Euro, stocks slide as Eurozone debt woes deepen
SINGAPORE, July 12 (Reuters) - The euro fell to a four-month low on Tuesday after new IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said the fund was not yet ready to discuss terms of a second Greek bailout, while stock markets tumbled on fears that more countries will be engulfed by the euro zone's debt crisis.
"Even if they agree on a multi-billion dollar package for Greece and other affected peripheral countries, if we don't see a continuation of implementation of the austerity cuts, all bets are off," said Thomas Lam, group chief economist at OSK-DMG in Singapore.
Market worries drag Italy into euro zone turmoil
ROME, July 11 (Reuters)- A surge in Italy's bond yields over the past week does not doom the country's efforts to keep its sovereign debt under control, but it does increase the risk of a further spiral of yields that could prove disastrous.
Despite a debt mountain second only to that of Greece, Italy has until now managed to stay on the sidelines of the euro zone crisis. The euro zone's third largest economy, its debt costs have been tempered by its relatively modest budget deficit, its conservative banking system and its high level of private savings.
Wheat, corn drop on supply prospects, euro zone woes
SINGAPORE, July 12 (Reuters) - U.S. wheat futures slid around 2.5 percent on Tuesday, while corn lost around 1 percent, losing more ground on prospects of higher supplies and fears that the euro zone debt crisis could spread to Italy.
"Grains will be weaker across the board because of the U.S. dollar strength and euro zone crisis," said Adam Davis, a senior commodity analyst at Melbourne-based funds Merricks Capital.
US corn and soy surviving high temps, for now
CHICAGO, July 11 (Reuters) - Rising temperatures around the U.S. Midwest were not yet hurting corn and soybean crops because there was plenty of moisture stored up in the soil after a spring of heavy rains, analysts said.
U.S. corn ratings were expected to rise one percentage point while soybean ratings were seen unchanged when the U.S. Agriculture Department releases its latest update on crop conditions Monday afternoon.
India panel allows rice, wheat exports, okays food bill
NEW DELHI, July 11 (Reuters) - India has agreed to allow 1 million tonnes of common rice exports and an unspecified amount of wheat, government sources said on Monday, as it weighs managing millions of tonnes of grains stockpiles with fighting persistently high inflation.
The sources said after a meeting of a panel of ministers that the exact quantity of wheat exports will be decided later. Sources had told Reuters it could be one million tonnes also. India has banned wheat exports since 2007 to ensure local supplies.
High heat not yet parching corn and soy
CHICAGO, July 11 (Reuters) - U.S. corn ratings were expected to rise one percentage point because the crop had plenty of moisture to sustain it even as temperatures rose in many growing areas last week, analysts said.
Soybean ratings were expected to be unchanged.
The damp soil that delayed planting this spring also were keeping crop conditions well above average despite the scorching heat.
Vietnam delays loading of 40,000 T coffee -traders
HANOI, July 12 (Reuters) - Vietnamese coffee exporters have delayed loading of around 40,000 tonnes, or nearly 670,000 bags, due to thin domestic stocks and a jump in local market prices beyond export levels, traders said on Tuesday.
Around two thirds of the volume were delayed by two exporters, including a major firm in the Central Highlands coffee belt, while several smaller firms made up the remaining quantity, traders in Ho Chi Minh City said.
Mexico, El Salvador coffee exports jump in June
MEXICO CITY, July 11 (Reuters) - Coffee exports from Mexico and El Salvador, both known for their arabica coffee, jumped in June compared to the same month a year ago, the national coffee associations said on Monday.
Mexico's exports in the month were up more than 50 percent, but accumulated shipments for the entire season slipped compared to last year since the country is expecting a slightly smaller crop due to frosts in some areas.
Brazil consultant sees record 2011/12 soy planting
SAO PAULO, July 11 (Reuters) - Brazil will expand the planted area of the 2011/12 soy crop by about 3 percent to a record 24.9 million hectares, consultancy Agencia Rural said on Monday, but it expected production to fall nonetheless.
Brazil is the world's No. 2 soy producer and exporter after the United States and would notch its fifth consecutive year of expansion in area if it plants more hectares again this year once the sowing period begins around September.
Cameroon says exports 190,945 T cocoa to May 31
YAOUNDE, July 11 (Reuters) - Cameroon, the world's fifth largest cocoa grower, exported 190,945 tonnes of beans in the current season to May 31, up from 162,154 tonnes for the same period last year, the National Cocoa and Coffee Board (NCCB) said on Monday.
The statistics show the central African country exported 2,358 tonnes in May, compared to 2,381 tonnes in the same month last year. The cocoa season runs from August to July.
Unica to release Brazil sugar forecast Wednesday
SAO PAULO, July 11 (Reuters) - Brazilian cane industry group Unica plans to release its latest forecast for 2011/12 sugar production in the center-south of Brazil on Wednesday, a spokesperson said on Monday.
The sugar market is focused on Unica's forecast after private analysts including Datagro and London-based merchant Czarnikow reduced their projections for Brazilian output. Brazil is the world's top producer and exporter of sugar.
Indonesia rubber price seen above $4/kg in H2
JAKARTA, July 11 (Reuters) - Indonesian rubber prices could stay above $4 a kg in the second half of this year on steady demand from tyre makers, but are unlikely to revisit a life-time high struck earlier this year, the Indonesian Rubber Association (Gapkindo) said on Monday.
