China power imports from Russia to rise 22 pct-report
BEIJING, Jan 11 (Reuters) - China will likely import 1.1993 billion kilowatt hours of electricity from Russia this year, up 22 percent from the 980 million kwh in 2010, the China Electric Power News reported on Tuesday.
The flows are a minor portion of China's estimated power consumption of more than 4 trillion kwh last year.
U.S. corn, soy extend gains; Argentine weather supports
SINGAPORE, Jan 11 (Reuters) - U.S. corn and soybean futures edged higher, extending gains as concerns over dry weather hurting crops in Argentina continued to support the market.
"It is follow through strength in the corn and soybean market after yesterday's gains as investors are talking about dry weather in Argentina which could hit crop production,"said Ker Chung Yang, an analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
Gold up on euro zone debt fears, premiums at 2-yr high
SINGAPORE, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Gold inched up on persistent worries about indebted euro zone countries, while purchases from investors and jewellers pushed up premiums for
gold bars to their highest in two years.
"There's a huge demand from China. Refineries just opened and there's not much stock around, so it's a bit tight," said Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.
Euro rises on Japan euro bond plan; stocks mixed
SINGAPORE, Jan 11 (Reuters) - The euro jumped briefly after Japan said it would buy euro bonds to boost confidence in the European Financial Stability Facility amid fears that Portugal may become the next euro zone member to seek a bailout.
"We see a further escalation in the European debt crisis, and a substantially weaker euro," said Stephen Jen, managing director of macroeconomics and currencies at BlueGold Capital Management LLP in London, on Monday.
OIL: Oil extends gains above $89, Alaska pipeline remains shut
SINGAPORE, Jan 11 (Reuters) - U.S. crude prices climbed further above $89 on Tuesday as a key Alaskan oil pipeline remained shut, cutting total crude output by nearly 12 percent in the world's largest oil user.
The Trans Alaska Pipeline is on track to reopen later this week, sources familiar with the situation said on Monday, as the oil artery remained shut for a third day after a leak forced producers to cut Prudhoe Bay output from 630,000 barrels per day to a trickle.
COMMODITIES: Oil, grains recover some losses; copper down
NEW YORK, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Oil and agricultural markets jumped on Monday, recovering some of last week's sharp losses, as supply-demand issues dominated trading due to a pipeline shutdown and weather concerns.
"The stronger dollar is part of it," Michael Widmer, commodities analyst at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch in London, said, explaining the mixed performance.
GLOBAL MARETS: Euro zone debt fears dent stocks; euro recovers
NEW YORK, Jan 10 (Reuters) - World stocks fell on Monday on fears Portugal may be the next euro-zone member forced to seek a bailout, and the euro was seen remaining under pressure even as it managed to recover after hitting a four-month low against the dollar.
"We see a further escalation in the European debt crisis, and a substantially weaker euro," said Stephen Jen, managing director of macroeconomics and currencies at BlueGold Capital Management LLP in London.
Alyeska working to restart oil pipeline this week
ANCHORAGE/HOUSTON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - The Trans Alaska Pipeline is planning to reopen later this week, officials said on Monday after a leak forced producers to shut in 12 percent of U.S. oil output for a third day.
The plan under consideration is to build a bypass line at the affected area, then use that to restart the system, which was shut after operator Alyeska Pipeline Service Co discovered the leak in the basement of a pump station booster at the start of the pipeline in Prudhoe Bay early Saturday.
Alaska pipe restart could be fast, but risks remain
NEW YORK, Jan 10 (Reuters) - The shutdown of Alaska's main oil pipeline poses only a minor threat to U.S. crude supplies, but any snag delaying its restart could send West Coast refiners scrambling for substitute crude and drive up prices.
The 800-mile (1,280 km) Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS), which carries over 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) or 12 percent of U.S. oil output, was shut on Saturday after a 10 barrel leak was discovered in a pump station.
Commodity costs pose risks to German trade-BGA
BERLIN, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Rising prices for raw materials will be the main challenge for German trade in 2011 and will prompt imports to rise faster than exports, the head of the country's main trading association (BGA) said on Friday.
BGA President Anton Boerner said he expected imports to jump slightly more than 10 percent, while exports would rise at their long-term average of 7 percent this year.
