Oil rebounds to $89 with rising equities, falling dollar
SINGAPORE, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Oil rebounded towards $89 as the dollar weakened and some optimism returned to stock markets in Asia on hopes that the extension of U.S. tax cuts would boost consumption.
"When you have rising stock markets, you have the wealth effect; consumers feel richer so their pocket books open up. That's also positive for oil demand," said Tony Nunan, a risk manager with Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Corp.
Corn, soy edge lower; wheat up ahead of USDA report
SINGAPORE, Dec 9 (Reuters) - U.S. corn and soybean futures retreated as investors locked in recent gains ahead of a key U.S. crop report expected to reflect shrinking global supplies and a spike in demand for U.S. grains.
"Up until a month or two ago, stocks of Australian and U.S. wheat were giving the world comfort as far as maintaining healthy global supply. Now the risk in those two areas is a concern," said Brett Cooper, senior manager for markets at FCStone Australia.
U.S. yields slip as selloff pauses, dollar down
HONG KONG, Dec 9 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury prices edged up as bargain hunters entered the fray after a violent two-day surge in yields, pulling the dollar lower, while Asian stocks rose on hopes added fiscal stimulus will help the U.S. economy in the near term.
"The stimulus measures agreed by the U.S. administration will likely lead to many analysts penciling in higher growth forecasts over 2011 whilst reducing the prospects of QE3 from taking place, all of which is dollar positive," Mitul Kotecha, global head of foreign exchange strategy with Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong, said in a note.
OIL: Crude tracks Asian stock markets higher
SINGAPORE, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Oil rebounded to top $89 on Thursday as some optimism returned to financial markets based on the positive effect of extended U.S. tax cuts on consumer demand, sending Asian equities higher.
U.S. crude inventories fell and refined product inventories rose last week as refineries produced more fuel, according to a weekly report from the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday.
COMMODITY MARKETS: Gold, oil slide, others rise on US tax-cut deal
NEW YORK, Dec 8 (Reuters) - A number of commodities, including gold and oil, extended losses on Wednesday as a deal to extend U.S. tax cuts lifted the dollar, while many others, like copper and natural gas, gained on a bolstered outlook for economic growth.
"These tax cuts are regarded as a game changer, which will provide significant support for the U.S. economy next year," said Richard Franulovich, a strategist at Westpac in New York.
GLOBAL MARKETS: U.S. bond yields fly on deficit fear, dollar up
NEW YORK, Dec 8 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury bond prices sank for the second day on Wednesday, driving yields to a six-month high after an agreement to extend tax cuts fed fears of inflation and a ballooning deficit, while the dollar rose on perceptions the tax cuts could increase economic growth.
"This tax agreement is a disaster for the U.S. fiscal situation," said Howard Simons, strategist at Bianco Research in Chicago.
Japan machinery order fall signals tough times
TOKYO, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Japanese core machinery orders fell at a slightly faster pace than expected in October, in a sign that companies are holding back spending due to the yen's stubborn strength and slowing demand at home and abroad. The data provides further evidence that the economy's recovery since last year is screeching to a halt as exports slow and stimulus-driven domestic consumption wanes, with economists predicting a modest contraction in GDP in the current quarter.
PRECIOUS-Gold eases below $1,400/oz as dollar firms
LONDON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Gold prices eased below $1,400 an ounce in Europe on Wednesday as the dollar rallied after a spike in U.S. bond yields, prompting more investors to cash in gains after the previous day's record peak. The precious metal rose to an all-time high at $1,430.95 an ounce on Tuesday as risk aversion flared in the euro zone, but quickly slipped as the rally lost traction.
FOREX-Dollar rises as U.S. bond yields spike
LONDON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - The dollar rose on Wednesday and looked to sustain gains in the near-term on a spike in U.S. Treasury yields as a proposed extension of tax cuts raised growth expectations for the U.S. economy. Traders took their cue from a rise in the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield to 3.25 percent , a level not seen since late June and beyond Tuesday's high of 3.18 percent.
US wheat futures ease as dollar firms
SYDNEY, Dec 8 (Reuters)- - U.S. wheat futures eased on Wednesday, retreating from a four-month top as profit-taking set in after gains driven by adverse crop weather in the United States and Australia. A firmer dollar acted as brake on commodity prices despite concerns about global wheat supplies. The stronger greenback makes U.S. dollar-priced commodities more expensive for buyers in other currencies."Whilst those crop production fears have not dissipated, the market was due for a correction," said Luke Mathews, an agricultural commodities strategist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Cocoa eases, Ivory Coast keeps investors cautious
ICE cocoa futures eased from Tuesday's four-month high in a nervous market as investors continued to eye Ivory Coast tensions following the disputed the presidential election. The West African regional bloc ECOWAS recognised Alassane Ouattara as Ivory Coast's president-elect on Tuesday after a disputed ballot and urged incumbent Laurent Gbagbo to accept defeat.
U.S. tax deal boosts stocks; hammers bonds
LONDON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Stocks rose and U.S. government bonds saw their worst sell-off in 18 months on Wednesday as a deal on U.S. taxes highlighted Washington's expansionary fiscal stance and its likely impact on growth and future deficits. "It's becoming increasingly clear the U.S. is taking a very different approach to the Europeans in dealing with their debt overhang ... they're reflating their way out of it and the Europeans are going the opposite way," said Grant Turley, strategist at ANZ.
Floods in Australia cut wheat crop, hit coal miners
SYDNEY, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Torrential rains whipping across eastern Australia have devastated wheat crops and flooded coal mines, while oil and gas producers and iron ore miners in the west face a high risk of being battered by cyclones over the next two weeks. Up to 60 percent of Australia's forecast 26.8 million-tonne wheat crop could be reduced to feed quality, cutting farm incomes and tightening global supplies of premium wheat used for bread and noodles. In a normal year, only between 5 percent and 10 percent of Australian wheat is sold as feedstock.
USDA to cut U.S. wheat stocks amid Australian rain
CHICAGO, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Adverse conditions for wheat crops around the world, including heavy rains in Australia, will boost demand for U.S. supplies on the world market and cut into domestic stockpiles. The crop-wasting rains in Australia, which are expected to reduce the amount of wheat deemed acceptable for export, follow a devastating drought in Russia and rain damage to the crops in Canada and Germany.
US corn supply seen shrinking to 15-year low
CHICAGO, Dec 7 (Reuters) - The supply of corn in the United States at the end of current marketing year on Aug, 31 is expected to fall to a 15-year low on demand for exports and from ethanol makers, even though prices have been flirting with two-year highs, a Reuters Poll of analysts showed. Harsh weather this summer trimmed U.S. corn production at a time brisk export, feed and ethanol usage threatens to trim corn ending stocks next year to 806 million bushels, according to an average of analysts' estimates.
