Asia stocks fall in worst month since Oct 2008
HONG KONG, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Asian stocks fell extending the worst monthly performance since the most volatile days of the global financial crisis in October 2008, with Chinese shares racking up sharp losses.
"Window-dressing tends to support the market at the end of quarter, and some relief about Europe's situation after the German vote is also giving buyers more confidence," said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co.
China’s Manufacturing Contracts for Third Month, Longest Streak Since 2009 (Bloomberg)
A gauge of Chinese manufacturing shrank for a third month, the longest contraction since 2009, as measures of new orders and export demand declined. The reading of 49.9 for the September purchasing managers’ index, released by HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics today, was unchanged from August and compared with a preliminary 49.4 figure published last week. The gauge was below 50, the level that separates expansion from contraction, for eight months through March 2009. Government curbs on lending and the real-estate industry to damp inflation are slowing growth in demand in the world’s second-largest economy. A slump in global investor confidence and heightened risks of recession in the U.S. and euro area economies are also weighing on the outlook for exports.
China Stocks Sink to April 2009 Low as Quarterly Losses Mount on Slowdown (Bloomberg)
China’s stocks fell, sending the benchmark index to its lowest close since April 2009, on signs growth is slowing as the government maintains measures to curb inflation and overseas demand for exports falters. Anhui Conch Cement Co. and Sany Heavy Industry Co. paced a decline by construction-related stocks after a manufacturing gauge contracted for a third month. Citic Securities Co. and Industrial Securities Co. led a drop among brokerages on concern share-price declines will curb trading revenue. China’s markets will be closed next week for holidays. The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks the bigger of China’s stock exchanges, dropped 6.12 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,359.22 at the 3 p.m. close. The CSI 300 Index (SHSZ300) lost 0.3 percent to 2,581.35.
European Stocks, U.S. Futures Fall on Economy (Bloomberg)
European stocks fell, trimming the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index’s largest weekly advance in a year, as reports on Chinese manufacturing and German retail sales added to concern the economy is slowing. Asian shares and U.S. index futures declined. Deutsche Bank AG (DBK) lost 3.2 percent as Handelsblatt reported that Germany’s biggest lender may lower its yearly profit target. Metro AG (MEO) fell 1.7 percent as German retail sales declined the most in more than four years in August. The Stoxx 600 fell 1.1 percent to 226.3 at 8:09 a.m. in London. The measure has rallied 4.7 percent this week, the largest advance since July 2010, as policy makers increased efforts to contain the region’s debt crisis and U.S. employment and growth data exceeded forecasts. The gauge is still heading for the biggest quarterly decline since 2008, having plunged 17 percent since the end of June. The index has dropped 4.7 percent in September, a fifth straight month of losses.
FOREX-Euro drops in worst month in nearly a year
TOKYO, Sept 30 (Reuters) - The euro was on track for its worst monthly slide in nearly a year, slipping back towards an eight-month low against the dollar as equities took a hit, while selling by Japanese exporters pushed it closer to a 10-year low versus the yen.
"The euro weakened as strong selling by Japanese exporters emerged, but frankly looking at the recent volatility, a dip like that is still not hugely important," said Teppei Ino, a currency analyst at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.
Wheat eyeing first gain in 3 quarters, outpaces corn
SINGAPORE, Sept 30 (Reuters) - U.S. wheat futures rose for a second day and are on track for their first quarterly gain in three as dry weather threatens winter plantings around the world.
"The market is certainly quite concerned about the weather conditions in many parts of the world," said Luke Mathews, commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
US corn export dominance seen bending, not breaking
CHICAGO, Sept 30 (Reuters) - For the first time in 40 years, U.S. corn exporters are not out-selling the rest of the world.
Domestic ethanol is sucking up record crops. Emerging suppliers like Brazil and Ukraine are taking export share, while traditional exporters like Argentina move to open new markets. And consumers worldwide are looking to save every penny, cutting shipping costs or using other types of feed.
Manila to wait before deciding on rice imports-official
MANILA, Sept 30 (Reuters) - There was no urgency for the Philippines to decide if it needed more rice imports after typhoon damage this week, an official from the Department of Agriculture said on Friday.
