FOREX-Euro claws higher vs dollar, but seen fragile
SINGAPORE, Jan 3 (Reuters) - The euro edged higher against the dollar and the yen on Tuesday but touched a record low versus the Australian dollar and looked set to remain under pressure in 2012 on worries over Europe's debt crisis.
The euro gained a bit of reprieve as a rise in Asian equities underpinned risk appetite and spurred short-covering, helping it stay above an 11-year low against the yen touched the previous day.
Asian shares rise; Oil spikes on Iran tension
SINGAPORE, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Asian stocks rose as the first trading day of 2012 in most markets brought renewed appetite for riskier assets, while U.S. crude jumped 1.5 percent to above $100 a barrel on escalating tensions between Iran and the West.
"(The euro) ended last year on a downtrend, breaking key levels. Through much of last year, people were surprised how well it held up," said Greg Gibbs, a strategist at RBS.
Hong Kong Stocks Rise on First 2012 Trading Day on Global Data (Bloomberg)
Hong Kong stocks (HSI) rose on the opening trading day this year as manufacturing expanded in India and China and as economists forecast the U.S. labor market will improve. Chinese refiners gained on a report they may be allowed to set oil prices. Li & Fung Ltd. (494), a supplier to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. that gets more than half of its revenue from the U.S., gained 5 percent. Cnooc Ltd. (883), China’s No. 1 offshore oil producer, increased 4.6 percent as crude prices rose. PetroChina Co. jumped 5.1 percent after the report that China may allow refiners to set oil-product prices instead of the government. China Mengniu Dairy Co. (2319), a Chinese milk producer, rose 3.3 percent after China International Capital Corp. maintained its “buy” rating on the stock. The Hang Seng Index rose 2 percent to 18,810 as of 2:13 p.m. local time, headed for its highest close since Dec. 8. All but six stocks advanced in the 48-member gauge, which tumbled 20 percent last year, its first annual drop since 2008. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI) of mainland companies listed in Hong Kong climbed 2.9 percent to 10,219.62.
Asian Stocks Advance on Optimism Region’s Economy Weathering Europe Crisis (Bloomberg)
Asian stocks (MXAPJ) rose, with a regional gauge heading for a three-week high, as manufacturing growth from Australia, China and India added to optimism the region’s economies will withstand Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis. BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP), which gets about 28 percent of sales from China, gained 1.1 percent in Sydney. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (601398) Ltd., the world’s No. 1 lender by market value, advanced 3.3 percent as trading in Hong Kong resumed. Li & Fung Ltd. (494), a supplier of toys and clothes to retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., climbed 5.7 percent on speculation consumer spending in the U.S. will increase after payrolls climbed for a second month. “Positive economic data provide a catalyst for a small new-year rally,” said Pauline Dan, who oversees $480 million as chief investment officer at Samsung Asset Management in Hong Kong. “We’ll probably see more headwinds from Europe.”
Vietnam 2011 rubber imports jump, exports hit record
HANOI, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Vietnam, the world's fourth-largest exporter of natural rubber, stepped up its imports of the commodity last year which helped enable record shipments in 2011, customs data show.
The Southeast Asian nation imported 343,000 tonnes of rubber as of Dec. 15, 2011, or 14.7 percent above the amount it imported during the whole of 2010, Vietnam Customs data seen by Reuters on Tuesday showed.
Vietnam coffee supply to slow next month
HANOI, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Coffee supply from Daklak, Vietnam's largest growing province, is expected to slow next month when the harvest ends as most farmers and buying agents will wait for higher prices before selling, a senior provincial official said on Friday.
Some analysts expect global coffee prices to surge early next year as tighter bank lending in top robusta producer Vietnam could choke off cash to exporters, cutting supply and pushing up premiums, even as the harvest rolls in.
Brazil industry, analysts expect record soy crop
SAO PAULO, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Brazil's 2012/13 soy crop, now starting into its first round of harvesting, should be of record size, the grains industry association and an independent analyst said on Monday, despite a dangerous dry spell hitting the country's far south.
Grains association Abiove, whose members include Bunge, ADM, Louis Dreyfus and Brazil's Maggi, estimated the world's No. 2 soy producer would harvest 74.6 million tonnes, up from its estimate for last season of 74.3 million tonnes.
Indonesia's Lampung Dec cocoa exports rise 25 pct y/y
BANDAR LAMPUNG, Indonesia, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Cocoa bean exports from Indonesia's Lampung province on Sumatra island rose 25 percent in December from a year ago, government trade office data showed on Monday.
