Monday, February 13, 2012

20120213 1618 Global Market & Commodities Related News.

Markets gain modestly as Greece passes austerity bill
TOKYO, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Asian shares and the euro gained modestly, relieved after Greece came a step closer to securing a much-needed bailout fund and avoiding a messy default, although most of the recent optimism appears to have been already priced in.
"Given that the recent risk-taking sentiment has been based on an assumption that a disorderly default will be avoided, the approval confirms that this assumption is still valid and will support sentiment," Junya Tanase, chief currency strategist at JPMorgan Chase in Tokyo.

FOREX-Euro gains as Greece passes austerity steps
TOKYO, Feb 13 (Reuters) - The euro edged up on Monday after Greece's parliament approved an austerity bill that put the country a step closer to securing much-needed funds, though market players worried about more hurdles before lenders seal a bailout deal.
Violent street protests in Athens and the departure of six Greek cabinet ministers underscored the difficulty of implementing unpopular steps.

US wheat up 1.2 pct, corn firm on Greek austerity bill
SINGAPORE, Feb 13 (Reuters) - U.S. wheat rose 1.2 percent and corn gained 0.8 percent following losses last week, buoyed by hopes that Greece can avoid a default after lawmakers passed an austerity bill to secure a bailout.
"Last week we saw prices fall largely due to the economic concerns and USDA report, but today because of positive news from Greece, there is some support for the grain markets," said Lynette Tan, an analyst with Phillip Futures in Singapore.

NCC sees US 2012 cotton plantings at 13.63 mln acres
NEW YORK, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Industry group the National Cotton Council forecast on Saturday that U.S. 2012 cotton plantings would reach 13.63 million acres, down 7.5 percent from 2011.
"The expected drop in cotton area is consistent with current market signals. Since 2011, cotton prices have weakened relative to competing crop such as corn, soybeans and peanuts," NCC Vice President Gary Adams said in an annual survey release on the group's website.

Argentina early-planted corn hit by drought-gov't
BUENOS AIRES, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Argentina corn planted early in the 2011/12 season was hit hard by weeks of drought at the turn of the year, while recent rains have refreshed late-seeded crops, the Agriculture Ministry said in a report on Friday.  
The South American country is the world's second biggest corn exporter after the United States and the prolonged dry spell has dimmed prospects that it will be able to replenish global supplies to make up for a disappointing U.S. crop.

Frost hits grain crops in parts of east Europe
SOFIA, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Freezing temperatures coupled with a lack of snow cover in some parts of eastern Europe have badly damaged winter sowings and will lower 2012 grain crops, farmers and meteorologists said.
A cold snap in early February, when temperatures plunged to minus 30 degrees Celsius, has damaged 40 percent of winter grain crops in major Black Sea producer Ukraine and is posing risks to sowings in smaller grain exporter Bulgaria as well as in the Czech Republic  .

Vietnam's Jan coffee exports plunge, sales expected to pick up
HANOI, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Vietnam's coffee exports plunged nearly 48 percent in January from a year ago because of the Tet new year festival and as farmers held back beans in the expectation of higher prices later, but traders expect sales to pick up this month.
Customs data showed January coffee exports dropped to a little more than 112,000 tonnes, or 1.87 million 60-kg bags, from 215,000 tonnes in the same month last year. Last month's bean exports were also down 27.9 percent from December levels.

Brent rises over $118 after Greece passes bill
SINGAPORE, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Brent crude rose above $118, supported by a weaker dollar and expectations of a revival in demand growth after Greek lawmakers approved an austerity bill to secure a second bailout.
"Oil has been trading in a tight range for the past couple of weeks and we're now moving towards the higher end of the range," said Victor Shum, senior partner at oil consultancy Purvin & Gertz. "I don't expect we're going to rally ahead in a big way...with protests raging everywhere in the country, it's not exactly an image of confidence."

Aluminium losing battle against oversupply
LONDON, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Excess capacity in aluminium smelting will drag on for years to come, even while losses weigh on producers, as political pressures in China and Russia to keep jobs and push self-sufficiency prevent or delay plant closures.
Rio Tinto   acknowledged a gloomy outlook for the sector this week, when it slashed the book value of its Alcan unit by $9 billion.    Rio Chief Executive Tom Albanese warned margins may continue to be squeezed in the medium term. "The current environment in the aluminium industry is tough ... I can't predict when the price will recover."

Speculators up gold, silver, copper length again-CFTC
Feb 10 (Reuters) - Money managers in gold, silver and copper futures and options raised their net long position in the week of Feb. 7, as investor interest in the three metals continued to recover after recent disappointing performance.  
Speculators in gold increased their bullish bets in the precious metal to the highest in nearly six months, while they increased their bullish exposure in copper for a fourth straight week, latest data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed on Friday.  

Copper on front foot, Greece deal fuels rebound
SHANGHAI, Feb 13 (Reuters) - London copper rallied  , recovering from last week's sell-off, after the safe passage of Greece's austerity bill enhanced the allure of risky assets.
"Europe's just a mess," said Liu. "After the Chinese new year, the pace of demand recovery has been slower than expected, so we have seen the physical markets suffer some pressure.

Southern Copper sees 2012 copper output up 9 pct
LIMA, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Southern Copper , a major global copper producer, expects its 2012 output to increase nearly 9 percent from the previous year, the company said during a conference call on Friday.
Production of the red metal is seen at 640,000 tonnes in 2012, up from the company's 2011 output of 587,491 tonnes.
"We expect production of 610,000 from our own operations and 30,000 tonnes to be processed from third parties," said Raul Jacobs, chief financial officer for Peruvian operations.

METALS-Copper on front foot, Greece deal fuels rebound
SHANGHAI, Feb 13 (Reuters) - London copper rallied on Monday, recovering from last week's sell-off, after the safe passage of Greece's austerity bill enhanced the allure of risky assets.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange  rose by 0.88 percent to $8,560 a tonne by 0505 GMT, clawing back some losses from the previous session when prices fell 3 percent.

PRECIOUS-Gold rises on Greek austerity bill, off 2-week low
SINGAPORE, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Gold strengthened on Monday in line with gains in shares and the euro after Greece's parliament finally approved a deeply unpopular austerity bill to secure a second bailout from the European Union and the IMF to avoid bankruptcy.  
Physical buying from China also helped lift gold  up$6.10 an ounce to $1,725.49 by 0236 GMT. Bullion fell to $1,703.69 on Friday, its lowest since late January, as uncertainty over negotiations for Greece's bailout package prompted investors to cash in.  

Gold rises on Greek austerity bill, off 2-week low
SINGAPORE, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Gold strengthened  in line with gains in shares and the euro after Greece's parliament finally approved a deeply unpopular austerity bill to secure a second bailout from the European Union and the IMF to avoid bankruptcy.  
"We are still looking for more measures out of Europe before we see a sustainable risk rally. Yes, perhaps it's good that we have a second bailout package and we are sure that at least we are not going to see Greece defaulting," said Ong Yi Ling, an analyst at Phillip Futures.

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