Crude holds near $102 ahead of U.S. payroll data
SINGAPORE, March 4 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures held steady near $102 a barrel ahead of payrolls data from the United States, a leading economic indicator, while skepticism remained on whether a proposal from Venezuela to resolve the Libya crisis would be carried out.
Libyan rebels pushed west on Thursday while Venezuela said Muammar Gaddafi had agreed to its proposal for an international commission to negotiate an end to the turmoil in the world's 12th largest oil exporting nation.
US corn/soybeans held back by dollar, wheat up
SYDNEY, March 4 (Reuters) - U.S. corn and soybeans futures were flat in early Asian trading, as traders assessed the currency impact of a weaker U.S. dollar against the euro, while the greenback made modest gains against other currencies such as the yen.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said weekly sales of U.S. corn surpassed 1 million tonnes for a fifth week, matching the longest such streak since late 2007 as importers scrambled for supplies amid tightening stocks.
Gold steady Above $1,415/oz after fall, US job data eyed
SINGAPORE, March 4 (Reuters) - Spot gold held steady, consolidating after falling more than 1 percent in the previous session, as investors await a key U.S. job market report to assess the health of the world's top economy.
"If the payrolls data surprises on the downside, gold prices will continue to be supported," said a Tokyo-based trader. "If it is better than expected, it may put some pressure on prices."
Asia stocks set for biggest weekly rise in 3 mths
HONG KONG, March 4 (Reuters) - Asian stocks were poised for their best weekly gains in three months as market players hunted for bargains while the euro perked up after the European Central Bank signalled a rate hike as early as next month.
"Substantial gains are expected in morning trade on hopes for good jobs data in the U.S., but the market may trim gains towards the close because investors remain cautious until they actually see the figures," said Shinichiro Matsushita, a market analyst at Daiwa Securities.
Oil : Crude holds near $102 ahead of U.S. payroll data
SINGAPORE, March 4 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures held steady near $102 a barrel on Friday ahead of payrolls data from the United States, a leading economic indicator, while skepticism remained on whether a proposal from Venezuela to resolve the Libya crisis would be carried out.
Libyan output has fallen to 700,000-750,000 barrels per day from normal levels of 1.6 million bpd as most foreign oil workers had taken flight, according to Shokri Ghanem, the head of Libya's state-owned oil company.
COMMODITIES: Oil, gold fall on Libya plan, doubts limit decline
NEW YORK, March 3 (Reuters) - Oil and gold ended lower on Thursday, as investors took some profits off recent highs, following news that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi accepted a plan to end uprising in the OPEC nation, but scepticism about the deal's success kept prices firmly underpinned.
"I am highly skeptical the market is coming off on assumptions that Chavez will successfully mediate in Libya," said Stephen Schork, editor of The Schork Report in Villanova, Pennsylvania. "I think the market was overbought."
GLOBAL MARKETS: Asian stocks rise on oil retreats, euro gains
HONG KONG, March 4 (Reuters) - Asian shares rose on Friday, helped by retreating oil prices and a firmer Wall Street close while the euro perked up after the central bank signalled a rate rise as early as next month.
"Substantial gains are expected in morning trade on hopes for good jobs data in the U.S., but the market may trim gains towards the close because investors remain cautious until they actually see the figures," said Shinichiro Matsushita, a market analyst at Daiwa Securities.
Libya Tamoil unit could see UN sanctions impact
LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - The Swiss branch of Libyan oil company Tamoil said on Thursday United Nations sanctions could affect the group's ability to source crude and that high oil prices had forced it to cut refinery runs.
Tamoil also said it was already running its 72,000 barrel-per-day Swiss Collombey refinery at reduced rates and on reserve stocks, making it the first refiner in Europe to confirm run cuts.
China 2011 Agriculture Spending To Top CNY858 Bln -State TV
The Chinese government plans to invest more than CNY857.97 billion this year in its agricultural sector, state television reported. The spending plan would represent an increase of about 5% over the spending in 2010.
FAO Says Rising Oil Could Herald Food Crisis (Source: CME)
Rising oil prices could tip the world into a food crisis next season, a senior executive at the United Nations' food organization said as its food price index hit a new record in February. The Food and Agriculture Organization index rose 2.2% in February--the eighth consecutive monthly rise--to an average 236 points, the highest in real and nominal terms since FAO started monitoring prices in 1990. Global cereal supplies are also expected to tighten sharply this year due low stock levels, the FAO said. The body raised its estimate for 2010 world cereal production by 8 million metric tons to 2.2 billion tons, but said it expects that to be outpaced by an 18 million-ton increase in consumption.
While the world isn't yet facing a food crisis, the secretary of the FAO's Intergovernmental Group on Grains Abdolreza Abbassian said the recent rise in oil prices could create the same potent mix of factors that pushed grain prices to record highs in 2008. "The oil factor, which has so far not been a driving factor this season, could become an element like it was in 2008," he said. "It's very unlikely we will see a food crisis in 2010-11 but we can't exclude such a situation in 2011-12." International export prices of major grains are already more than 70% higher than this time last year after a succession of weather problems in key producers slashed hopes for the world harvest. The FAO's cereal price index, which includes prices of food staples wheat, rice and corn, rose 3.7% in February to 254 points, its highest level since July 2008.
