Soaring Spanish debt costs cap shares, hurt euro
TOKYO, April 17 (Reuters) - Asian shares were capped while the euro fell, as soaring Spanish borrowing costs underscored the fading impact of the European Central Bank's bond purchases and stoked investor nervousness over euro zone debt woes.
"Investors are beginning to question if Spain's fiscal austerity measures could be sustainable as its economy deteriorates, while sluggish growth would push housing prices lower and raise the risk of nonperforming loans ballooning," said Takao Hattori, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities in Tokyo.
FOREX-Euro edges down ahead of Spanish bond auction
TOKYO, April 17 (Reuters) - The euro lost some ground a day after short-covering helped it pull away from two-month lows against the dollar, and remained vulnerable ahead of a Spanish bond auction as euro zone debt jitters showed no signs of abating.
Spain is set to see its borrowing costs leap when it sells short-term bonds after concerns over its deficit and banking sector pushed longer term risk premiums above 6 percent and drove the cost of insuring its debt to a record high.
GRAINS-Wheat, corn rise from 2-week low, soy up on demand
SINGAPORE, April 17 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat rose 0.7 percent as the market recovered from a two-week low on concerns over a freeze in the U.S. Plains threatening the winter crop, while corn edged higher on strong demand.
"We had export inspection figures which were released after the market closed last night and they were pretty supportive for corn," said Victor Thianpiriya, an agricultural commodity strategist at ANZ.
Shift to soy frees up in-demand US corn seed
CHICAGO, April 16 (Reuters) - Minnesota farmer Dave Eiynck was surprised last week when his seed dealer called to say he had obtained a particular kind of corn seed.
It was unusual, as the dealer had previously warned he was unable to fill nearly a third of Eiynck's order for a certain seed variety to cover about 1,320 acres (535 hectares) due to short supplies.
Vietnam March coffee exports ease to 187,000 T-customs
HANOI, April 17 (Reuters) - Vietnam's actual coffee export volume last month dropped 7.3 percent from February to 187,000 tonnes, or 3.12 million bags, the Vietnam Customs said on Tuesday.
Coffee exports between January and March fell 12.8 percent from the same period last year to 500,500 tonnes, the Finance Ministry-run customs department said in its monthly report.
POLL-Rains slow record pace of U.S. corn planting
CHICAGO, April 16 (Reuters) - U.S. corn farmers came off their record planting pace last week as heavy rain over the weekend in key growing areas of the Midwest caused the first delays of the spring, analysts said.
A Reuters poll of 16 analysts pegged corn planting at 17 percent complete as of April 15, up from 7 percent a week earlier.
Fire closes USDA, delays Crop Progress report
WASHINGTON, April 16 (Reuters) - An overnight fire forced the closure of the U.S. Agriculture Department complex on the National Mall and disrupted the flow of data to commodity markets, including a closely watched report on U.S. crop development, officials said on Monday.
The weekly crop progress report, ordinarily released on Monday afternoon, was rescheduled because of the blaze, which fire fighters put out. The report will now be released Tuesday at 4 p.m. EDT (2000 GMT).
Brent slips to $118 on euro zone worries
SINGAPORE, April 17 (Reuters) - Brent crude slipped to $118, continuing its steep decline from the previous session, as Spain's debt woes reignited demand growth concerns and threatened to derail the global economic outlook.
"Euro zone concerns are affecting all risk assets at the moment, with the bearish zone suggesting that Greece was just the side show and Spain's the real game," said Ben Le Brun, market analyst at OptionsXpress.
LME may allow traders to settle contracts in yuan-FT
SINGAPORE, April 17 (Reuters) - The London Metal Exchange is asking its members whether they would like to use China's yuan currency in settling and clearing contracts and drop the British pound in the roster of currencies available to them, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.
Offering traders the option to trade in yuan is part of a survey being conducted by the LME to help it design its planned new clearing house, the newspaper said.
London copper holds under $8,000, demand woes weigh
SHANGHAI, April 17 (Reuters) - London copper stayed below $8,000 a tonne for a third day running as investors worried about the outlook for global demand, with Spain's surging borrowing cost threatening to spark a new phase in the euro zone debt crisis.
"The mood is very cautious and I see prices going down further in the short term as I haven't seen a lot of clients who are willing to buy copper at current prices," said Judy Zhu, commodity analyst at Standard Chartered Bank.
Rio Tinto qtr iron ore output drops on weather
MELBOURNE, April 17 (Reuters) - Global miner Rio Tinto reported a 10 percent drop in attributable iron ore production in the first quarter, citing a series of weather-related disruptions to ports and mines in Australia.
Rio Tinto, the world's second biggest producer of iron ore after Vale and a key supplier to the the Chinese steel sector, said its share of production from mines it owns outright and in joint ventures dropped to 46 million tonnes in the quarter versus 51.2 million tonnes in the previous quarter.
CESCO-Colombia seeks more foreign investment in mining
SANTIAGO, April 16 (Reuters) - Colombia expects to sell exploration rights to its large untapped mineral resources next year as part of its effort to attract foreign investment to develop its gold, coal and silver mining sector.
The government's new national mining agency will coordinate the sale of rights to develop the country's unexplored mineral wealth as it aims to boost its income from mining, which only accounts for around 2 percent of the country's economy.
