201200903 1136 Global Markets & Commodities Related News.

GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian shares inch lower after Bernanke as data in focus
TOKYO, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Asian shares eased on Monday after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke kept the door open for further stimulus if needed, while stopping short of giving any clear direction about an imminent move, prompting investors to look for clues in upcoming data.
"The message came through that conventional measures would probably persist, with measurable results, and that anybody waiting for unconventional wild methods would have to keep waiting," said Richard Hastings, macro strategist at Global Hunter Securities.

U.S. could go it alone with oil release
(John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)
LONDON, Aug 31 (Reuters) - With Italy and Germany continuing to resist the release of oil from emergency stockpiles, attention will turn to the possibility of a unilateral release by the United States, possibly in conjunction with allies like Britain and France.
The symbolism of a multilateral release would clearly be preferable for the White House since it would maximise the impact on global oil markets and limit criticism that the president is manipulating oil prices to help his re-election campaign.

OIL-Oil posts 2nd monthly rise, tops $114 after Bernanke
NEW YORK, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Oil rose above $114 a barrel in volatile trading on Friday, taking gains in August above 9 percent, after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stopped short of signalling extra monetary easing was imminent but kept the door open for action.
"There was no announcement about if more stimulus was coming immediately, but he (Bernanke) said the Fed was ready to act if necessary so that was supportive," said Gene McGillian, analyst at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut.

Germany, Italy stay opposed to IEA oil release
ROME/BERLIN Aug 31 (Reuters) - Germany and Italy remain opposed to a release of consumer country emergency oil stocks, arguing world markets are amply supplied despite lower Iranian crude output, senior government sources in Rome and Berlin said.
German and Italian opposition creates further uncertainty about the timing of a possible drawdown of stocks after G7 finance ministers issued a surprise statement on Tuesday saying they were ready to call on the International Energy Agency (IEA) to take action.

Energy firms boost US Gulf oil, natgas output after storm
HOUSTON, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Energy companies were restoring offshore oil and natural gas production and restarting refineries on Sunday as the recovery from Hurricane Isaac
shifted into high gear.
Shut offshore oil output in the Gulf of Mexico was down 22 percent from Saturday's 93.53 percent and natural gas output was down nearly 10 percent from 65.26 percent shut a day earlier, the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said on Sunday.

Iran says oil exports unaffected by sanctions
DUBAI, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Iran's oil exports are at their normal levels and are unaffected by Western embargoes, an Iranian oil official was quoted as saying on Sunday.
Iran's top oil customers have slashed Iranian purchases under pressure from European Union and U.S. sanctions that aim to squeeze Tehran's oil income and curb its nuclear programme.

Russia's Aug oil hits post-Soviet high of 10.38 mln bpd
MOSCOW, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Russia extracted oil at a record pace of 10.38 million barrels per day in August, a level unseen since the collapse of the Soviet Union, as companies took advantage of high oil prices, Energy Ministry data showed on Sunday.
Russian oil output, the world's largest, edged up 0.4 percent in August from 10.34 million bpd in July. In tonnes, the ministry said crude production in Russia stood at 43.89 million last month.

Iraq oil exports rise to 2.565 mln bpd in August-SOMO
BAGHDAD, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Iraq's oil exports rose to 2.565 million barrels per day (bpd) on average in August, their highest level for three decades, the head of the State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) told Reuters on Saturday.
Iraq exported 2.516 million bpd in July.

NATURAL GAS-U.S. natgas futures end up for 3rd day on near-term weather
NEW YORK, Aug 31 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures ended higher on Friday for a third day, backed by warm weather that should boost air conditioning demand for the next few days, but bloated supplies and the milder mid month outlook were expected to keep buyers cautious.
"There is still a lot of production shut in from Isaac, and the weather is hot this week and next week, so people are expecting a low storage build next week," said Steve Mosley at SMC Advisory Services in Arkansas.