20110825 1605 Global Market & Commodities Related News.

Asian shares cheered by Wall St; Apple pressured
SYDNEY, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Asian shares rose on Thursday, cheered by gains on Wall Street, but Apple skidded on the shock resignation of Silicon Valley legend Steve Jobs and gold continued to struggle after running into a wall of profit-taking.
"Apple will need to show that without Jobs it can come up with visionary products," said Hendi Susanto, analyst at Gabelli & Co.

FOREX-Dollar set to firm further ahead of Bernanke
SINGAPORE/TOKYO, Aug 25 (Reuters) - The dollar stayed firm against other major currencies on Thursday and could eke out more gains after a short-covering rally the day before, as investors fret that the Federal Reserve may fail to signal new stimulus for the economy this week.
Market players are worried that the U.S. economy could slip into recession and are unconvinced that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is ready to signal another bond-buying programme when he speaks on Friday at a central bank conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

US wheat slides for 2nd day, Canadian f'cast weighs
SINGAPORE, Aug 25 (Reuters) - U.S. wheat futures fell more than 1 percent, losing more ground as the market came under pressure from better-than-expected Canadian
crop and forecasts of favourable weather in Australia's grain producing areas.
"I guess people are on the sidelines today as everyone is cautious before Bernanke's speech," said Lynette Tan, an analyst with Phillip Futures in Singapore. "It is also higher output forecast for the Canadian crop and some profit-taking after strong gains."

Australia weather bureau sees wetter conditions in grain belt
SYDNEY, Aug 25 (Reuters) - A wetter-than-normal normal spring is expected across the grain growing belt of Western Australia, which could boost the harvest in the country's top wheat exporting state that suffered crop withering drought last year.
There is also a good chance of rain across northern New South Wales and southern Queensland states in eastern Australia where a dry winter has left wheat crops struggling, according to a forecast from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology..

Illinois corn yields seen average; stress evident
MAQUON, Ill., Aug 24 (Reuters) - Corn yield prospects in central Illinois were slightly above average, helped by timely planting, but stress from heat and dry conditions capped production potential, crop scouts on an annual U.S. crop tour said on Wednesday.
But corn yield prospects in north-central sections of the No. 2 U.S. corn-producing state were below average, dragged down by stressful summer heat that hampered development and pollination.

US ethanol output climbs even as corn prices rise
KANSAS CITY, Mo., Aug 24 (Reuters) - U.S. ethanol production bounced back in the last week with good demand helping offset high prices for key ingredient corn.
The Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday that U.S. ethanol production totaled 904,000 barrels per day, up 5,000 barrels per day from the previous week.

Ghana cocoa purchases beat forecast -Cocobod
ACCRA, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Cocoa purchases declared by private buyers to Ghana's industry regulator Cocobod since the start of the 2011 light crop have surpassed the season's forecast to reach 80,393 tonnes by Aug. 18, Cocobod data showed on Wednesday.
Cocobod had forecast purchases of about 80,000 tonnes through the 11-week light crop, which ends in mid-September.

Brent crude steady near $110, lower stocks support
SINGAPORE, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Brent crude steadied around $110 a barrel, supported by reduced U.S. crude stocks and positive manufacturing data, countered by economic growth uncertainties.
"The market had expected crude stocks to build but the report showed a drop in stocks," said Singapore-based Victor Shum of energy consulting firm Purvin & Gertz.

Petrobras July oil output falls 3.8 pct from June
RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Brazilian state-controlled oil company Petrobras  said on Wednesday that its domestic oil output fell 3.8 percent in July compared with June to an average 1.97 million barrels a day.
The drop was due to maintenance in several offshore fields, including Marlim, aboard the P-20, P-35 and P-37 platforms; Albacora Leste, aboard the P-50 platform; and in Parque de Baleias, aboard the floating production storage and offloading ship FPSO Capixaba, Rio de Janeiro-based Petrobras said in a statement.

Syrian forces raid eastern towns, EU may embargo oil
AMMAN, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Syrian forces killed two people in raids on an eastern tribal region on Wednesday as part of a crackdown on dissent that could lead to European Union sanctions on Syria's oil sector as early as next week.
A force of more than 20 tanks and other armoured vehicles entered districts in the town of Mayadeen and nearby village of Alburhama al-Tayana in the eastern province of Deir al-Zor before withdrawing, activists said. Five people were also wounded and dozens arrested in house to house raids, they said.

