Oil edges down ahead of U.S. inventory data
SINGAPORE, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Oil prices edged down as transit through the Suez Canal remained unaffected by the political turmoil in Egypt, while expectations of a build-up in U.S. crude inventories also weighed.
"Fundamentally, I don't think crude oil supplies are tight. The market needs a correction, and now is the time," he said, adding that prices were up on the political tension in Egypt.
US wheat, soybean rise; corn loses on profit-taking
SEOUL, Feb 8 (Reuters) - U.S. wheat prices rose slightly, extending previous session's gains on news the world's top buyer Egypt had returned to the market and expectations that the USDA would trim its estimate for wheat ending stocks.
"Views of many market participants who are waiting for USDA's supply-demand data on Wednesday are quite bullish about the market," said Kazuhiko Saito, chief commodities analyst at Fujitomi Co Ltd in Tokyo.
Brazil soy crop views rise into record territory
SAO PAULO, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Forecasts of Brazil's new soybean crop that recently started early harvest are increasingly being pushed into record territory by analysts based on improving yields from good rains.
Analysts Celeres on Monday raised its view of the new 2010/11 crop to a record 69.8 million tonnes, up from 68.1 million forecast in January due to improving yields following regular and plentiful rains over the past few months.
Gold barely moves; strong equities cap upside
SINGAPORE, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Gold was barely changed, under pressure from a rally in global stock markets and improved prospects of economic recovery, but inflationary pressures blamed on rising commodity prices could underpin sentiment.
"The outflow in the ETF is a bit negative for gold. We have to see if money flowing into the stock market is temporary or not," said Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong. "But it seems $1,300 is a very good support."
US Gold upbeat on El Gallo project's initial study
TORONTO, Feb 7 (Reuters) - US Gold said on Monday the results from the preliminary economic assessment of its El Gallo gold-silver project in Mexico were "highly encouraging."
The Toronto-listed exploration company, which is led by industry veteran Rob McEwen, said it plans to update the size of its resource at El Gallo and complete a feasibility study on the project before the end of this year.
Recovery hopes boost Japan stocks; euro steady
SINGAPORE, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Asian shares struggled for traction on Tuesday, despite gains on Wall Street, but Japan's Nikkei touched a 9-month high as hopes of a sustained economic recovery for the rich world encouraged investors to switch funds from emerging to developed markets.
"Retail investors, encouraged by foreigners who are moving into the Japanese market, are now aggressively adding peripheral stocks and those that posted strong earnings," said Mitsushige Akino, a fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management.
OIL: Crude oil steady as Egypt concerns ease
PERTH, Feb 8 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures were steady on Tuesday, as concerns that Egypt's political turmoil would affect oil flows in the region eased and U.S. oil inventories were seen increasing.
Transits through the Suez Canal remained unaffected, although traders were closely watching developments in Egypt, with concerns still remaining that turmoil there might spread across the Middle East, traders said.
COMMODITIES: Mostly lower as fatigue sets into rally
NEW YORK, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Oil ended below $100 a barrel on Monday and metals and most agricultural markets settled off their highs too as investors awaited signs of fresh demand to extend the commodities rally.
"We may be getting to the point where there is a little bit too much fund enthusiasm," said Bill O'Neill, an advisor to investors in industrial and precious metals.
GLOBAL MARKETS: Recovery hopes boost Asia stocks; Oil steady
SINGAPORE, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Asian shares edged higher on Tuesday, with Japan's Nikkei hitting a nine-month peak on hopes of a sustained economic recovery for the developed world.
Oil was steady after sharp falls in the previous session, as concerns about unrest in Egypt affecting global supplies eased and investors turned their attention to rising U.S. inventories.
Korea's Lee Proposes Food-Crisis Task Force (Source: CME)
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak called for a task force to help secure a stable supply of food amid growing concerns about global shortages and rising prices. While Mr. Lee linked the need for action to possible food shortages triggered by climate change, his comments on Monday reflect concerns in South Korea over global food-price volatility, given that the country imports around 70% of its food. "Chances are growing that the whole world will suffer a food crisis due to climate changes," he said. "We need to be prepared and work out a strategy on agricultural and fishery products." The president also said the government and private sector should set up an organization to study ways to secure a stable supply of food.
