Markets guarded as Athens strives to reach deal
TOKYO, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Shares and the euro struggled , as sentiment grew cautious after Greek political leaders failed to conclude a deal for a bailout package crucial to avoiding a messy debt default.
"Short-term plays are moving markets, with the underlying tone staying bearish because even after a deal is reached, it takes a long time to resolve Greece's fiscal problems given that there is no quick remedy for the structural issue," said Xiao Minjie, chief economist at FuNNeX Asset Management in Tokyo.
FOREX-Euro dips as Greece stops short of signing off deal
TOKYO, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The euro dipped from a two-month high on Thursday after Greek political parties stopped short of signing off on austerity measures, though hopes a deal will be struck within hours limited the damage.
A statement by Greek prime minister Lucas Papademos said Greek political leaders have agreed on all points of a bailout package except one, on which talks will continue with the country's international lenders.
Malaysia's Jan palm oil stocks seen at 5-month low
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Malaysia's palm oil stocks probably fell to a five-month low in January as a drop in exports outran a fall in production, a Reuters median survey of six plantation houses showed on Thursday.
Stocks in the world's No.2 producer of the tropical oil probably dropped 2.2 percent to nearly 2 million tonnes, a level unseen since August, as heavy rains disrupted harvesting and overseas buyers shifted orders to Indonesia.
Soy ticks up, grains steady as market eyes USDA report
SINGAPORE, Feb 9 (Reuters) - U.S. soybeans edged higher to trade around a three-month top, while corn and wheat were little changed as investors squared positions ahead of a U.S. government report on global demand-supply of grains and oilseeds.
"I don't think the USDA will go as far as the market is at the moment," said Victor Thianpiriya, an agricultural commodity strategist at ANZ. "I think the market for Argentina and Brazil is probably somewhere around 46 million tonnes and 70 million tonnes respectively, but they may not make any change at all for Argentina and downgrade little bit for Brazil."
China expects more adverse weather this year -agri ministry
BEIJING, Feb 9 (Reuters) - China is expecting more unfavourable weather this year compared with last year and wider areas are expected to suffer drought during the spring planting season, the agriculture ministry said on Thursday.
A big possibility of a "severe spring drought" was foreseen in areas including the northeast, the country's corn and soy belt, while lower-than-normal temperatures were also expected in parts of the northeast, which could delay plantings of the crops, the ministry said in a report on its web site.
Brazil soy crop seen at 71 mln T - Agroconsult
SAO PAULO, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Brazil's 2011/12 soybean crop now being harvested is estimated at 71 million tonnes, down 3 percent from the previous forecast due to the effects of drought, agricultural commodities forecasters Agroconsult said on Wednesday.
Agroconsult has teams touring Brazil's grain belt and some early data has prompted the forecasters to lower their outlook due to the effects of the drought that has been hitting the country's southern farm belt.
Snow is answer to prayers for N.Africa grain growers
ALGIERS, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Cold weather spreading from Europe into North Africa has helped the grain crops in Algeria and Tunisia by dumping snow and rain, breaking a drought so severe that mosques had offered up prayers for rain.
Neighbouring Morocco though, missed out on the precipitation and a farmers' representative said the combination of cold and lack of rain could hurt crops there, with sugar beet and cane especially vulnerable.
Brazil center-south enjoys good cane crop weather
SAO PAULO, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Brazil's main center-south cane crop, which will kick off its crushing season in April, is getting hot and sunny weather after a wet January, perfect conditions for cane plants to make sugars, local forecasters Somar said on Wednesday.
Last season, Brazil's center-south cane region had its first drop in output in a decade, as aging cane plants and a few years of bad weather hurt yields in the region, the world's biggest producer of sugar.
Ukraine grain exports at 225,000 T Feb 1-6
KIEV, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Ukraine exported about 225,000 tonnes of grain, mostly maize, in the first six days in February, Kiev-based ProAgro consultancy said on Wednesday, citing data from Ukrainian sea ports.
ProAgro said Ukraine had exported about 195,000 tonnes of maize and 25,000 tonnes of wheat so far this month. No figures for the same year earlier period were immediately available.
Brent steady above $117 on demand revival hopes, Iran woes
SINGAPORE, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Brent crude held steady above $117 on hopes of demand growth revival as Greece inches closer to getting its debt crisis under control while concerns over supply disruption from the Middle East provided added support.
