Friday, March 16, 2012

20120316 1145 Global Market & Commodities Related News.

COMMODITY-Oil down on stockpile news, other commods up
NEW YORK, March 15 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell for a second day in a row on Thursday, hit by news of a possible release in U.S. and British strategic oil reserves, while most other commodities rose due to a weaker dollar.
"It all depends on how much they are going to release," said analyst Chris Dillman at Tradition Energy in Connecticut.

GLOBAL MARKETS-Shares consolidate, dollar faces profit taking
TOKYO, March 16 (Reuters) - Asian shares steadied on Friday and the dollar took a breather after its recent broad rally spurred some profit taking, but a fresh batch of data suggesting the U.S. economy may be picking up momentum underpinned investor sentiment.
"The market is still going through a relief rally more than chasing a new trend on global growth," Barclays Capital analysts said. "We are getting into profit-taking territory," they added.

Obama nears dropping IEA fig leaf for oil release
--Robert Campbell is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own--
NEW YORK, March 15 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama, itching to pull the trigger on a fresh release from the strategic oil reserves to quell surging fuel prices, is getting closer to plunging into the market without backup from other Western nations.
Opposition to a fresh use of strategic oil stocks has come from European members of the International Energy Agency, threatening to slow any stock release.

OIL-Oil falls as US, UK plan oil reserve release
NEW YORK, March 15 (Reuters) - Crude prices fell by $2 a barrel on Thursday after Reuters reported that the United States and Britain were preparing a release from strategic oil reserves this year.
"It all depends on how much they are going to release," said analyst Chris Dillman at Tradition Energy in Connecticut.

NATURAL GAS-Front month US natgas slips for second day
NEW YORK, March 15 (Reuters) - Front month U.S. natural gas futures ended lower for a second straight day on Thursday on continuing concerns over a mild winter and inventories that remain bloated despite a weekly storage draw that came in above expectations.  
"Today's ever-so-slightly-more-than-expected storage withdrawal does nothing whatsoever to alter existing fundamentals. That said, natural gas is grappling with technical support, the forward curve seemingly more supported than the front, from a growing question mark on the potential for future production and drilling cuts," said Jay Levine, broker with enerjay, LLC in Portland, Maine.

EURO COAL-Prices steady, S.Korea buys Colombian
LONDON, March 15 (Reuters) - Prompt physical coal prices held steady on Thursday but could see fresh falls as unsold U.S. and Colombian coal weighs on the European market.
China has been forecast to import around the same tonnage this year as last year, more than enough to tip the supply/demand balance, traders said.

Colombia oil industry pushes back on tax hikes
BOGOTA, March 15 (Reuters) - Leaders of Colombia's oil industry on Thursday urged the government to keep tax rates stable for the sector amid growing insistence by politicians that energy firms pay a greater share of their earnings to the Andean nation.
A group of legislators want President Juan Manuel Santos's upcoming tax overhaul proposal to include royalty and tax hikes on the oil industry, which is one of the fastest-growing in the region thanks to improved security under a U.S.-backed military crackdown on Marxist rebels.

U.S., UK set to agree emergency oil stocks release
LONDON, March 15 (Reuters) - Britain is poised to cooperate with the United States on a release of strategic oil stocks that is expected within months, two British sources said, in a bid to prevent fuel prices choking economic growth in a U.S. election year.  
A formal request from the United States to the UK to join forces in a release of oil from government-controlled reserves is expected "shortly" following a meeting on Wednesday in Washington between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron, who discussed the issue, one source said.

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