Indonesia's Timah says refined tin output down 5 pct in H1
JAKARTA, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Refined tin production at Indonesia's state-owned Timah , the world's largest integrated tin miner, fell 5 percent in the first half of this year compared to a year ago, the company said on Thursday.
First half refined tin production was 18,455 tonnes versus 19,501 tonnes last year, the company said in a statement.

Zinc users, analysts eye rising premiums
LONDON, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Zinc users in Europe are confident they will continue to secure the metal they need, although they will have to pay higher premiums as regional supplies are relatively tight, despite a global glut.
Premiums for spot material in Europe -- last quoted at $130-145 a tonne - are higher than market fundamentals would suggest, according to some consumers and analysts, because most excess regional supply is being squirreled far away in the United States.

BHP says sticks with long-term contracts on iron ore supply
SYDNEY, Aug 24 (Reuters) - BHP Billiton  , the world's no. 3 iron ore miner, said on Wednesday it was linking the majority of its sales to monthly average spot prices but continued to negotiate long-term contracts for supply volumes.
BHP Billiton led a drive in 2010 to disband a 40-year-old system of pricing iron ore once a year in the face of opposition from customers in China who complained it would hand too much power to suppliers.

Southern Copper reports no damage from Peru quake
LIMA, Aug 24 (Reuters) - No damage was reported to Southern Copper's  mining operations after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck a remote region of the Amazon on Wednesday, Chief Executive Oscar Gonzalez said.
The quake shook buildings in the Peruvian capital, Lima, 600 kilometers (370 miles) away but there have been no damage reports from the Andean country.

German first half 2011 non-ferrous metal output up
HAMBURG, Aug 24 (Reuters) - German production of non-ferrous metals was mostly up in the first half of 2011 and output in the full year could also rise, German metals industry association WVM said on Wednesday.
Second quarter output "consolidated at a high level" after a firm first quarter start, the association said.

Mining, energy operations OK after Peru quake
LIMA, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Mining and energy operations in Peru, which exports metals and natural gas, were not affected by the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hit a remote part of the country's Amazon region on Wednesday.
The quake's epicenter was near the town of Pucallpa, which lies some 600 km (370 miles) from the capital of Lima in a sparsely populated central-eastern region close to the Brazilian border, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said.

Japanese cash in on gold price boom
TOKYO, Aug 24 (Reuters) - For Eriko Ebina, standing outside a downtown Tokyo medical equipment store that has a side business buying gold, the recent surge in prices for the precious metal was just too tempting.
"For more than 30 years, I kept gold jewellery mother bought for me, and with media saying prices are high, I thought I would sell them now except for a few keepsakes from her," said Ebina, in her 60s.

CME hikes gold margins as expected; second time in Aug
BANGALORE/SINGAPORE, Aug 24 (Reuters) - The CME Group  on Wednesday raised margins on gold futures by about 27 percent, the biggest hike in more than two and a half years and the second increase in a month, as gold prices fell sharply after a record-setting rally.
The hike was widely anticipated after the Shanghai Gold Exchange announced to raise margin requirements on some of its gold forward contracts earlier this week.

METALS-LME copper steady, U.S. data supports
SHANGHAI, Aug 25 (Reuters) - LME copper was steady on Thursday as encouraging U.S. durable goods data and a rise in equities supported sentiment, but investors were cautious as they looked for direction from the health of the global economy.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange  rose 0.1 percent to $8,885 a tonne by 0420 GMT, after rising 0.3 percent in the last session.

PRECIOUS-Gold loses more shine after CME margin hike
SINGAPORE, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Gold fell more than 1 percent on Thursday, extending the previous session's losses, after the CME Group  raised trading margins by the most in over two and a half years to curb volatility in the bullion that had surged to dizzying heights.
Spot gold dropped by more than 4 percent on Wednesday, its biggest drop since December 2008, as investors liquidated positions after the precious metal surged nearly 35 percent this year to a record high above $1,911 on Tuesday.