Wednesday, August 10, 2011

20110810 1421 Global Market & Commodities Related News.

Asian Stocks Gain on U.S. Fed Low-Rate Pledge (Source: Bloomberg)
Asian stocks climbed for the first time in seven days, and commodities rallied, with oil rebounding from a 10-month low, after the Federal Reserve pledged to keep interest rates near zero through mid-2013. Treasuries dropped. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 2.3 percent as of 3:05 p.m. in Tokyo as global equities rebounded from a nine-day, $7.8 trillion rout. Euro Stoxx 50 futures jumped 1.4 percent, while Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures slid 0.1 percent. Treasury 10-year notes increased four basis points. The cost of insuring Asian debt from default sank the most since May 2010. The Swiss franc weakened against all 16 major peers. Crude rose 3 percent in New York and copper gained for the first time in six days.
Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and his colleagues vowed to keep borrowing costs at an all-time low and discussed a range of policy tools to bolster the economy, saying they are prepared to use them “as appropriate.” Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg say China and Australia may leave rates unchanged for the rest of this year, adding to signs policy makers will take steps to spur growth and restore confidence amid the global market turmoil.

Asia stocks bounce after Fed move stems rout
SINGAPORE, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Asian stocks rebounded , following a jump in U.S. shares, after the Federal Reserve made an unprecedented pledge to keep interest rates near zero for at least two years, stemming a global equity rout for the time being.
"Volatility is calming down from an extreme level. Clearly there's going to be considerable concerns still, but the market had gotten seriously carried away and gone to an extreme of fear," said Greg Gibbs, strategist at RBS in Sydney.

U.S. wheat rises for 2nd day, soy rebounds on Fed move
SINGAPORE, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat gained more ground , rising 1.7 percent, while soybeans bounced back and corn rose more than 1 percent, lifted by the U.S. Federal Reserve's move to keep interest rates low for at least two years.
"I think the Fed statement will give a boost to overall commodity markets as it is more like injecting confidence into the markets," said Ker Chung Yang, analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.

China July soybeans imports jump 24 pct vs June
SHANGHAI, Aug 10 (Reuters) - China's soybean imports in July jumped 24.4 percent from the previous month to an eight-month high of 5.35 million tonnes, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Wednesday.
July imports, which were up 8.1 percent from a year earlier, have been largely rising since February, although total imports in the first seven months are down 5.5 percent from a year earlier at 29.06 million tonnes.

Datagro makes deepest cut to Brazil sugarcane crop
SAO PAULO, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Analysts Datagro made the deepest cuts yet to its estimate of the sugarcane crop in top grower Brazil, warning on Tuesday the outlook could worsen even further after a recent frost.
A series of downgrades to what was once expected to be a record crop helped propel global sugar prices back near their record highs last month. Datagro's estimate is the most pessimistic yet -- and the most recent, suggesting conditions may have deteriorated. Prices spiked earlier in the day.

Rains pose threat to wheat quality in west Europe
LONDON, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Persistent rains are beginning to raise serious concerns about the quality of wheat crops in Germany and to a lesser extent in Britain, while results in top EU producer France have been variable but generally satisfactory, analysts said on Tuesday.
"We still do not have an accurate view of the crop scene, but there is growing belief that a larger proportion than expected of this year's German harvest will be feed wheat, and damage is expected," one German analyst said.

Iraq sees drought affecting wheat crop for 3 years
BAGHDAD, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Global warming could mean Iraq faces another three years of drought and rising heat that threatens to keep production of its strategic wheat crop at below previous level of 2 million tonnes, government officials said.
Agriculture ministry officials and Iraq's grain board had said they expect the country's wheat crop for 2010/11 to be around 2 million tonnes, but a delay in rainfall kept average production this year at 1.73 million tonnes.

POLL-India's 2011/12 cotton output seen up 9.8 pct
NEW DELHI/MUMBAI, Aug 9 (Reuters) - India's cotton output is set for a second successive record harvest in 2011/12, up about 10 percent over last year's 32.5 million bales, a Reuters poll showed, signalling higher supplies from the world's number two producer amid sliding global prices.
A survey of eight traders pegged the average output for the season starting in October at 35.7 million bales, on higher acreage and subject to well-distributed rains.