Abbassian said the increase in oil prices has now made planting crops such as corn more attractive as they can be converted into fuel substitute ethanol. "With oil prices rising it could encourage a bigger corn crop at the expense of other crops," he said. However, this removes crucial acreage from crops like wheat. The FAO predicts wheat production will rise about 3% in 2011, but Abbassian said a minimum increase of 3.5% is needed. The FAO oils and fats price index rose marginally to 279 points in February, a level just below the June 2008 peak. Of all the commodities groups monitored by the FAO only sugar dipped last month, to 418 points, slightly below the previous month but still 16% higher than February 2010.
U.S. private-sector jobs pick up pace in February
NEW YORK, March 2 (Reuters) - U.S. private sector employers added more jobs than expected last month, raising hopes that Friday's closely watched government jobs report could show more growth than anticipated.
Economists said the private-sector data released on Wednesday bodes well for the labor market, though they noted the month-to-month changes in the ADP Employer Services report are not always good predictors of the U.S. Labor Department's larger nonfarm payrolls data.
China Q1 inflation seen above 5 pct - govt economist
NINGBO, China, March 3 (Reuters) - China's annual inflation is likely to top 5 percent in the first quarter of 2011, a senior government economist said on Thursday.
The full-year inflation rate would probably be about 4 percent, said Fan Jianping, head of economic forecasting at the State Information Center, a government think tank.
GLOBAL ECONOMY-European business surges, price pressure builds
LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - Europe's private sector surged ahead at its fastest pace in almost five years in February in an upturn that included debt-ravaged euro zone economies like Ireland and Spain, business surveys showed on Thursday.
While suggesting a strong start to 2011 for most of the world's major economies, the latest batch of purchasing managers' indexes (PMI) again pointed to fast-building inflationary pressures.
Glencore bullish on 2011 outlook for commodities
LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - The world's biggest commodities trader, Glencore International, is bullish on the outlook for the asset class, expecting last year's buoyant trends based on growth in emerging nations such as China to persist this year.
Glencore, preparing for a possible stock listing, posted a 40 percent jump in 2010 net profit on Thursday, driven by strong commodity prices, especially metals such as copper.
PRECIOUS-Gold dips as Libya peace plan saps safe-haven bid
LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - Gold slipped on Thursday after the Arab League said a Venezuelan proposal to end the Libyan conflict was under consideration, but uncertainty over the future of the region kept prices in sight of record highs.
Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa told Reuters on Thursday that the a plan to bring peace to proposed by Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez was "under consideration."
FOREX-Euro near key resistance; ECB's Trichet in focus
LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - The euro hovered near a four-month high and a key resistance area against the dollar on Thursday, supported by expectations that the European Central Bank is set to pave the way for rate rises later in the year.
Investors have pushed the euro up about 3 percent from a low hit on Feb. 14 on the view that ECB chief Jean-Claude Trichet, who speaks at 1330 after the bank ends a policy-setting meeting, will sharpen his anti-inflation rhetoric as oil prices continue to soar.
U.S. corn steady after selloff, soybeans edge higher
SINGAPORE, March 3 (Reuters) - U.S. corn futures were nearly flat in cautious trade after steep losses in the previous session which were triggered by long liquidation resulting from social unrest in the Middle East. "The market is eyeing the political unrest in north Africa and the Middle East which is having a mixed impact on the agricultural complex," said Luke Matthews, an agricultural commodities strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Indonesia sees agriculture data as key to food security -officials
JAKARTA, March 3 (Reuters) - Indonesia's agriculture ministry and statistics agency have signed an agreement aimed at releasing more agriculture data, to help food security planning in the world's fourth-most populous nation.
Like many emerging markets, Indonesia is battling booming global food prices, and has been forced to import various foods as it grapples with inflation.
Oil dips briefly on Libya peace talk; ECB in view
LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - A proposal by Venezuela President Hugo Chavez to try to broker a peace deal in Libya briefly pushed oil lower while recently risk-averse stock markets put in some gains.
"If it's coming out of Chavez, it might not have a great degree of substance," said Tim Riddell, head of technical analysis at ANZ in Singapore.
Big US corn export sales set to slow
CHICAGO, March 3 (Reuters) - U.S. corn export sales may have topped 1 million tonnes for a fifth straight week, equaling the most torrid pace since the frenzied days of late 2007, but shipments will now have to slow soon.
The latest flurry of corn sales -- fueled by fears of shrinking stockpiles and rising prices -- has simply offset a sluggish first half of the marketing year and put sales back on pace to reach the U.S. Agriculture Department's most recent export target, but not exceed it, analysts said.
China seen planting more corn, cotton as prices rise
BEIJING, March 2 (Reuters) - China's farmers are likely to devote more acreage to corn than any other crop this spring to benefit from historic high prices, the government is expected to show in a plantings report later this month.
Bellwether U.S. cotton futures surged to an all-time high last month, driven largely by an insatiable appetite from China, the world's biggest importer of the fibre.
