20110902 1533 Global Market & Commodities Related News.

Equities rally fizzles before U.S. data; franc up
HONG KONG, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Asian shares dipped on Friday but were still poised to score a solid weekly gain of about 4 percent while the Swiss franc edged higher as market players booked profits ahead of a key U.S. jobs report.
"Global economic worries are the main focus and volume has been relatively low recently. At times like this, both buying and selling can be risky, so this is keeping stocks trapped in their recent ranges," said Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities.  

US corn rebounds after selloff; wheat, soy firm
SINGAPORE, Sept 2 (Reuters) - U.S. corn futures bounced back on Friday, rising more than 1 percent, while wheat strengthened on short-covering after a selloff in the previous session which saw both markets suffer their biggest daily losses in two months.
"It is a bit of a recovery from selloff as we had a pretty solid selloff last night," said Brett Cooper, senior manager for markets at FCStone Australia. "Last night we saw the market take profit off the books as we are in a new month now and today we are seeing some short-covering."

ADM says only accepts corn approved for use in EU
CHICAGO, Sept 1 (Reuters) - U.S. agricultural processor Archer Daniels Midland  said on Thursday it only accepts corn varieties approved for use in the European Union, which would exclude Syngenta's  biotech Agrisure Viptera variety that some other large grain processors have barred.
"Our grain purchase contracts contain language explaining that we only accept grain approved for commercial use in the European Union. We have this language in our contracts because we sell corn products to customers in the E.U.," ADM spokesman Roman Blahoski said.

Mexico producers see bigger coffee crop in 2011/12
MEXICO CITY, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Mexico, a top 10 producer of high-quality arabica coffee, should harvest a larger coffee crop next season as prices, which are at a four-month high, will likely motivate more production, a producer group said.  A larger crop could help ease global supply worries.
Mexico should produce between 4.5 million and 4.7 million 60-kilogram bags of coffee in the 2011/2012 season that begins in October, Rodolfo Trampe, head of the Amecafe producers' group, said on Thursday.

Cotton use to return to growth as output rises-ICAC
WASHINGTON, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Global cotton mill use should return to slow growth in 2011/12 after high prices caused consumption to decline the previous year, an international farm group said on Thursday.
The International Cotton Advisory Committee secretariat said an 8 percent boost in world cotton production to the largest crop since 2004/05 would facilitate the rise in use.

German farm ministry sees grain crop down 6 pct
HAMBURG, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Germany's 2011 grain crop of all types is likely to fall by 6 percent on the year to around 41 million tonnes, Germany's agriculture ministry said on Thursday.
German crops have suffered from a springtime drought followed by repeated harvest-time rain, it said. The 2011 winter wheat harvest will fall 3.7 percent on the year to 22.6 million tonnes, it said. The wheat harvest of all types will fall 3.4 percent to 22.97 million tonnes, it said.

Brent steady above $114; eyes on U.S. jobs, storms
SINGAPORE, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Brent crude was steady above $114 a barrel, headed for its second straight weekly gain, while investors eyed key U.S. jobs data for clues on whether the world's largest oil consumer would be able to dodge a recession and leave demand growth intact.
"The market is still expecting some concrete steps from the Fed to boost the economy," said Yusuke Seta, a commodity sales manager at Newedge Japan, adding that the sentiment helped to support oil prices.

Oil firms bet on survival of Syria's Assad
LONDON, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Oil companies in Europe are betting on the survival of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, in contrast to their support for Libya's opposition six months ago, even as the European Union is expected to slap oil sanctions on Damascus. Several tankers are sailing to Syria this week to either deliver fuel or pick up crude.  
The same companies, including Swiss-based trader Vitol, made the opposite bet when it came to trade in Libya. They agreed to supply opponents of Muammar Gaddafi with fuel in the hope their support would be rewarded at the end of the war.

US LNG imports dive 44 pct, hit 8-1/2 year low-DOE
NEW YORK, Sept 1 (Reuters) - U.S. imports of liquefied natural gas in July slid 44 percent to the lowest monthly level in more than eight years as ample U.S. gas supply and low prices deterred shipments, according to Department of Energy data on Thursday.
Imports fell to 20.2 bcf, the slowest since December 2002 and down from 36.3 bcf in July 2010.
U.S. imports have been declining throughout 2011 as shippers send gas to higher-paying markets in Europe and Asia. June imports fell 16 percent, May imports fell 12 percent.

LME copper steady; U.S. payrolls data eyed
SHANGHAI, Sept 2 (Reuters) - LME copper prices were little changed on Friday, after snapping  a six-day rally in the previous session, as investors remained cautious ahead of a key U.S. payrolls data.
While encouraging U.S. factory and initial jobless claims numbers that tempered recession fears underpinned prices, concerns about the European economy were expected to weigh on sentiment.

Peru's only iron producer declares force majeure
LIMA, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Peru's only iron producer, Shougang Hierro Peru, declared force majeure on its deliveries due to a workers strike, the company's general manager said on Thursday.
The company's 1,124 workers laid down their tools on Wednesday in an indefinite strike demanding higher salaries.
"We've declared force majeure due to the strike, production has completely stopped," General Manager Raul Vera said, referring to a contract clause that frees it of liability over delays.

Chile Collahuasi stoppage less likely -union source
SANTIAGO, Sept 1 (Reuters) - A threatened 24-hour work stoppage at the world's No. 3 copper mine, Chile's Collahuasi, is now less likely after "advances" in negotiations with the mine's operator, a union source said on Thursday.
The union threatened to down tools on Sept. 2 after the operator of a mine that produces around 3 percent of the world's copper fired six workers following a 24-hour partial stoppage in late July. This came amid a rash of labor unrest in the world's top copper producer.

China cuts aluminium output due to power shortage
SHANGHAI, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Aluminium producers in China's Guangxi province will start cutting production in September due to power shortages there, a move that is expected to support prices in the fourth quarter, industry sources said.
Around 15 percent, or over 120,000 tonnes per year, of Guangxi's 810,000-tonne annual production capacity of aluminium may be affected by the power shortages.

Gold steady ahead of U.S. payrolls
SINGAPORE, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Gold prices held steady on Friday as investors stood on the sidelines ahead of a key U.S. payrolls report due later in the day, after recent data sent mixed signals about the status of the world's largest economy.  
"Gold seems to have a trading band of $1,810 and $1,840, and is unlikely to break the range ahead of the payrolls data," said David Thurtell, a Citigroup analyst.