China's trade surplus dips, easing yuan pressure
BEIJING, Jan 10 (Reuters) - China's trade surplus narrowed in 2010 for the second straight year, data showed on Monday, giving Beijing grounds to rebuff U.S. pressure for faster currency appreciation ahead of President Hu Jintao's visit to Washington next week.
The Chinese government will point to the numbers and, especially, heady import growth as evidence of steady progress toward reform of its economy that is giving the world a lift.
China car sales growth set to slow after record 2010
BEIJING, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Auto sales in China are set to cool in 2011 after surging by a third to a record high in 2010 as rising fuel prices, the removal of subsidies and tighter rules on new car registrations temper demand in the world's largest car market.
In December alone, automakers in the country shipped 1.3 million sedans, sport utility vehicles and multi-purpose vehicles to dealers, but they still couldn't keep up with demand.
US jobs growth disappoints, but jobless rate falls
WASHINGTON, Jan 7 (Reuters) - U.S. employers hired fewer workers than expected in December and a surprisingly large number of people gave up searching for work, tempering the positive news of a big drop in the unemployment rate.
The disappointing jobs growth figure reported by the Labor Department on Friday suggested the Federal Reserve would likely stay the course with its effort to support the world's biggest economy with the purchase of $600 billion in government bonds.
China Dec iron ore imports at 58 mln T, up 1.4 pct
SHANGHAI, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Restocking pushed Chinese imports of iron ore to a nine-month high of 58.08 million tonnes in December, up 1.2 percent compared with November, customs data showed on Monday.
However, total imports for 2010 declined 1.4 percent year-on-year to 620 million tonnes, in line with predictions made by the China Iron & Steel Association (CISA).
Germany asks China to rethink rare earths access
BERLIN, Jan 7 (Reuters) - German Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle has asked Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang to reconsider planned restrictions on supplying rare earths, the minister's spokeswoman said on Friday.
Beatrix Brodkorb told a news briefing that the raw materials -- around 97 percent of which are produced by China -- were a topic in talks during Li's three-day visit to Germany.
Indonesia's Dec tin exports fall 9.2 pct yr/yr
JAKARTA, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Indonesia's refined tin exports fell 9.2 percent in December 2010 from the same month in 2009 while the full-year exports in 2010 fell nearly 7 percent as an unusually long rainy season curbed mining, trade ministry data showed on Monday.
Heavy rains and floods caused by the La Nina weather anomaly hit tin miners in Indonesia, squeezing supply from the world's top exporter and pushing the LME price to a record high of $27,500 a tonne in early November.
PRECIOUS-Gold holds near $1,370/oz as euro zone fears support
LONDON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Gold held near $1,370 an ounce in Europe on Monday as the return of concerns over euro zone sovereign debt as pressure grew on Portugal to seek financial aid helped offset pressure from a rising dollar.
Spot gold was bid at $1,368.55 an ounce at 1030 GMT, against $1,368.80 late in New York on Friday. U.S. gold futures for February delivery fell $1.30 an ounce to $1,367.60.Prices posted their biggest one-week fall since May 2010 last week after a run of ter-than-expected U.S. data lifted expectations monetary policy could tighten sooner rather than later. However, the return of concerns over the euro zone has tempered that dip.
FOREX-Euro slips as sovereign funding risks intensify
LONDON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - The euro fell to a four-month low against the dollar on Monday as worries about Europe's debt crisis mounted, after a source said Portugal was under growing pressure to accept EU/IMF aid.
A senior euro zone source told Reuters on Sunday pressure was growing on Portugal from Germany and France to seek financial help from the European Union and International Monetary Fund to prevent the debt crisis spreading.
US corn prices rise more than 1 pct ahead of USDA report
SYDNEY, Jan 10 (Reuters) - - U.S corn futures rose more than 1 percent ahead of a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) report due on Wednesday, which is expected to show downward revisions in U.S. stock piles and lower global production estimates.
"The main themes this week are obviously going to centre around the USDA report and also index fund rebalancing," said Luke Mathews, an agricultural strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Euro stuck at 4-month low vs dollar; stocks flat
HONG KONG, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Mounting fears over sovereign debt in the euro zone kept the euro tethered to four-month lows against the dollar with investors nervous ahead of a flurry of bond sales from the region's weaker states.
"Clearly the sovereign debt issue is still there and the market is quite happy to just sell euros," a trader at a U.S. investment bank said.
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