COMMODITIES-Gold bounces up, oil climbs to 10-month high
NEW YORK, March 1 (Reuters) - Gold rebounded above $1,700 an ounce on Thursday, as buyers emerged after the previous session's 5 percent slump, while oil hit a 10-month high on fears of an Iran-related conflict, and renewed risk appetite lifted copper.
"The fact that it failed to break above a high near $1,800 signified a formidable level of resistance, and more importantly shows the bulls are just not ready to take the market back to new high territory, said Adam Sarhan, CEO of Sarhan Capital.
GLOBAL MARKETS-Shares firm after flood of EU liquidity shores up sentiment
TOKYO, March 2 (Reuters) - Asian shares and the euro inched up on Friday, after a flood of cheap European Central Bank funds this week eased debt worries, allowing markets to overcome some weak data and concerns over surging oil prices.
"While the measures will ultimately prove dilutive to the euro, they will continue to spur the flight to riskier assets," said Christopher Vecchio, currency analyst at DailyFX.
World can replace oil lost to Iran sanctions -US
WASHINGTON, March 1 (Reuters) - Global oil producers appear to have enough spare capacity to make up for Iranian exports curtailed by tough new sanctions, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said on Thursday.
Chu said it was important that sanctions be used to crimp Iranian oil sales to ensure Tehran does not develop nuclear weapons, despite the release of an Energy Information Administration report this week that showed supplies are tight.
Iran media report of Saudi pipeline fire drives oil surge
March 1 (Reuters) - An Iranian media report of an explosion on an unknown Saudi oil pipeline helped fuel a surge of more than $5 a barrel in oil futures on Thursday, with Brent crude hitting its highest since 2008.
"An explosion has hit oil pipelines in the flashpoint Saudi Arabian city of Awamiyah in the kingdom's oil-rich Eastern Province," PressTV said on its website without providing any further information or sourcing. The headline appeared to have been posted at 2:19 EST (1919 GMT).
US will not revoke LNG exports to control prices-DOE
WASHINGTON, March 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. Energy Department will not attempt to control natural gas prices by revoking approvals granted for gas export terminals, a department official said, as lawmakers and green groups stepped up their attacks on attempts to send U.S. gas abroad.
The department has argued that federal law gives it the authority to revisit liquefied natural gas export applications it has approved, but Deputy Assistant Secretary Christopher Smith said the department would be hesitant to use this power.
France seeks more emergency stocks of oil products
PARIS, March 1 (Reuters) - France's emergency oil stocks agency aims to buy more products on the market by July 1, after purchasing 350,000 cubic metres of diesel in February, to conform with an EU directive requiring members to increase inventories, the head of the agency said.
Jean-Marc Tenneson, who heads the CPSSP agency, said he had calculated in December that France needed to raise its stocks by 600,000 tonnes by July 2012 but he now thought the figure would be lower as consumption has dropped.
Dubai to decide on energy investments by end-2012 -official
DUBAI, March 1 (Reuters) - Dubai is likely to decide on its multi-billion dollar energy investment strategy, including possible investments abroad, by the end of 2012, a senior official at the Gulf emirate's supreme energy council said on Thursday.
Dubai, one of seven members of the United Arab Emirates federation, lacks the large hydrocarbon resources of nearby Abu Dhabi, and has to import gas to satisfy growing energy consumption.
China oil, copper imports decouple from PMIs
--Clyde Russell is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own.--
SINGAPORE, March 1 (Reuters) - The health of China's giant manufacturing sector is often cited when talking about the nation's commodity demand, but it appears that imports of crude oil and copper have decoupled from the industrial data.
The release of the two monthly Purchasing Managers' Indexes, one by the government's statistics office and the other by HSBC, is invariably accompanied by lots of talk on whether China's economy is cooling too fast or at just the right pace.
Oil highest since 2008 on Saudi pipeline report
NEW YORK, March 1 (Reuters) - Oil surged nearly 5 percent in heavy trading on Thursday, and to its highest since the record run in 2008, as a late report out of Iran of a pipeline fire in top exporter Saudi Arabia triggered a rush of buying.
"The sharp move up on the pipeline story points to the market nervousness on anything related to supply problems," said Gene McGillian, analyst for Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut.
Natural gas ends down near 6 pct after light stock draw
NEW YORK, March 1 (Reuters) - Front-month U.S. natural gas futures ended nearly 6 percent lower on Thursday after a government report showed a weekly inventory draw below market expectations.
"Another bearish inventory report hit the market today. With 19 days left to what may go down as one of the warmest U.S. winters in history, the surplus of natgas in inventory is continuing to grow," Energy Management Institute's Dominick Chirichella said in a report.
Euro Coal-Prices drop $1/T for 3rd day on poor demand
LONDON, March 1 (Reuters) - Prompt physical coal prices fell by $1.00 for the third consecutive day on oversupply and a lack of buying interest in Europe.
"DES is down by another dollar, there is some utility buying because these prices are attractive but it's fairly limited," one utility source said.
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