Asian shares rise ahead of Fed, BOJ
SINGAPORE, March 13 (Reuters) - Asian stocks rose to their highest in a week, while the dollar hovered below an 11-month high against the yen, supported by recent signs of improvement in the U.S. economy, ahead of a policy decision by the Federal Reserve.
"Although the market does not expect additional moves by the BOJ today, and the U.S. (Federal Reserve) is expected to string markets along with hopes for QE3, there is really no other news to trade on," said Hajime Nakajima, a sales trader at Cosmo Securities in Osaka.
China c.bank eyes freer yuan, policy flexibility
BEIJING, March 12 (Reuters) - China will encourage the value of its yuan currency to be set by the market and step back from intervention "in an orderly manner", while keeping policy flexible to support credit growth in the face of volatile capital flows, the central bank said on Monday.
Speaking days after China posted its biggest trade deficit in at least a decade, People's Bank of China (PBOC) Governor Zhou Xiaochuan Zhou said monetary policy moves would respond to liquidity conditions determined by the balance of payments, demand for yuan in markets and international capital flows.
FOREX-Dollar supported ahead of Fed on brighter economic outlook
TOKYO, March 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar hovered just below a seven-week high against a basket of currencies on Tuesday, bolstered by expectations that a string of positive economic data should persuade the U.S. Federal Reserve out of applying fresh stimulus, at least for now.
The yen was buried near a 11-month low against the U.S. currency, with some traders on edge over whether the Bank of Japan may take fresh easing steps at the end of its two-day meeting, after its surprise easing last month. A decision was expected around midday.
Euro zone economy prospects show flicker of hope -OECD
PARIS, March 12 (Reuters) - The euro zone is showing tentative signs of improvement, the latest monthly readout from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) showed on Monday.
The OECD's leading indicator, a measure that seeks to flag turning points in economic activity, rose for the euro zone area in January and also turned positive in Britain, adding 0.2 percentage points in the common currency bloc and 0.1 percentage points in Britain.
US corn dips after rally, soy firm on tight supply
SINGAPORE, March 13 (Reuters) - Benchmark U.S. corn futures for May eased slightly after rallying 2 percent a day earlier on expectations of Chinese purchases, while soy was firm at multi-month highs on lower supply from South America.
"More plantings are likely to boost U.S. stockpiles, which is keeping a lid on the prices," said Ker Chung Yang, analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
Ivory Coast cocoa mid crop seen below 5-year average
LONDON, March 12 (Reuters) - Ivory Coast's 2011/12 mid crop output will fall slightly below the average production over the past five years due to dry weather, which is also likely to harm quality, international exporters said on Monday.
The average forecast, based on four exporters' estimates, pegged the April-September mid crop at around 323,000 tonnes, down sharply from last year's bumper 471,735 tonnes, when ideal weather boosted output.
Ukraine sees no grain export limits in 2012/13-PM
KIEV, March 12 (Reuters) - Ukraine will not impose grain export limits in the coming season because of expectations of an "average" harvest despite drought late last year followed by sharp frosts, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said on Monday.
Azarov told Reuters in an interview that the former Soviet republic had enough milling grain to meet all domestic needs in 2012/13.
India bans fresh cotton exports - for now
NEW DELHI, March 12 (Reuters) - India will now ban fresh cotton exports and allow only quantities already registered but not shipped, its trade secretary said on Monday, as the world's No.2 producer continued to flip-flop with its trade policy, fuelling market uncertainty.
The trade minister said on Sunday the government would lift a surprise ban on cotton exports imposed on March 5, after
influential Farm Minister Sharad Pawar, a coalition ally, opposed the move and asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to revoke the ban.
Analyst ups Ukraine '12 grain crop f'cast by 7 pct
KIEV, March 12 (Reuters) - Kiev-based consultancy ProAgro on Monday raised its forecast for Ukraine's 2012 grain harvest to 45.66 million tonnes from a previous outlook of 42.64 million.
The former Soviet republic was likely to harvest 21.3 million tonnes of corn and 14.3 million tonnes of wheat this year, the consultancy said in a note.
Ivory Coast weather good for cocoa mid-crop
ABIDJAN, March 12 (Reuters) - Ivory Coast's cocoa growing regions received a good mix of sun and rain last week, improving prospects for the April-to-September mid-crop harvest, farmers and analysts said on Monday.
First beans from the mid-crop are expected in May or June, later than normal after a stretch of dry, windy weather that cut volumes and hurt quality during the top world grower's October-to-March main crop.
Experts develop salt-tolerant, high-yield wheat
HONG KONG, March 12 (Reuters) - Scientists in Australia have crossed a popular, commercial variety of wheat with an ancient species, producing a hardy, high-yielding plant that is tolerant of salty soil.
