OIL: Crude holds above $83 as product markets tighten
SINGAPORE, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Oil was steady on Tuesday, holding on to gains of more than 2 percent in the previous session, as product markets were seen tightening with maintenance at U.S. refineries and strike-idled plants in France.
U.S. inventories of distillate fuel including heating oil and diesel probably fell 1 million barrels last week, a Reuters poll showed before industry group the American Petroleum Institute (API) publishes weekly supply statistics on Tuesday at 2030 GMT.
COMMODITY MARKETS: Oil, copper rise; grains down on profit-taking
NEW YORK, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose 2 percent on Monday on refinery strikes in France and copper followed stock markets higher, while agricultural markets fell broadly on profit-taking and a stronger dollar.
"There is an expectation the U.S. will be exporting more gasoline and distillate and that cargoes from Europe will not be coming here," said Phil Flynn, analyst at PFGBest Research in Chicago.
GLOBAL MARKETS: Financials rally stocks, dollar up on Geithner
NEW YORK, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Financial shares led U.S. and European stock markets higher on Monday after Citigroup reported profits while the U.S. dollar rallied late after Washington said it would not devalue the greenback.
"It is very important for people to understand that the United States of America and no country around the world can devalue its way to prosperity, to (be) competitive," Geithner said. "It is not a viable, feasible strategy and we will not engage in it."
(Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner vowed on Monday that the United States would not devalue the dollar for export advantage, saying no country could weaken its currency to gain economic health.
"It is not going to happen in this country." Geithner told Silicon Valley business leaders of devaluing the dollar. Geithner broke his silence on the dollar's protracted slide ahead of this weekend's meeting of finance leaders from the Group of 20 wealthy and emerging nations in South Korea, where rising tensions over Chinese and U.S. currency valuations are expected to take center stage.
"It is very important for people to understand that the United States of America and no country around the world can devalue its way to prosperity, to (be) competitive," Geithner added. "It is not a viable, feasible strategy and we will not engage in it." Answering audience questions before the Commonwealth Club of California in Palo Alto, he said the United States needed to "work hard to preserve confidence in the strong dollar."
Geithner, normally reluctant to publicly discuss currency and market movements, has not uttered the so-called "strong dollar mantra" -- a refrain he helped create at Treasury in the 1990s -- since February. On Friday, the dollar index hit a 10-month low against a basket of major currencies, while the greenback has been plumbing fresh 15-year lows against Japan's yen . Many emerging market countries are complaining that Fed money creation is weakening the dollar, and causing more funds to flow into their markets, pushing up their currencies.
Talk of a "currency war" has persisted as countries take action to keep from losing export competitiveness. Brazil on Monday moved to cool a strong rally in its currency by raising taxes for foreigners buying local bonds and trading in foreign exchange derivatives. Finance Minister Guido Mantega said the move was aimed at reducing foreign investment into Brazil, and he urged other countries to take coordinated action against the weak dollar. Argentina's Minister of Economy and Public Finance Amado Boudou on Monday called on developed nations to focus on creating jobs rather than actions that weaken their currencies, saying a "true currency war" was underway.
(Reuters) U.S. POINTS TO CHINA
The G20 finance ministers and central bank governors at the meetings in Gyeongju, South Korea are expected to tackle head-on the disparities in currency policies that are distorting capital flows in the hopes of achieving a more coordinated approach. But U.S. officials have put most of the blame on China's highly restrictive exchange rate regime, which until recently had kept the yuan largely pegged to the dollar. The United States is pressuring China to allow the value of its yuan to rise to take some pressure off capital flows and to rebalance its economy away from exports.
PRECIOUS-Gold slips below $1,360/oz as dollar recovers
LONDON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Gold slipped below $1,360 an ounce in Europe on Monday as the dollar bounced back from its recent hefty losses, with market watchers worried that expected U.S. monetary easing had already been too heavily priced in.
"(The question is), do we see more quantitative easing around the world? If there is, there will be more gold momentum," said David Wilson, an analyst at Societe Generale.
FOREX-Dlr index off lows on doubts how far Fed will ease
LONDON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar bounced from a 10-month low against a basket of currencies on Monday, as investors uncertain how much monetary easing the Federal Reserve will resort to trimmed bearish bets against the greenback.
"The dollar's move down has been extremely aggressive and there are investors wondering whether or not too much quantitative easing has been priced in," said Jane Foley, senior currency strategist at Rabobank.
Dlr up, emerging stocks fall on QE jitters
LONDON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Investors pulled back some of their bets on additional monetary easing by the Federal Reserve, lifting the dollar and generally selling off equities.
"What's behind this is a tug-of-war among views on the United States implementing additional easing measures. If earnings results show that U.S. companies are actually generating strong profits, that would weaken the case for easing expectations," said Kazutaka Oshima, president of Rakuten Investment Management in Japan.
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