Strong quake shakes Chile, no reports of damage
SANTIAGO, April 17 (Reuters) - A powerful 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck near Chile's eastern coastal port of Valparaiso early on Tuesday, shaking buildings as far away as the capital Santiago, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries and the country's main copper mines were unaffected.
State emergency office ONEMI said a stretch of coastline was being evacuated as a precaution, but there was no tsunami alert.
Glencore holds dominant LME copper position-traders
LONDON, April 16 (Reuters) - Glencore International is holding a dominant long position in the London copper market, trade sources said on Monday, as tight supply took the premium paid by investors for cash metal over benchmark three-month futures to its highest in 3-1/2 years.
London Metal Exchange (LME) data showed that one entity controlled 50 to 80 percent of combined cash contracts and metal inventories . The exchange did not identify the holder, but traders said it was Glencore.
Rio Tinto qtr iron ore output drops on weather
MELBOURNE, April 17 (Reuters) - Global miner Rio Tinto reported a 10 percent drop in attributable iron ore production in the first quarter, citing a series of weather-related disruptions to ports and mines in Australia.
Rio Tinto, the world's second biggest producer of iron ore after Vale and a key supplier to the the Chinese steel sector, said its share of production from mines it owns outright and in joint ventures dropped to 46 million tonnes in the quarter versus 51.2 million tonnes in the previous quarter.
Reliance Steel ups profit view on stronger demand
April 16 (Reuters) - Metals processor Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co raised its first-quarter earnings estimate as a result of stronger demand and pricing.
The news sent its stock up over 3 percent to $53.73 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Honda to recycle rare earth metals in used parts
TOKYO, April 17 (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co said on Tuesday it would start the world's first mass-production process to extract rare earth metals from used car parts and recycle the expensive materials mainly controlled by China.
Honda has partnered Japan Metals & Chemicals Co to begin extracting rare earth metals this month from nickel-metal hydride batteries collected from used hybrid vehicles at its dealers around the world, the Japanese automaker said.
Russia's Evraz Q1 steel output down 1.4 pct y/y
MOSCOW, April 16 (Reuters) - Evraz , Russia's largest steel producer, said on Monday its steel production in the first quarter of 2012 fell 1.4 percent year-on-year to 4.33 million tonnes.
Production of crude steel increased 5 percent compared to the fourth quarter on the back of growth in Russia and in the U.S., while operations in Ukraine and Europe decreased.
Italy 2011 copper, aluminium semi-finished product output down
MILAN, April 16 (Reuters) - Output of copper and alloy semi-finished products in Italy, a major European manufacturer, fell 4.8 percent year on year to 1.058 million tonnes in 2011, according to data from non-ferrous metals association Assomet.
Output of aluminium and alloy semi-finished products in Italy fell 2.8 percent to 822,000 tonnes, according to the data obtained by Reuters on Monday.
Gold edges down with euro; Spain in focus
SINGAPORE, April 17 (Reuters) - Gold edged down, tracking the euro's weakness as investors watched the Spanish debt market with renewed worries about the debt crisis in Europe, but safe-haven demand may lend support to bullion prices.
"We expect that if European credit conditions continue to deteriorate, gold (along with the dollar) could start to better reflect the growing tensions by moving higher on its steam," said Ed Meir, an analyst at INTL FCStone in a research note.
What copper reserves are telling us-CESCO
The last report of the United States Geological Survey corresponding to the year 2011 offers a good perspective of the historical and recent trend of copper reserves. Are copper reserves responding to the stimulus of such high prices?.
The first positive evidence is that copper reserves increased a 28% in the last two years. Undoubtedly, this is a significant change because in the last years the increases have been rather modest. In fact, copper reserves had increased only a 15% from 2002 and 2009. This strong increase in 2010 and 2011, however, must consider that a great part of it corresponds to reserves increases in operating deposits. It is still necessary that the rate of new discoveries increases significantly.
METALS-London copper holds under $8,000, demand woes weigh
SHANGHAI, April 17 (Reuters) - London copper stayed below $8,000 a tonne for a third day running as investors worried about the outlook for global demand, with Spain's surging borrowing cost threatening to spark a new phase in the euro zone debt crisis.
"The mood is very cautious and I see prices going down further in the short term as I haven't seen a lot of clients who are willing to buy copper at current prices," said Judy Zhu, commodity analyst at Standard Chartered Bank.
PRECIOUS-Gold edges down with euro; Spain in focus
SINGAPORE, April 17 (Reuters) - Gold edged down tracking the euro's weakness as investors watched the Spanish debt market with renewed worries about the debt crisis in Europe, but safe-haven demand may lend support to bullion prices.
Sentiment in the euro remained vulnerable ahead of a Spanish debt auction later in the day. Spain is set to see its borrowing costs leap when it sells short-term bonds after jitters over its deficit and banking sector pushed longer term risk premiums above 6 percent on Monday.
Comex silver stocks hit highest in at least 10 years
April 16 (Reuters) - Silver stockpiles in Comex-monitored warehouses rose to their highest level in at least 10 years, showing near-term supply of the metal is plentiful as mine output holds at record levels and the global economic recovery struggles for traction.
The U.S silver stocks held at the five exchange-approved depositories stood at 141.59 million ounces on Friday, the highest since Reuters data first compiled in 2002. They were up from 140.6 million ounces the previous day and 102.65 million ounces a year ago.
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