest in precious metals last week, U.S. retail investors were already buying up freshly minted coins in droves, undaunted by last year's painful volatility. Gold coin sales, while rising, have been far less robust.
Gold edges up; heads for biggest monthly gain since Aug
SINGAPORE, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Gold ticked up after the euro recouped some losses, while bullion prices headed for their biggest monthly rise since August as lingering concerns about growth in the United States prompted buying from investors.
"Sentiment seems to have improved quite tremendously, I would say. We are now into more bullish territory, more than ever, with the Fed providing enough fundamental support," said Dominic Schnider, head of commodity research at UBS Wealth Management.
METALS-London copper gains on outlook for long-term demand
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 31 (Reuters) - London copper inched up on Tuesday, heading for its biggest gain in three months, on cautious optimism that demand for the industrial metal will rebound this year with Asian economies generally resilient in the face of global financial turmoil.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange climbed 0.22 percent to $8,447.75 a tonne by 0117 GMT, after its biggest decline in more than a week in the previous session.
PRECIOUS-Gold edges up; heads for biggest monthly gain since Aug
SINGAPORE, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Gold ticked up on Tuesday after the euro recouped some losses, while bullion prices headed for their biggest monthly rise since August as lingering concerns about growth in the United States prompted buying from investors.
Gold jumped nearly 5 percent last week, its fourth consecutive weekly gain, after the U.S. Federal Reserve pledged to keep interest rates near zero until at least late 2014, which could put pressure on the dollar.
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