20110826 1120 Global Market & Commodities Related News.

GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian shares edge up, dollar firm
SINGAPORE, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Asian shares edged up marginally on Friday as investors waited for a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke later in the day, while nervousness about the U.S. economic outlook sent the dollar higher.
"The market is lacking upside potential as some doubt there will be another round of quantitative easing from the Fed," said Lee Suk-won, a market strategist at E-Trade Securities.  

Oil rises as Hurricane Irene, Libya in focus
NEW YORK, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Oil rose on Thursday due to concerns about Hurricane Irene's impact on U.S. East Coast fuel supplies and fighting in Libya.
"Products are leading the way as the East Coast refining center is in the bullseye of Hurricane Irene." said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York.

Libya rebel official aims for oil export in 2-3 months
TRIPOLI, Aug 25 (Reuters) - The Libyan rebel government hopes to restart oil exports within two to three months and reach full volumes in about a year, Ali Tarhouni, the official in charge of financial and oil matters told Reuters from Libya's oil ministry in Tripoli.
It was the first time an official from the rebel National Transitional Council was seen in the capital taking up the reins of government, after rebel fighters swept into the city four days ago aiming to topple Muammar Gaddafi.

NYMEX-Natgas trims early gains, still ends up after EIAs
NEW YORK, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Front-month U.S. natural gas futures finished higher on Thursday, although down from morning highs, on support from warm forecasts for the Midwest and Northeast late next week.
"The latest six- to 10-day and eight- to 14-day forecast from NOAA is still suggestive of a call for above-normal levels of cooling demand," Energy Management Institute's Dominick Chirichella said in a report.

Euro Coal-Prices soften as demand slackens
LONDON, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Prompt physical coal prices eased on Thursday by around 50 U.S. cents a tonne as buying interest in Europe slackened further and oil saw more losses.
"There's only one serious buyer in Europe and they've not been very evident in the market today or yesterday," one European trader said.

COMMODITIES-Oil, copper up pre-Bernanke; gold drop halts
NEW YORK, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Gold rebounded on Thursday to halt a two-day plunge while oil and copper ended up too as investors awaited a speech by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke they hoped would hint at new stimulus measures.
"The market is building up toward the Jackson Hole speech," said Harry Tchilinguirian, head of commodity markets strategy at BNP Paribas.