OIL: Crude near $84, post-Thanksgiving trade thin
TOKYO, Nov 26 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures hovered near $84 a barrel in Asia on Friday, holding recent gains on a retreat in the dollar, but trade was slow after the Thanksgiving Day holiday the previous day.
Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, all New York Mercantile Exchange crude trade on Thursday is combined into Friday's official session.
COMMODITY MARKETS: Short-covering lifts markets ahead of holiday
NEW YORK, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Oil rose 3 percent and metals and crops were mostly up on Wednesday as positive U.S. economic data comforted investors and diverted attention from the euro zone debt crisis that had hammered prices earlier in the week.
"I think it's going to give cotton a good bullish underpinning," Sterling Smith, an analyst at Country Hedging Inc in St. Paul, Minnesota, said as better investor sentiment and prospects of Chinese demand helped cotton prices close up nearly 5 percent at around $1.16 per lb.
GLOBAL MARKETS: Stocks inch up as U.S. holiday thins trade
LONDON, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Financial markets regained some composure on Thursday after roller-coaster sessions prompted by the euro zone's debt problems as recent upbeat economic data encouraged investors to put on some risk.
"The most important thing for the equity market is the ability to believe that the economic cycle is staying intact," Philip Isherwood, European equities strategist at Evolution Securities, said. "That means not just U.S. data reassuring, but also European."
Indonesia struggles to hold down oil imports
SINGAPORE, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Indonesia's crude imports will keep rising over the next few years as its economy rebounds and a delay in getting peak output from the giant Cepu field defeats efforts to cut dependence on overseas crude.
Indonesia's need for crude imports for its simple refineries will feed competition among top Asian buyers such as China and India for sweet grades as regional supplies from matured fields dwindle while strong dated Brent prices may curb arbitrage flows from the Atlantic Basin.
Shanghai Futures to raise trading margins, limits
SHANGHAI, Nov 25 (Reuters) - The Shanghai Futures Exchange will raise trading margins and limits for all contracts from Nov. 30 in a bid to curb speculative trading, it said on Thursday.
The move follows similar measures by China's other two big commodity exchanges, in Zhengzhou and Dalian.
China says its commodity price crackdown worked
BEIJING, Nov 25 (Reuters) - China's crackdown on commodity prices has contributed to a widespread fall in futures in the last two weeks, the country's top economic planning body, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said on Thursday.
The NDRC listed 13 commodities in a statement on its website and compared prices on November 10-11 with prices on November 24, with declines ranging from 5.75 percent for rice to 18.35 percent for zinc.
Data hints US recovery is becoming self-sustaining
WASHINGTON, Nov 24 (Reuters) - New U.S. claims for jobless benefits hit their lowest level in more than two years last week while consumer spending rose for a fourth straight month in October, suggesting the economy is nearing a self-sustaining recovery.
The picture was further brightened by another report on Wednesday that showed consumer sentiment in November reached its highest level since June, likely reflecting the surge in stock prices in the wake of a Federal Reserve decision to again loosen monetary policy.
Commodity index net length rises to post-2008 high
NEW YORK, Nov. 24 (Reuters) - Net long index investment into commodity markets expanded by $5.7 billion to $187.4 billion in October, the highest since many major markets peaked in mid-2008, regulatory data showed on Wednesday.
But the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's monthly report on index positions also showed short index holdings alone rose by a sizable $7.5 billion to $67.3 billion, the highest since the agency began collecting data nearly three years ago, as many investors sought more active strategies.
PRECIOUS-Gold eases; Europe debt worries, Koreas support
LONDON, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Gold eased for a second day on Thursday, lacking strong impetus due to the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday but backed up by some safe haven buying amid Europe's debt crisis and heightened tensions between the Koreas.
The dollar, which traditionally has an inverse relationship with bullion, strengthened against the euro on renewed optimism over U.S. growth and persistent fears Ireland's debt crisis might spill over into Spain and Portugal.
FOREX-Euro stays weak near lows as debt crisis festers
LONDON, Nov 25 (Reuters) - The euro struggled near a two-month low on Thursday as the euro zone debt crisis showed little signs of abating and fears of contagion still high after Ireland unveiled an ambitious austerity plan.
Traders said Portugal and increasingly Spain were seen as potentially in need of financial help while Dublin's belt-tightening plan has come under fire for sticking to optimistic growth assumptions, unveiled earlier this month.
Asia stocks rise on US shopper hopes, dollar up
HONG KONG, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Asian stocks rose from 1-1/2-month lows, with buying focused in the tech and retail sectors on hopes for a busy U.S. shopping season, though the falling Australian dollar was an indication of investors' reduced willingness to take risks.
"Usually, if there is a lot of hot money coming to Hong Kong, these IPOs should be doing well," said Belle Liang, research head at Core Pacific-Yamaichi. "IPOs are being delayed or withdrawn because of lacklustre demand."
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