The researchers, who published their work on Monday in the journal Nature Biotechnology, hope the new strain will help address food shortages in arid and semi-arid places where farmers struggle with high salinity in the soil.
Brent rebounds towards $126 ahead of Fed meet
SINGAPORE, March 13 (Reuters) - Brent crude rebounded towards $126 as investors awaited comments from the U.S. central bank after the outlook improved for the world's largest economy amid simmering tension between the West and Iran that could threaten oil supply.
"The FOMC could recognise that the economy has improved and this will have a positive impact on the market," said Tetsu Emori, a Tokyo-based commodities fund manager at Astmax Investments.
Colombian drivers demand a bigger cut of oil boom
BOGOTA, March 12 (Reuters) - Colombian drivers on Monday called for a one-day boycott of filling stations to pressure for lower gasoline prices in a country that has one of Latin America's fastest-growing oil industries.
Colombians are irate at increases in government-controlled gasoline prices while energy companies are flocking to the country's oilfields and production has nearly doubled in five years.
US to challenge China on rare earths curbs at WTO
WASHINGTON, March 12 (Reuters) - The United States, Japan and European Union plan to bring a new trade case against China over its export restrictions on rare earth minerals used in a variety of high-tech and clean energy products, senior administration officials said on Monday.
They were responding to a published report by the Associated Press which said President Barack Obama would announce on Tuesday that the United States would ask China for talks on the issue at the World Trade Organization, the first step in filing a trade case, and be joined by the EU and Japan.
Copper firms in light trading ahead of Fed meeting
SINGAPORE, March 13 (Reuters) - London copper firmed , reversing previous session's losses, although most investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of a key U.S. Federal Reserve meeting to see which way monetary policy was headed in the world's largest economy.
"The consensus in the market is that the Fed is unlikely to announce aggressive easing today, which is in line with what it has said since February," said Chen Dixi, an analyst at Jinrui Futures, a unit of China's top copper producer Jiangxi Copper.
Copper supply to meet demand in 2013-Southern
NEW YORK, March 12 (Reuters) - The global supply of copper will fall short of demand until the second half of 2013 as environmental and financing difficulties delay new production plants, the chief financial officer of Peru's Southern Copper said.
Project delays and unexpected production halts have maintained a five-year copper supply deficit of between 300,000 and 400,000 tonnes a year, or about 3 percent of the world's production, helping prices hit an all-time high early in 2011.
China March copper imports may rise in March, fed by demand hopes
HONG KONG, March 12 (Reuters) - China's arrivals of refined copper may rise this month after February's higher than expected figure, as importers scheduled more term shipments under 2012 contracts on expectations of peak domestic demand, traders said on Monday.
But demand in the world's biggest copper consumer has not picked up after the Lunar New Year holiday in late January, prompting importers to delay some term shipments, trimming the scale of increase in March, traders said.
Gold gains ahead of Fed meeting, euro helps
SINGAPORE, March 13 (Reuters) - Gold ticked higher as the euro rebounded although trading was cautious with investors waiting for the outcome of a Federal Reserve meeting, which could offer clues over the direction of interest rates in the world's largest economy.
"I think everybody is staying on the sidelines. On the investment side especially, people still try to keep more cash on hand. They have no intention to buy a substantial amount of gold right now," said Dick Poon, manager of precious metals at Heraeus in Hong Kong.
Work resumes at Freeport Indonesia mine - union
JAKARTA, March 12 (Reuters) - Work at the Grasberg mine in eastern Indonesia run by Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc resumed as expected on Monday for the first time since a suspension on Feb 23, according to the company and the union.
"PT Freeport Indonesia has resumed production activities, Monday, March 12, 2012. Management and the union leaders have been coordinating to mobilise the employees back to work," said a statement from the company emailed to Reuters.
METALS-Copper firms in light trading ahead of Fed meeting
SINGAPORE, March 13 (Reuters) - London copper firmed on Tuesday, reversing previous session's losses, although most investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of a key U.S. Federal Reserve meeting to see which way monetary policy was headed in the world's largest economy.
Economists polled by Reuters believed the Fed would launch a stimulus programme despite recent signs of an improving labour market, but cautioned that the scale might be smaller than initially expected.
PRECIOUS-Gold gains ahead of Fed meeting, euro helps
SINGAPORE, March 13 (Reuters) - Gold ticked higher on Tuesday as the euro rebounded although trading was cautious with investors waiting for the outcome of a Federal Reserve meeting, which could offer clues over the direction of interest rates in the world's largest economy.
Easing expectations for the Fed to signal the need for more measures to keep interest rates low could eventually weigh on gold, which has risen around 9 percent so far this year on a near-zero U.S. rate outlook.
No comments:
Post a Comment