"We have to wait for the next typhoons to come in before we can decide if we need to import early," Segfredo Serrano, undersecretary for planning at the Agriculture department, told reporters.
Vietnam 2011/2012 coffee to arrive from late Nov-Vicofa
HANOI, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Vietnamese coffee beans from the next 2011/2012 crop are expected to arrive from late November and pick up in December, while production could be threatened by rains from storms later this year, a senior industry official said on Friday.
"The yield is high but rains and storms are developing which could affect the harvest," Deputy Chairman Do Ha Nam of the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association (Vicofa) said in a telephone interview.
Brazilian to head International Coffee Organization
LONDON/BRASILIA, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Brazil will return to the helm of the International Coffee Organization, which on Thursday named a senior agriculture official from the world's top coffee growing country as its executive director.
Roberio Oliveira Silva, 48, director for coffee at Brazil's agriculture ministry, was appointed to the job by consensus after his Mexican rival withdrew, an ICO official said.
US approves Canada crops for biodiesel use
WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Sept 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved the use of Canadian crops such as canola and corn in U.S. biofuels on Thursday, a move that lifted Canadian canola prices and may help the U.S. meet its ambitious targets for biofuels.
The EPA's designation of Canadian crops as a renewable biomass will allow U.S. biofuel makers to collect tax credits for using them, said Canola Council of Canada president JoAnne Buth.
Brazil 12/13 cane growth seen limited if any-Datagro
SAO PAULO, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Cane output in Brazil's center-south next season will not vary much from what's being harvested now, since yields will require a few years to fully recover, analysts Datagro said on Thursday.
The next crop could actually be smaller than the current one as dry weather in 2011 has hurt the development of cane that will start to be harvested in April 2012, a condition similar to that seen last year.
Scattered rains help Argentine wheat and corn, more needed
BUENOS AIRES, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Patchy rains allowed some Argentine farmers to inch ahead with 2011/12 corn sowing in recent days and brought some respite to parched wheat crops, a grains exchange report said on Thursday.
Dryness in recent weeks has delayed corn planting and battered wheat crops in Argentina, a leading global wheat exporter and the world's No. 2 corn supplier.
Uganda govt sells a 19 pct stake in sugar producer
KAMPALA, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Uganda has sold a 19 percent stake in the country's second biggest sugar producer to Mauritius' Rai Holdings, and said the Mauritian firm must sell the stake to the public after five years, an official statement said on Thursday.
Uganda said last year it would sell its entire 49 percent stake in Kinyara Sugar Works though an Initial Public Offering in 2011. This had been delayed because of global market turmoil, the government said earlier this year.
UK wheat crop seen lower, rapeseed sharply up-NFU
LONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - UK wheat production for this year is estimated at 14.67 million tonnes, down 1.5 percent on the five-year average, Britain's National Farmers Union said on Thursday.
The country's rapeseed crop is, however, seen at a record 2.62 million tonnes, up 29 percent from the five-year average, the NFU added.
EU clears 341,000 tonnes wheat exports this week
PARIS, Sept 29 (Reuters) - The European Union this week granted export licences for 341,000 tonnes of soft wheat, taking the total since the beginning of the July 2011/June 2012 season to 3.5 million tonnes, official data showed on Thursday.
The total so far this season remained well below the level seen last season when 6.4 million tonnes of export licences had been cleared by the same stage in 2010/11.
CME wheat propped up by feeder interest? Gavin Maguire
--Gavin Maguire is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own. To get his real-time views on the market, please join the Global Ags Forum. --
CHICAGO, Sep 29 (Reuters) - Although not immune to the commodity-wide downturn seen in recent weeks, Chicago wheat futures have outperformed their higher-grade cousins in Minneapolis and Kansas City so far this month.
That has reversed a year-long trend that had seen Chicago wheat trade at a steep discount to wheat prices on other U.S. exchanges as buyers showed a broad preference for higher-quality wheat over the product traded in Chicago.
Indonesia eyes domestic rice due to costly imports
JAKARTA, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Indonesia is not solely dependent on Thailand or Vietnam for rice and is seeking cheaper imports, while state procurement agency Bulog should look to buy from domestic suppliers, the Indonesian agriculture minister said on Thursday.