"Demand is still strong, despite China's tight money policy," said Suharto Honggokusumo, executive director of Gapkindo, referring to the world's largest consumer.
Oil slips for 3rd day, euro zone debt fears weigh
SINGAPORE, July 12 (Reuters) - Oil slipped for a third day on Tuesday as pledges to contain the spread of the euro zone's debt crisis failed to dispel unease among investors about slowing energy demand growth.
"Any continued contagion, including in Spain and Italy, or any of the larger economies, could certainly drive oil prices lower," Anthony Danaher, President of Los Angeles-based Guild Investment Management, said from Singapore.
Assailants blow up Egypt gas pipeline station
CAIRO, July 12 (Reuters) - Saboteurs blew up an Egyptian pipeline distribution station in northern Sinai on Tuesday that supplies natural gas to Israel, the official MENA news agency said.
It was the fourth attack on facilities supplying Egyptian gas to Israel this year.
US oil reserve bids were double amount offered
WASHINGTON, July 11 (Reuters) - The U.S. government received bids for more than double the amount of oil it was selling from its emergency reserves last month, and the first 7 million barrels are set to hit the market before August.
The latest details from the biggest-ever sale from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve showed for the first time just how great demand was, but also highlighted those who lost out, including one company targeted by regulators in a landmark manipulation case and China's top state-run oil firm.
IEA trims total oil volume planned in release
LONDON, July 11 (Reuters) - The International Energy Agency (IEA) on Monday said the amount of oil made available from emergency reserves, to make up for disrupted Libyan supply, would be slightly less than earlier stated after sales by member-countries met with mixed demand.
Oil available under the plan will amount to 59.83 million barrels, down 784,000 barrels from an earlier estimate, said the IEA, an adviser to 28 industrialised countries, in a statement on its website.
LME copper steady on demand-supply views, euro zone weighs
SHANGHAI, July 12 (Reuters) - LME Copper steadied on Tuesday as continued fears that the euro zone debt crisis would spread to Italy curbed a more positive outlook linked to fundamental demand and potential supply disruptions in Indonesia and Chile.
"On the demand side, copper metal will pick up again towards the end of the third quarter as the Northern Hemisphere starts to crank production up after the summer holidays," said MineLife analyst Gavin Wendt.
China hikes smelting, steel capacity cuts
HONG KONG/SHANGHAI, July 11 (Reuters) - China has ordered local governments to phase out a total 2.04 million tonnes of aluminium, copper, lead and zinc smelting capacity in 2011 as part of a multi-year plan to crack down on energy-intensive and polluting industries, raising the target by 13 percent from an earlier one set in May.
The iron smelting industry -- which the government has been trying to consolidate -- bore the brunt of the crackdown and was ordered to slash 31.22 million tonnes of production capacity, up 17.7 percent from May's target, according to a statement on the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology website.
Alcoa Q2 profit jumps on metal, alumina prices
NEW YORK, July 11 (Reuters) - Alcoa Inc , America's biggest aluminum producer, posted a big jump in second-quarter profit on Monday, matching Wall Street estimates, partly due to soaring prices for the metal and alumina, its raw material.
But some analysts said a recent softening of aluminum prices might affect the company's third-quarter results and Alcoa's stock slipped 7 cents to $15.84 in after-hours trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
World aluminium demand to double in 10 years -Amag
LONDON, July 11 (Reuters) - World demand for aluminium will double in the next decade, driven by growing use in aircraft, transportation and luxury cars, the head of major European products maker Amag said on Monday.
"We forecast that demand for aluminium will double within the next 10 to 12 years, so a global growth rate of 7 percent. This is a nice picture," Gerhard Falch, the Austrian aluminium group's chief executive, told Reuters.
China unlikely to yield on rare earths despite WTO
BRUSSELS, July 11 (Reuters) - China will probably not yield to demands to ease export restrictions on rare earths, unlike its flexibility in some previous trade disputes, even after the World Trade Organization ruled against it in a related case.
The WTO ruled last week that China breached trade law by curbing exports of eight raw materials including bauxite and zinc. Europe and the United States said the judgment meant China should also be forced to increase exports of 17 rare earths as the almost exclusive supplier of these minerals crucial to global electronics, defense and renewable energy industries.
Zambia Jan-May 2011 copper output down -c.bank
LUSAKA, July 11 (Reuters) - Copper output in Zambia, Africa's top producer of the metal, declined by about 5 percent in the first five months of 2011 from a year ago as mines scaled down production due to heavy rain, the central bank said on Monday.
Copper output dropped to 308,777 tonnes for January to May from 326,877 tonnes in the same period last year, the central bank said in a fortnightly statistics report.
Gold steady on euro zone woes; dollar, equities weigh
SINGAPORE, July 12 (Reuters) - Spot gold held ground above $1,550 on Tuesday, as investors fled from risky assets on fears of a spreading euro zone debt crisis, but a stronger dollar and weak equities weighed on sentiment.
"We'll probably see a lot of support for gold from rising risk aversion due to concerns of escalating debt in Europe," said Natalie Robertson, a commodities analyst at ANZ.
No comments:
Post a Comment