STOCKS: Asian shares rose and European shares looked set to open higher ahead of the much awaited key U.S. jobs report, sustaining a positive mood after the European Central Bank said it stands ready to buy bonds of troubled euro zone countries. The S&P 500 extended gains to a fourth day on Thursday, putting it on the cusp of a new five-year high if Friday's jobs report shows encouraging signs for the labor market. (Reuters)
FOREX: The euro inched down but stayed near a two-week high versus the dollar, finding support after the European Central Bank said the previous day that it was ready to buy bonds of troubled euro zone members. (Reuters)
FOREX-Euro near 2-wk high; yen firms briefly after BOJ
SINGAPORE, Oct 5 (Reuters) - The euro inched down but stayed near a two-week high versus the dollar on Friday, finding support after the European Central Bank said the previous day that it was ready to buy bonds of troubled euro zone members.
"People who want to go short are looking to do so after a Spanish request for aid triggers a rally in the euro," the trader said, referring to traders who are eager to put on bearish bets against the single currency.
Draghi says ECB primed to buy bonds when ready
BRDO PRI KRANJU, Slovenia, Oct 4 (Reuters) - European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said on Thursday the ECB was primed to buy troubled euro zone bonds when conditions were right and that this had already calmed financial market tension.
Speaking at his regular monthly news conference, Draghi also said "significant progress" had been made in Spain to bring its finances into order, although more was needed.
U.S. jobless claims point to steady labor market
WASHINGTON, Oct 4 (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose only slightly last week after a big drop the week before, a hopeful sign the job market is still on the mend.
Other data on Thursday showed a sharp drop in new orders for U.S. factory goods, although orders outside the transportation sector rose for a second straight month, which should calm fears of a rapid loss of momentum in factory activity.
GRAINS: Chicago soybean futures edged higher, building on the last two sessions of gains with support from a revival in U.S. exports and a surprise decline in estimates for Canada's canola crop. Corn edged higher, in line with the trend in soybeans, but the market is on track to finish the week nearly flat as the record pace of the U.S. harvest kept a lid on prices. (Reuters)
CNOOC bid for Nexen raises tough issues: Canada PM (Reuters)
Canada said on Thursday that a $15.1 billion Chinese bid for domestic oil company Nexen Inc raised difficult policy questions, but the government gave no sign it would bow to an opposition demand to veto the deal.
OIL: Brent futures slipped below $112 per barrel, but they are on course to end a choppy week nearly flat as rising tensions in the Middle East battle with perennial worries about the global economy and oil demand. (Reuters)
Euro Coal-Prices rise by $1/T; oversupply fears ease
LONDON, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Prompt physical coal prices rose by as much as $1.00 a tonne on Thursday as traders bought to cover short positions and on optimism that prices are starting to recover from steep falls in the summer.
Prompt South African coal cargo prices dropped to a two-year low of $81.65 a tonne in June due to oversupply and a withdrawal by many buyers to the market's sidelines while they waited for prices to lower further.
U.S. coal stocks jump on Romney comments -analysts
Oct 4 (Reuters) - Mitt Romney's support of the coal industry during his debate with President Obama sent coal company stocks higher on Thursday, analysts said.
"It's amazing what 15 words about coal in a presidential debate can do for the stocks," said Michael Dudas of Sterne Agee.
Vale to halt output at Brazil iron ore pellet plants (Reuters)
Brazil's Vale SA said on Thursday that it plans to suspend operations at three Brazilian iron ore pellet plants and increase output of lower-value mine products as world steel demand slows.
BASE METALS: Copper edged up in line with a firmer euro after the European Central Bank said it was ready to buy bonds of troubled countries in the region, although volumes were low with top consumer China on a week-long holiday. (Reuters)
PRECIOUS METALS: Gold dipped slightly but held near the 11-month high as stimulus measures from major central banks continued to increase its appeal as an inflation hedge, while investors awaited more trading direction from key U.S. jobs data due later in the day. (Reuters)
COLUMN-LME volumes, new record, same old trends
--Andy Home is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own--
LONDON, Oct 4 (Reuters) - The London Metal Exchange (LME) has just announced record volumes for the month of September.Last month's tally of 14.09 million lots brings the year-to-date total to 119.1 million lots, equivalent to $10.9 trillion in notional turnover.
It's a reassuring performance for the executives of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) , who will no doubt be attending the annual LME Week events later this month to check on how their 1.388-billion pound acquisition is faring.
METALS-Copper steady on euro, U.S. jobs data in focus
SINGAPORE, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Copper steadied on Friday, supported by a firmer euro after the European Central Bank said it was ready to buy bonds of troubled countries in the region, although volumes were low with top consumer China on a week-long holiday.
"Fourth quarter the big focus is just whether the central bank action flows through to real demand," said Ivan Szpakowski, a Credit Suisse analyst in Singapore.
PRECIOUS-Gold hits 11-month high, extends gains to fifth day
SINGAPORE, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Gold hit an 11-month high on Friday in its fifth day of gains as stimulus measures from major central banks continued to increase its appeal as an inflation hedge, while investors awaited more trading direction from key U.S. jobs data due later in the day.
"There doesn't seem to be anything else they can do besides pumping more money into the economy," said Ronald Leung, a dealer at Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.
The Baltic index up for fifth day on higher rates for bigger vessels
Oct 4 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry commodities, gained for the fifth straight day on Wednesday, on account of gains in the front-haul market for both capesizes and panamaxes.
"Finally we can see some evidence of change in sentiment (for panamaxes). Atlantic seems to be bottoming out and coming up a small tick," ship broker Fearnleys said in a note.
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