Indonesian officials are in Bangkok to discuss the reported cancellation of a proposed sale of 300,000 tonnes of rice to Southeast Asia's biggest economy, agreed under the previous Thai administration.
Brent crude oil rises above $104, set for quarterly drop
SINGAPORE, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Brent crude rose above $104 a barrel on positive economic news, but prices this quarter remain on track for their biggest drop in 15 months on concerns that a slowing global economy will undercut fuel demand.
"Crude oil has been holding up quite well compared with the other asset classes such as equities," said Ker Chung Yang, a commodities analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore, who forecasts U.S. crude will be between $80 and $90 by the end of this year. Prices ended at $91.38 a barrel in 2010.
Iron ore, coal beat paper commodities: Clyde Russell
--Clyde Russell is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own.--
SINGAPORE, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Want to find a commodity that's relatively unscathed by the recent turmoil? Look no further than iron ore and coal in Asia.
While trade in both is measured in billions of dollars a year, both have benefited from not being widely traded on paper exchanges such as ICE Futures Europe and the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Japan Q4 crude steel demand seen down 1.8 pct y/y
TOKYO, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Japanese demand for crude steel in October-December will be slightly below year-ago levels as a steep decline in steel exports will outweigh strong demand from the auto sector, the trade ministry said on Thursday.
The strong yen, higher exports from South Korea and China and uncertainty over the global economy cloud the outlook for exports after the turn of the year, a ministry official said.
Chile industry stronger in Aug, copper output down
SANTIAGO, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Chile's industrial output rose in August from July and was stronger than expected compared to a year ago, but copper output in the world's top producer of the metal sank on lower ore grades as the industry recovers from disruptions.
Industrial production rose a seasonally adjusted 1.3 percent in August from July, the government said on Thursday, boosted by manufacturing, and was up 1.7 percent from a year earlier.
Chile August copper output down 8.7 pct yr/yr
SANTIAGO, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Chile, which provides around a third of the world's copper, produced 427,420 tonnes of the metal in August, down 8.7 percent from the same month last year, the government said on Thursday.
Chile's July copper output fell 18 percent to 373,498 tonnes compared with the same period last year, the government reported last month, as the industry was hit by a wave of protests by mining workers demanding a bigger share of the copper price bonanza.
Copper eyes 2012 record on taut supply-Trafigura
LONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Copper is set to print new records as soon as the second quarter of 2012 as top consumer China restocks, more than making up for softening demand from struggling economies in the West, a director at commodities heavyweight Trafigura said.
LME copper heads for worst month in three years
SHANGHAI, Sept 30 (Reuters) - London copper fell 2.4 percent heading for its worst month in three years on concerns that a global economic slowdown will hit demand for the metal and as Chinese investors closed out long positions.
"I think LME copper's fall today is quite normal in this volatile climate. Chinese investors are still feeling bearish since it's before a long holiday and the longs are exiting the markets," said Jinrui Futures analyst Zhao Kai.
Gold holds gains; heads for worst month since Oct '08
SINGAPORE, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Gold jumped more than 1 percent after Germany's approval for expanding the euro zone bailout fund offered temporary relief to investors, but the precious metal was heading for its worst monthly decline in three years.
"It seems that there are still hurdles ahead before the European debt crisis is resolved," said Ong Yi Ling, an analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
METALS-LME copper heads for worst month in three years
SHANGHAI, Sept 30 (Reuters) - London copper fell 2.4 percent, heading for its worst month in three years on concerns that a global economic slowdown will hit demand for the metal and as Chinese investors closed out long positions.
"I think LME copper's fall today is quite normal in this volatile climate. Chinese investors are still feeling bearish since it's before a long holiday and the longs are exiting the markets," said Jinrui Futures analyst Zhao Kai.
PRECIOUS-Gold holds gains; heads for worst month since Oct '08
SINGAPORE, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Gold jumped more than 1 percent after Germany's approval for expanding the euro zone bailout fund offered temporary relief to investors, but the precious metal was heading for its worst monthly decline in three years.
"It seems that there are still hurdles ahead before the European debt crisis is resolved," said Ong Yi Ling, an analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
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