Reflecting higher prices of agricultural and meat products, as well as surging global prices of oil and other commodities, South Korea's consumer prices rose 4.1% year-to-year in January, breaching 4% for the first time since October and topping the Bank of Korea's target band of between 2% and 4%. A bitterly cold winter in Korea has driven up prices of locally produced food, while a major outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease pushed up prices of pork and beef to records. With more than 100 confirmed cases since late November -- the worst outbreak in the country's history -- authorities have sought to control spread of the disease by killing almost three million of the nation's 10 million swine and nearly 150,000 of its three million cattle.
In response to surging pork prices, the government said late last month that it will remove a 25% tariff on imported pork until the end of June. It also unveiled a package of inflation-fighting measures on Jan. 13 that included a reduction in tariffs on food products such as imported milk powder and coffee beans. Across Asia, bad weather, more-affluent populations and underinvestment in agriculture have pushed up prices of products including wheat, rice and onions in India, chilies in Indonesia and water spinach in China. In response to the price pressures, India last month extended bans on the export of lentils and cooking oil. It also struck a deal with Pakistan to import 1,000 tons of onions, as prices have skyrocketed after severe floods.
China and several countries in the Middle East have instituted or strengthened price controls. Indonesia has been encouraging its citizens to plant chilies to boost supply. Inflation is now South Korea's top economic concern and many economists expect the central bank to increase borrowing costs at its rate-review meeting on Friday, following a surprise rate increase in January, in an effort to keep inflation under control. Young Sun Kwon, an economist at Nomura, said it is a close call but he expects an increase of 0.25 percentage point. "Higher inflation expectations are set to broadly feed into goods and services price changes, beyond the run-up in food and energy prices we have already seen," he said.
Reports suggest North Korea is also experiencing food-price surges, and in a rare report Monday the state news agency noted United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization data showing global foodstuff prices surged 3.4% to a record in the December-January period. The state-run Korean Central News Agency mostly sticks to verbal attacks on the South, the U.S. and Japan.
US payrolls barely grow, but jobless rate plummets
WASHINGTON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. economy added a meager 36,000 jobs in January, far less than expected, as severe snow storms slammed large parts of the nation, but the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since April 2009.
Despite the conflicting signals in the Labor Department's report on Friday, economists agreed a job market recovery was proceeding apace, if not gaining speed.
India on track to grow 8.6 pct this fiscal year
NEW DELHI, Feb 7 (Reuters) - India's economy is expected to grow at 8.6 percent in the fiscal year that ends in March, the government said on Monday, powered by expansion in the services sector and roughly in line with market forecasts.
Last week, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said high inflation was a serious risk to growth momentum, underscoring the worries of policymakers about headline inflation above 8.4 percent.
PRECIOUS-Gold holds near $1,350/oz after first weekly rise
LONDON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Gold held near $1,350 an ounce in Europe on Monday after the metal's first weekly rise this year supported investor confidence in the metal and some Asian demand returned as the Lunar New Year holiday approached its end.
A more optimistic view of the global economic outlook, which is lifting demand for higher-risk, higher-yielding assets at gold's expense, is continuing to weigh on prices, however.
FOREX-Euro steadies on sovereign buys; dollar rally stalls
LONDON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - The euro steadied against the dollar on Monday, supported by Asian buying after the lunar new year holidays, which helped to counter the dollar-positive effects of Friday's fall in the U.S. unemployment rate.
A rise in January U.S. payrolls was much smaller than expected, but traders concluded the figure was affected by severe snowstorms and instead focused on a sharp drop in the jobless rate.The unemployment rate fell to 9.0 percent from 9.8 percent in November, marking its biggest two-month decline since 1958.
Wheat jumps 1.6 pct on strong demand, harsh U.S. weather
SINGAPORE, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat futures rose 1.6 percent as strong demand led by Egypt's purchase over the weekend and tenders from Iraq and Bangladesh buoyed the market amid concerns over sub-zero temperatures hurting the U.S. winter crop.
"Iraq has tendered for wheat and there is speculation in the market that Iraq will buy more wheat than what it has tendered. There is talk Turkey and Saudi Arabia will issue tenders soon."
Stocks near 29-month highs, copper hits record
LONDON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - World stocks rose hovering near a 29-month high on further signs of global economic recovery, and copper rallied to a record high while U.S. 10-year Treasury yields hit their highest in 10 months.
"At the moment, clients are feeling that any dips can be bought into and the trend is an upwards one, and I can't see that being thrown off course in the short term," said Giles Watts, head of equities at City Index in London.