Brent rises above $105 on Fed vow of low interest rates
SINGAPORE, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Brent crude rose $3  after the U.S. Federal Reserve's promise to extend near-zero interest rates for two more years weighed on the dollar and helped reverse a steep slump in oil.
"The economic reality is that if the U.S. enters into a recession, then no matter how strong growth in China is, China will be negatively impacted," said Victor Shum, an analyst at Purvin and Gertz.

U.S. EIA lowers 2011 world oil demand outlook
WASHINGTON, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Global oil demand will grow slightly less than previously projected this year but quicker next year, the U.S. government said on Tuesday in a report that suggests it is far from predicting a second recession .
With global markets roiling on fears of another economic collapse, the Energy Information Administration cut its 2011 world oil demand growth by 60,000 barrels per day to 1.37 million bpd.

Saudi keeps oil supply high despite price fall
LONDON, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Leading OPEC producer Saudi Arabia has left supply to Asian and European customers unchanged in September despite a heavy fall in oil prices in the past week as global economic growth slows.
Industry sources and traders told Reuters the kingdom would supply the same volumes of crude to its customers in Asia and Europe under term contracts in September. Analysts said it was only a matter of time before Saudi had to cut production as demand for its oil slows.

China refinery output recovers, but only modestly
BEIJING, Aug 9 (Reuters) - China's refinery throughput recovered to a 5.9-percent year-on-year growth in July, official data showed, after posting its first dip in over two years in June, but the production rate was still among the lowest this year.    
Refineries in the world's second-largest oil consumer processed 37.49 million tonnes of crude last month, or 8.83 million bpd, 2 percent above the June rate of 8.65 million bpd, data from the National Statistical Bureau showed on Tuesday.

Copper rises after Fed pledge to keep interest rates low
SHANGHAI, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Copper rose after the U.S. Federal Reserve made an unprecedented pledge to keep interest rates near zero for at least two years, stemming a global equity rout for the time being.
"The indication that monetary policy will remain loose in the U.S. is supporting the markets today. The markets' focal point now is on Beijing's next policy move in view of the U.S. latest announcements and expectations of a QE III," said Jinrui Futures analyst Zhao Kai.

China July iron ore imports up 6.8 pct from June
BEIJING, Aug 10 (Reuters) - China's imports of iron ore rose 6.8 percent to 54.55 million tonnes in July, with restocking and an increase in seaborne supplies taking the figure to its highest point in four months, data from the country's customs authority showed on Wednesday.  
With crude steel output still hovering above 1.9 million tonnes a day, China's mills have been keen to replenish their iron ore inventories after letting them dwindle in the last few months, but imports remain quite a bit short of their record.  

Novelis sees aluminum demand, consumer growth
NEW YORK, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Aluminum products maker Novelis expects strong demand from the auto industry to offset softness in the U.S. beverage can business and a pullback by European electronics consumers, its chief executive said on Tuesday.
Phil Martens said fiscal second-quarter results could be slightly better than a year ago as the company forges ahead with plant expansions to handle expected growth in aluminum consumption.

China July refined copper, nickel production hits record
HONG KONG, Aug 9 (Reuters) - China's production of refined copper in July rose 0.2 percent from the previous month to hit a record for the second straight month due to attractive margins, but analysts say output may stay flat in August.
Refined copper output rose to 478,000 tonnes in July, breaking the previous record of 477,000 tonnes in June, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Tuesday.

Gold firm near lifetime high, econ worries linger
SINGAPORE, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Gold ticked higher , hovering near a lifetime high around $1,778 an ounce struck in the previous session, but further gains could be capped by a rebound in equities after the U.S. Federal Reserve's vow to keep rates near zero.
"Generally speaking, the panic is subsiding for the moment. I would expect that (gold) will consolidate at these levels for a while before we get any sort of clear idea of the sort of next major moves," said Citigroup analyst David Thurtell.

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