Increased risk appetite lifts shares after data, Fed
TOKYO, March 14 (Reuters) - Asian shares rose as upbeat U.S. economic data boosted investors' risk appetite, while reduced expectations for further monetary easing by the Federal Reserve underpinned the dollar.
"The markets do run very much on confidence and at the moment, that's improved greatly. The international markets, in particular Wall Street, have been having a nice rally," said Grant Williamson, a partner at New Zealand brokerage Hamilton Hindin Greene.
FOREX-Dollar stronger across the board, hits 11-mth high vs yen
TOKYO, March 14 (Reuters) - The dollar hit an 11-month high against the yen on Wednesday, building on its broad gains after a modest brightening of the Federal Reserve's economic forecasts nudged traders to downplay expectations of further monetary easing.
U.S. 10-year Treasury yields hovered near a 3-1/2-month high hit after solid retail sales data, making the dollar less attractive as a funding currency for carry trades. Tokyo exporters were also reluctant to sell it now, expecting more strength, traders said.
Fed gives mostly high grades in bank stress tests
March 13 (Reuters) - Most of the largest U.S. banks passed their annual stress test, according to the Federal Reserve, in a conservative report card that underscored the recovery of the financial sector but called out a few laggards, namely Citigroup.
The Fed announced the results in an earlier-than-expected release on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase pulled the trigger on announcing its own glowing marks before the Fed's release, and helped lift the stock market.
Politics push China's property tax toward Beijing
BEIJING, March 14 (Reuters) - China's capital could be the next major testing ground for a national property tax, putting the central government at risk of vocal criticism close to home that underscores its determination to roll out an unpopular fiscal plan that has been a decade in the making.
Premier Wen Jiabao's opening address last week to the largely rubber-stamp annual meeting of parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC), made it crystal clear that the leadership will push ahead with property tax reform.
German, French fin mins say worst of euro crisis over
PARIS, March 13 (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and his French counterpart Francois Baroin said on Tuesday that the worst of the euro zone crisis appeared to be over, but warned member states that was no excuse to skimp on difficult reforms.
"We can say that the worst is behind us, but we cannot relax our efforts," Schaeuble told a conference in Paris. "I think we can say with a 50 percent probability that the worst is behind us."
U.S. soy rises on drought in South America
SYDNEY, March 14 (Reuters) - Chicago soy futures extended gains, after closing at their highest level in 5-1/2 months in the previous session, on worries over tighter supplies in the wake of a drought in South America.
“Export prospects for U.S. soybeans were improving despite rising prices as many global buyers had expected more South American supplies to be available”, analysts with Oil World said.
Ghana cocoa output to rival record
ACCRA, March 13 (Reuters) - Ghana's cocoa production this season will rival last year's record 1 million-tonne crop due to improved weather and farming techniques, the West African country's cocoa regulator told Reuters on Tuesday.
The rosy outlook from the world's No. 2 grower cuts a stark contrast to other regional producers like neighbouring Ivory Coast, where a stretch of dry, windy weather has cut output and darkened prospects for the rest of the season.
Ukraine AgMin cuts wheat harvest outlook to 14 mln T
KIEV, March 13 (Reuters) - Ukraine's Agriculture Ministry has cut its 2012 wheat harvest forecast to 14 million tonnes from 16 million tonnes, Minister Mykola Prysyazhnyuk said on Tuesday, after winter plantings suffered from drought and frost.
"We expect to reach a harvest of 14 million tonnes of wheat," Prysyazhnyuk said.
Ivorian farmers in dark over cocoa reform
SOUBRE, Ivory Coast, March 13 (Reuters) - Farmers, who are at the centre of Ivory Coast's cocoa reform, say they know little about what it means for them.
The reform, which guarantees minimum prices to farmers in the hope of encouraging re-investment in the cocoa industry, is crucial to Ivory Coast winning International Monetary Fund-backed debt relief. The IMF says it wants to see the system up and running for six months before giving the go-ahead.
India's cotton exports split industry, government
NEW DELHI, March 13 (Reuters) - The Indian government should allow fresh cotton exports when ministers meet on the issue in two weeks to help prop up falling domestic prices -- an indication of comfortable local supplies -- the chief of a leading trade body said on Tuesday.
But New Delhi may resist this call because textile mills are still worried that record exports from India, the world's No. 2 producer, could lead to a domestic supply shortage and are pressuring New Delhi to keep a controversial ban in place.
Brent crude steadies above $126 ahead of US oil data
SINGAPORE, March 14 (Reuters) - Brent crude steadied above $126 as expectations for a build in U.S. crude inventories offset improving economic sentiment in the world's top oil consumer.
"The U.S. economy seems more buoyant, so that is keeping the market up," said Tony Nunan, a risk manager at Mitsubishi Corp.
U.S. asks Saudis to lift oil output from July
KUWAIT, March 13 (Reuters) - The United States is pressing Saudi Arabia to boost oil output to fill a likely supply gap arising from sanctions on Iran, Gulf oil officials said, adding that an increase in production is unlikely to be needed before July.
Saudi Arabia is the only producer with spare capacity and oil importers will rely on Riyadh to fill the gap should Iranian output drop.
China, India 2030 coal imports may hit 1.4 bln tonnes
NEW DELHI, March 14 (Reuters) - China's thermal coal imports could soar to one billion tonnes in 2030 from just 175 million in 2011 , while India's imports will be at least 400 million tonnes in that same year, five times last year's levels, research consultants Wood Mackenzie said.
