Asian markets steady amid euro zone debt woes
SINGAPORE, May 24 (Reuters) - Asian stocks held steady but may resume declines after the prior session's sell-off as fears about the euro zone's worsening debt problems and volatile commodity prices kept investors on edge. "It appears that a lot of selling is coming from European funds, as worries about the region's debt issues deepens," said Kim Seong-hong, a market analyst at Samsung Securities.
GLOBAL MARKETS: Asian markets steady amid euro zone debt woes
SINGAPORE, May 24 (Reuters) - Asian stocks were steady in early trade on Tuesday but ran the risk of resuming a decline after the prior session's selloff, with fears about the euro zone's worsening debt problems and volatile commodity prices keeping investors nimble.
The euro was under pressure in Asian markets, slipping about 0.25 percent to $1.4012 as it edged closer to a two-month trough of $1.3968 hit on Monday.
OIL: U.S. crude falls over $1 on eurozone concerns
SEOUL, May 24 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil fell by $1.05 to $96.65 per barrel in early Asian trade on Tuesday on a stronger dollar due to renewed concerns over euro zone debt.
Fear Europe's debt crisis is spreading sent the euro to a two-month trough against the dollar and a record low against the Swiss franc on Monday, and traders said the currency's decline may not be over yet.
Brent crude rises on prospect of lower stocks
SINGAPORE, May 24 (Reuters) - Brent crude futures rose, rebounding from the previous day's sharp fall, as the prospect of strong oil demand trimming inventories overrode concerns about Europe's debt crisis. "What we're seeing is some short covering or value buying after significant losses yesterday, but in the short term there are still risks from Europe's debt issues and softening economic data," said Ben Le Brun, market analyst with CMC markets in Sydney.
NATURAL GAS: Natgas breaks resistance to end up on weather, rigs
NEW YORK, May 23 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures ended higher on Monday, with warmer weather this week, firmer cash prices and recent declines in drilling for gas driving the front-month contract above key resistance.
"Given the fundamentals, if we see some heat coming in, then it could push us up another 20 cents or so but nothing too crazy," said Matt Smith, commodity analyst at Summit Energy, adding he expected good technical resistance at $4.49 and then at recent highs roughly in the $4.65-4.70 area.
EURO COAL: Euro Coal-Prices slip on weak demand, oil fall
LONDON, May 23 (Reuters) - Prompt European and FOB coal prices fell by $2.00-$4.00 on Monday due to weak physical demand and oil's 3 percent fall as euro-zone woes hit commodity and energy markets.
"The seasonal adjustment is finally taking place," said Emmanuel Fages, analyst with Societe Generale in Paris.
COMMODITIES: Oil, copper dive as investors sell in May
NEW YORK, May 23 (Reuters) - Oil and copper prices fell by as much as 3 percent on Monday as Europe's debt crisis and further signs of a slow-down in China hit investor confidence, deepening the commodity sector's biggest monthly decline since 2008.
"Bulls have to contend with a backdrop of a stronger dollar, weakening macro readings from a number of countries, and interest rate increases that still loom on the horizon," Meir wrote in his daily commentary.
U.S. corn steady on planting progress, soy rises
SINGAPORE, May 24 (Reuters) - U.S. corn futures were little changed after sliding in the last session as some progress in planting for this year's much delayed crop weighed on the market. Weather remains in focus, with soggy spring weather raising questions about corn, soybean and spring wheat seedings and uncertainty about winter wheat crops on drought in the southern U.S. Plains, Europe and China.
China 2011 corn output seen up 2.4 pct at record 181.5 mln T
BEIJING, May 24 (Reuters) - China's 2011 corn output will rise 2.4 percent from a year earlier to a record 181.50 million tonnes due to increasing acreage, China National Grain and Oils Information Center, a government grain think tank, said on Tuesday in its first forecast of the 2011 harvest.
Output of soybeans, which compete with corn for acreage, will fall 7.9 percent to 14 million tonnes, 1.2 million tonnes down from 2010, as the soy acreage shrinks 6.8 percent to the smallest area since 1999, CNGOIC forecast.
Floods swamp 3.6 mln ac US farmland;farm group
WASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters) - Nearly 3.6 million acres of farmland in the Mississippi River valley, including 40 percent of U.S. rice area, have been affected by spring flooding, said the largest U.S. farm group on Monday.
The figure was larger than earlier reports of 3 million acres of flooded farmland and amounts to 1.1 percent of land usually planted in the two dozen principal U.S. field crops.
Colombia shifts from drugs to food in farm expansion
BOGOTA, May 23 (Reuters) - Colombia plans to nearly double agricultural land growing crops for food and biofuel, part of a new investment boom in the country as violence ebbs from a decades-long internal conflict fueled by drug profits.
The idea is to transform the vast eastern plains, dotted for years with illicit coca plantations, into the country's bread basket in a push to bring down food prices and boost revenues from agricultural exports.
Ivorian rains boost cocoa, disease a worry-farmers
ABIDJAN, May 23 (Reuters) - Good rains interspersed with hot weather last week in Ivory Coast's cocoa growing regions are boosting the cocoa mid-crop, farmers said on Monday, but a lack of cash to pay for pesticides raised disease concerns.
Cocoa farmers in the bush said rains were adequate for the growth of a healthy April-September mid-crop as high moisture triggered new flowers that would turn into small pods in coming weeks and increase the size of the crop.
Copper rises as euro holds ground
SINGAPORE, May 24 (Reuters) - Copper recovered from a 3 percent fall in the previous session, with the euro edging up against the dollar after hitting a two-month low on Monday. "I see this as a correction following yesterday's panic selling after the dollar rose strongly. The previous fall in China was also fuelled by rumours about a possible interest rate hike," Great Wall Futures analyst Li Rong said.
Gold firms to 2-wk high as euro debt worries linger
SINGAPORE, May 24 (Reuters) - Gold firmed to its highest level in almost two weeks on worries that Europe's debt crisis was spreading out of control, sending euro-denominated bullion to a record above 1,081 euros an ounce. "Gold will benefit as a result of its safe haven status ... Obviously, a very positive sign for gold at the moment," said Darren Heathcote, head of trading at Investec Australia.
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