"There is hope that the Greek debt crisis will be sorted out soon with an agreement on all the components getting discussed," said Natalie Robertson, at ANZ bank. "On the supply side, there are a lot of risks at the moment and that will keep prices supported, particularly Brent."
Copper edges lower after China data; traders eye Greece
SHANGHAI, Feb 9 (Reuters) - London copper eased , but was not far off this year's peak, after data showed a rise in inflation in top copper consumer China, while investors waited for a resolution of Greece's bailout deal for further trading cues.
"Inflation data was a little higher than expected, but it shouldn't affect China's easing policy stance. There may be some positive implications for metals if China addresses imported inflation through its exchange rate," said Singapore-based strategist Nick Trevethan of ANZ.
Indonesia's Jan refined tin exports dip 27 pct y/y- govt
JAKARTA, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Refined tin shipments from Indonesia, the world's top exporter, fell 27 percent in January to 5,380.43 tonnes from 7,334.65 tonnes a year ago, a trade ministry official said on Thursday.
Indonesian refined tin exports for January fell 64 percent compared to December's figure of 15,102.76 tonnes. Total 2011 exports of tin, mainly used in soldering for electronics, rose almost 4 percent to 96,019.76 tonnes.
China aluminium prices seen rising in April - trade
HONG KONG, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Chinese aluminium prices are likely to rise in April as demand picks up with fabricators resuming business after last month's week-long Lunar New Year holiday, industry sources and analysts said on Wednesday.
Primary aluminium demand has been weak after the new year break as many aluminium product plants in southern Guangdong province and some eastern coastal areas have not restarted full production because of reduced export orders and lack of workers.
India iron ore exports to recover to below highs
NEW DELHI, Feb 8 (Reuters) - India's iron ore exports will recover from this year's depressed levels but will not rise above 100 million tonnes, the country's mining secretary said, as a crackdown on illegal sales pays off.
Vishwapati Trivedi said stricter controls of mining were helping determine the "natural level" of export - his euphemism for legal sales - in the long run from the world's third biggest supplier, whose major customer is China.
China may shrink Iran iron imports as sanctions bite
SHANGHAI/BEIJING, Feb 8 (Reuters) - China is likely to reduce the amount of iron ore it buys from Iran from March due to concerns that sanctions may disrupt exports worth over $2 billion a year to the world's largest consumer of the raw material, traders said on Wednesday.
Iran is a political ally of China and one of its biggest crude oil suppliers. Iran was also China's fifth biggest supplier of iron ore in 2011, selling some 17 million tonnes, but traders said they expected purchases to shrink in coming months as the sanctions may disrupt shipments and payments.
China steel output up 0.2 pct in late-Jan - CISA
SHANGHAI, Feb 8 (Reuters) - China produced 1.673 million tonnes of crude steel per day in the Jan. 21-31 period, up a modest 0.2 percent compared with the previous 10 days, data from the China Iron & Steel Association showed on Wednesday.
Steel output usually declines in December and January amid tepid demand as construction activity in northern China slows down for the winter.
Gold steady on China inflation; Greece eyed
SINGAPORE, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Gold held steady above $1,730 an ounce, after dropping about a percent in the previous session, as a surprisingly high China inflation number supported prices, while investors also focused on Greece's debt talks for direction.
"Once the higher CPI (consumer price index) came out, inflation worries prompted traditional buyers to come in quickly," said a U.S.-based trader.
METALS-Copper edges lower after China data; traders eye Greece
SHANGHAI, Feb 9 (Reuters) - London copper eased on Thursday, but was not far off this year's peak, after data showed a rise in inflation in top copper consumer China, while investors waited for a resolution of Greece's bailout deal for further trading cues.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange slipped by 0.42 percent to $8,544 a tonne by 0432 GMT, having gained more than one percent in the previous session. Copper hit a peak of $8,679.50 at the end of January -- the highest since September -- and has climbed more than 12 percent so far this year.
PRECIOUS-Gold steady on China inflation; Greece eyed
SINGAPORE, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Gold held steady above $1,730 an ounce on Thursday, after dropping about a percent in the previous session, as a surprisingly high China inflation number supported prices, while investors also focused on Greece's debt talks for direction.
Gold came under pressure as the euro softened after Greek political leaders failed to conclude a deal for a bailout package crucial to avoiding a messy debt default, but the higher-than-expected inflation data out of China helped bullion pare early losses.
No comments:
Post a Comment