Imports will rise as surging growth boosts demand for electricity in two of Asia's largest economies, which rely heavily on coal for power generation, Wood Mackenzie's coal market analyst Prakash Sharma told Reuters.
Euro Coal-Prices ease along with gas
LONDON, March 13 (Reuters) - Prompt physical coal prices dropped slightly on Tuesday in line with weaker gas, with few fresh trades seen.
The fundamentals for coal in the Atlantic look weak, traders and utilities said, but the market is being driven more by moves in gas and oil prices than the lack of physical demand, which has trimmed 15 percent from coal prices since October.
India's coal regulator plan gathers pace
NEW DELHI, March 13 (Reuters) - India's draft bill on coal regulator is ready and will be presented to the cabinet soon, Coal Secretary Alok Perti said on Tuesday .
"A coal regulator is important. It will certainly add to improving the situation," said Perti, as the country struggles to produce enough of the cheap fuel for power stations.
Iron Ore-Spot price firms, rebar hits 5-week top
SHANGHAI, March 14 (Reuters) - Iron ore prices gained for a second straight session, rising to its loftiest in five weeks, amid signs steel demand was picking up at key consumer China.
Australian Pilbara fines with 61.5 percent iron content were being offered at $143 to $145 per tonne, including freight, up $1 from the previous day, according to industry consultancy Umetal.
Copper pauses after gains on data, Fed
SINGAPORE, March 14 (Reuters) - Copper prices traded slightly lower, off a one-week high hit in the previous session on upbeat data from the United States and Germany, and the Federal Reserve's acknowledgement of signs of economic recovery.
"Overall the market sentiment remains optimistic -- the situation in euro zone is improving, U.S. stock market is at highest since 2008 -- the external market is quite buoyant and will help support copper," said a Shanghai-based trader.
Rains hit north Chile mines, operations continue
SANTIAGO, March 13 (Reuters) - Heavy rains in Chile's mineral-rich north have cut off roads at No. 3 copper mine Collahuasi and Cerro Colorado but operations have been little affected, worker and company sources said on Tuesday morning.
A river burst its bank near BHP Billiton's Cerro Colorado, impeding plant maintenance and plant operation workers from changing shifts, a union leader said.
EU, US, Japan launch rare earth WTO case against China
WASHINGTON/BRUSSELS, March 13 (Reuters) - The United States, Europe and Japan joined forces on Tuesday against China's restrictions on exports of rare earth minerals that are critical to production of advanced technology and clean energy goods expected to provide the jobs of the future.
"We want our companies building those products right here in America. But to do that, American manufacturers need to have access to rare earth materials which China supplies," President Barack Obama said at the White House.
Gold edges up on bargain hunting, U.S. dollar weighs
SINGAPORE, March 14 (Reuters) - Gold regained some strength on bargain hunting after prices dropped about 2 percent in the previous session, but a firmer U.S. dollar is likely to cap gains after the Federal Reserve vowed to keep interest rates low until 2014.
"Gold is just caught in a downdraft again after Bernanke didn't really talk about quantitative easing. But there is still this deep-seated theme of central bank buying and strong retail demand from emerging Asia, particularly China," said Nick Trevethan, a senior commodity strategist at ANZ in Singapore.
METALS-Copper pauses after gains on data, Fed
SINGAPORE, March 14 (Reuters) - Copper prices traded slightly lower on Wednesday, off a one-week high hit in the previous session on upbeat data from the United States and Germany, and the Federal Reserve's acknowledgement of signs of economic recovery.
Copper rose in tandem with other riskier assets in the previous session as data showed solid growth in U.S. retails sector and a jump in German business sentiment.
PRECIOUS-Gold edges up on bargain hunting, U.S. dollar weighs
SINGAPORE, March 14 (Reuters) - Gold regained some strength on Wednesday on bargain hunting after prices dropped about 2 percent in the previous session, but a firmer U.S. dollar is likely to cap gains after the Federal Reserve vowed to keep interest rates low until 2014.
Investors could still ditch gold in favour of the dollar after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke offered no clues on whether there will be another round of monetary easing, a factor which effectively reduces bullion's safe-haven appeal.
Atlantic activity pushes up Baltic freight index
March 13 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index tracking rates for ships carrying dry commodities rose further on Tuesday, as demand in the Atlantic basin pushed up panamax rates.
The main index, which factors in the average daily earnings of capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize dry bulk transport vessels, rose 7 points or 0.84 percent to 844 points.
Dry bulkers face worst pain in shipping slump-S&P
LONDON, March 13 (Reuters) - The dry bulk shipping sector faces the heaviest oversupply pressures over the next 12 to 18 months compared with the oil tanker and container markets and will be last of the three to recover, Standard & Poor's said on Tuesday.
Ship owners went on an ordering spree between 2007 to 2009 bolstered by earnings as rates in the bulk sector for larger capesize vessels, which carry iron ore and coal cargoes, reached a peak of over $230,000 a day in 2008. Average capesize earnings have slid to just over $5,000 a day this week, below operating cost levels.
Baltic sea index rises more on higher panamax rates
March 12 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry commodities, rose for the thirteenth day on Monday, as a spurt in coal and grain shipments pushed up panamax vessel rates.
The overall index, which gauges the cost of shipping commodities such as iron ore, cement, grain, coal and fertilizer, rose 13 points or 1.58 percent to 837 points.
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