Lampung's exports have been volatile in recent months, although mostly falling throughout the year, as the Indonesian industry battles with pests and disease.
Indonesia's Dec Sumatra coffee bean exports fall 68 pct y/y
JAKARTA, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Indonesia's robusta coffee bean exports from the main growing area in southern Sumatra slumped 68 percent in December from a year ago, government trade data showed on Monday, as adverse weather conditions hit output.
Indonesia shipped 8,415.400 tonnes of robusta coffee beans in December, versus 26,255.23 tonnes last December, Muchtar Lutfie, research head of the Indonesia Coffee Exporters Association's (AEKI) Lampung branch, said in a statement.
India's Maharashtra sugar output up 18.8 pct in Oct-Dec
MUMBAI, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Sugar output from India's Maharashtra state, top producer of the sweetener in the country, was 18.8 percent higher on year in the first three months of 2011/12 crushing season that started on Oct. 1, an industry official said.
The increase in production is because of higher sugar recovery rate and an increase in the number of mills that are operational this year, said the official, who declined to be named.
Indonesia sees 2012 unmilled rice output up 10 pct
JAKARTA, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Indonesia's unmilled rice output is expected to rise 10 percent to 72.02 million tonnes this year as it expands plantation areas in line with its 2014 self-sufficiency target, a government minister said on Monday.
Southeast Asia's biggest economy has forecast that unmilled rice output would hit 65.4 million tonnes for 2011, less than it previously estimated, as hot weather and disease hit production.
Egypt's Alcotexa sells 2,072 T cotton in past week
CAIRO, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Egypt's Alexandria Cotton Exporters' Association (Alcotexa) committed to sell 2,072 tonnes of cotton in the week that ended on Dec. 31, an Alcotexa official said on Sunday.
The sales comprised 1,650 tonnes of the Giza 88 grade of cotton and 422 tonnes of Giza 86, the official said.
Brent crude up above $108 on China, Iran
SINGAPORE, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Brent crude rose to above $108 a barrel as China's manufacturing activity expanded slightly, lifting hopes of higher oil demand, and as rising tensions between Iran and the West created supply disruption fears.
"Over the next few months, it will be a balance of economic issues in Europe and the U.S. versus bullish geopolitical factors and the reality of economic growth in major Asian economies," Victor Shum, an oil consultant at Purvin & Gertz, said.
India hikes iron ore export duties to 30 pct
NEW DELHI, Jan 2 (Reuters) - India raised iron ore export duties to 30 percent from 20 as it seeks to conserve supplies for its own steel industry, sending down shares of iron ore producers and boosting those of steelmakers.
The government issued a formal order removing the previous 20 percent duty, and two revenue officials said this meant the rate reverted to 30 percent, which one of them said was the "peak tariff" level.
Copper rises after China's manufacturing expands
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 3 (Reuters) - London copper rose, the first trading day of the year, as an expansion in China's manufacturing boosted hopes that demand for industrial metals will increase, but investors remained cautious as Europe's debt crisis persists.
"China's PMI number looks positive, better than most people had expected earlier on," said Huang Yiping, chief economist for emerging Asia at Barclays Capital in Hong Kong.
Indian gold imports plunge in Q4, seen down in Q1
MUMBAI, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Gold imports by India, the world's top consumer, plunged 56 percent to 125 tonnes in the fourth quarter, cutting full-year imports by 8.4 percent as record high prices and high interest rates hit demand, the head of India's leading bullion body said.
India, whose appetite for gold dates back centuries, imported about 878 tonnes of gold in 2011, down from 958 tonnes in 2010, Bombay Bullion Association President Prithviraj Kothari said in an interview on Monday.
METALS-Copper rises after China's manufacturing expands
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 3 (Reuters) - London copper rose on Tuesday, the first trading day of the year, as an expansion in China's manufacturing boosted hopes that demand for industrial metals will increase, but investors remained cautious as Europe's debt crisis persists.
The metal posted its first annual decline in three years in 2011 when it lost a fifth of its value on fears related to the euro zone debt crisis and the global economic slowdown.
PRECIOUS-Gold, silver rally as new year rekindles risk appetite
SINGAPORE, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Gold rallied more than 1 percent and silver jumped over 2 percent on Tuesday as investors returned in the new year with a renewed appetite for riskier assets such as commodities, although global economic worries still weighed on sentiment.
Better-than-expected manufacturing data from China fuelled interest among investors who had moved to the sidelines because of year-end credit tightness.
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