Shares, euro up on China data; Europe worry persists
TOKYO, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Asian shares and the euro rose as slightly better-than-expected Chinese economic growth data soothed investor worries that the euro zone debt crisis was slowing global activity.
"The slowdown is quite modest, and the overall situation of the Chinese economy is stable," said Hua Zhongwei, analyst with Huachuang Securities in Beijing. "According to our field studies, demand for heavy equipment and machinery is recovering, and that is a very good sign for the economy."
FOREX-Euro rises as China GDP spurs short-covering
SINGAPORE, Jan 17 (Reuters) - The euro rose on short-covering as risky assets drew broad support from data showing China's economic growth slowed less than expected in the fourth quarter.
The euro rose 0.5 percent to $1.2729 , its gains accelerated by stop-loss buying and pulling away from a 17-month low of $1.2624 hit last week on trading platform EBS.
US corn, soy rebound as Argentine drought worsens
SINGAPORE, Jan 17 (Reuters) - U.S. corn and soybeans bounced back, rising around 1 percent from multi-week lows with support from renewed concerns over forecasts of dry weather in Argentina and Brazil in coming days.
"On the fundamental front, we believe there is more upside as we are likely to see some bargain-hunting after last week's selloff," said Lynette Tan, an analyst with Phillip Futures in Singapore.
China 2011 cotton output up 10.7 pct on year -stats bureau
BEIJING, Jan 17 (Reuters) - China, the world's top cotton consumer, harvested 6.6 million tonnes of cotton in 2011, up 10.7 percent on the year, according to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics.
The bureau's figure was lower than that issued earlier by the National Development and Reform Commission, which put last year's output at 7.2 million tonnes.
Colombia 2011 coffee output lowest in over 30 yrs
BOGOTA, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Colombia's coffee output dropped to 7.8 million 60-kg bags in 2011, down 12 percent versus 2010 and the worst year in more than three decades, the growers' federation said on Monday.
The world's top producer of high-quality Arabica beans posted a third consecutive year of lower-than-expected coffee production in 2011 as bad weather, fungus and a tree renovation program keep output below historic averages of 11 million 60-kg bags.
ICO raises estimate for 2011/12 global coffee crop
LONDON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - The International Coffee Organization on Monday raised its estimate of the global coffee crop in 2011/12 to 132.4 million 60 kg bags as Ethiopia overtook Colombia as the world's number three producer.
The crop was revised up from a previous forecast of 128.6 million, largely reflecting an improved outlook in Ethiopia. It remained, however, shy of the prior season's 134.2 million bags.
Little rain this week for parched Argentine corn
BUENOS AIRES, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Argentina's drought will worsen this week, local meteorologists said Monday, dashing hopes that rain in the days ahead might be strong enough to revive parched corn and soy fields.
Weeks of unforgiving Southern Hemisphere summer sun have toasted grains fields in the world's No. 2 corn-exporting country, killing expectations that Argentina might replenish global corn supplies depleted by a lackluster U.S. harvest.
Brent crude up, near $112 on China demand
SINGAPORE, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Brent crude futures rose to stand close to $112 on expectations of steady demand growth after the world's second-largest oil consumer, China, posted an economic expansion that beat forecasts.
"China's data is encouraging, the numbers have been good across the board and that is supportive of oil," said Ben Le Brun, market analyst at OptionsXpress. "It shows that the fallout from the European crisis has not been as bad as expected."
China's December refinery runs hit record
BEIJING, Jan 17 (Reuters) - China's daily refinery crude throughput hit a record of 9.24 milllion barrels in December, up 4 percent on year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed, as new refining facilities came on line.
China processed 39.23 million tonnes of crude oil last month, or equivalent to about 9.24 million bpd, exceeding the previous record posted in November at 9.22 million bpd.
Italy cuts Iran oil import, ups Saudi import in Oct
MILAN, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Italy cut crude oil imports from Iran in October while increasing imports from Saudi Arabia ahead of tightening of international sanctions against Tehran, data from oil industry body Unione Petrolifera (UP) showed on Monday.
October's drop in Italian imports of crude oil from Iran came before the latest U.S. sanctions on Tehran were signed into law on Dec. 31 targeting Iran's crude oil sales.
China Dec daily steel output rises 1.2 pct on month
BEIJING, Jan 17 (Reuters) - China's daily crude steel production reached 1.6826 million tonnes in December, up 1.2 percent compared with the previous month, according to data released on Tuesday by China's National Bureau of Statistics.
Aggregate output over December reached 52.16 million tonnes, up 0.7 percent year on year and up 4.6 percent from November.
Chinese metal merchant sees profit in supply chain
SHANGHAI, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Metals traders in China had a tough time last year as shrinking bank credit choked up their cash flow, but one successful merchant trader managed to circumvent the restrictions through a paper trade it now wants to expand into copper imports.
Ocean Resources, part of a conglomerate based in the southeastern Shaanxi province, is a metals trader with few downstream customers. Instead, it boosts its cash flow by trading commercial invoices with other traders in the country.
London copper up on better than expected China GDP data
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17 (Reuters) - London copper rose for a second day after China's GDP expanded faster than expected, easing concern that demand for industrial metals from the world's second-largest economy will falter as the euro zone teeters on a recession.
"This is good news as it shows the economy hasn't slowed as much as feared by some," said Yiping Huang, chief economist for emerging Asia at Barclays Capital in Hong Kong.
China refined copper output up 14.2 percent in 2011
HONG KONG, Jan 17 (Reuters) - China's refined copper production rose 14.2 percent on the year in 2011, with December output up 8 percent from a year earlier as smelters rushed to meet annual output targets.
In 2011, refined copper production in the world's top copper consumer reached 5.179 million tonnes while December output increased 2 percent from November to 457,000 tonnes, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Tuesday.
Gold climbs with riskier assets on China data
SINGAPORE, Jan 17(Reuters) - Spot gold rose more than half a percent, encouraged by revived risk appetite that lifted markets across the board, after China announced better than expected economic growth in the last quarter of 2011.
"The data showed that China's economic growth was not as bad as feared and there was too much panic in the market," said Bonnie Liu, an analyst at Macquarie in Shanghai.
METALS-London copper up on better than expected China GDP data
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17 (Reuters) - London copper rose for a second day after China's GDP expanded faster than expected, easing concern that demand for industrial metals from the world's second-largest economy will falter as the euro zone teeters on a recession.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange climbed 0.51 percent to $8,130 a tonne by 0205 GMT, extending gains from the previous session.
PRECIOUS-Spot gold rises 1 pct as China data lifts markets
SINGAPORE, Jan 17(Reuters) - Spot gold climbed about 1 percent encouraged by revived risk appetite that lifted markets across the board, after China announced better than expected economic growth in the last quarter of 2011.
The world's second-largest economy grew 8.9 percent from a year earlier in the fourth quarter, beating a forecast of 8.7 percent by economists polled by Reuters, although it was the slowest growth in 2-1/2 years.
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