Shares weighed by China slowdown worries
TOKYO, March 21 (Reuters) - Asian shares eased, as concerns about China's slowing economy dampened the optimism generated by a brightening outlook for the U.S. economy that has been pushing equity markets higher since late last year.
"The market is caught in a tug-of-war between concerns about China's slowdown and expectations for monetary easing to support growth," said Hirokazu Yuihama, senior strategist at Daiwa Capital Markets in Tokyo.
FOREX-Dollar firmer as commodity currencies come under fire
SYDNEY, March 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar started with a spring in its step on Wednesday as renewed worries about Chinese growth saw investors dump commodity currencies including the Australian dollar.
The dollar index bounced off a 1-1/2 week trough of 79.354 to last trade at 79.610. Against the yen, the greenback climbed to 83.68 , nearing an 11-month high of 84.17 seen just a few days ago.
U.S. grains rebound slightly from recent falls
SYDNEY, Mar 21 (Reuters) - U.S. grains rebounded slightly after losses in the previous session, when traders unwound gains due to bearish chart signals and favorable weather for crops in the United States.
Rain showers expected across parts of the U.S. Plains and Midwest should benefit the developing winter wheat crop.
No deal yet to end Argentine grain truckers strike
BUENOS AIRES, March 20 (Reuters) - A strike by Argentine truckers disrupted the flow of corn and soybeans to the country's main ports for a second day on Tuesday after union leaders failed to reach a deal with the government.
The protest to demand higher pay began early on Monday, just as exporters needed to haul freshly harvested soybeans to port.
India to review sugar exports on March 26
NEW DELHI, March 20 (Reuters) - A ministers' panel will review sugar exports on March 26, a government source said on Tuesday, raising hopes of more overseas sale of the sweetener from the world's second-biggest producer that could put pressure on global prices.
India, the world's largest consumer of sugar, has already allowed 2 million tonnes of sugar exports in the year from Oct. 1 and expects output to far outstrip demand.
Thai sugar output forecast at record of 10 mln T
BANGKOK/SINGAPORE, March 20 (Reuters) - Thailand, the world's second largest exporter of sugar, will produce a record 10 million tonnes of the sweetener in the 2011/12 crushing season because of good weather, but premiums will crumble as inventory builds, industry officials said on Tuesday.
Premiums for Thai raw sugar, a key indicator of demand, slipped to their lowest in three weeks as more sugar comes on stream, while buyers stay on the sidelines, hoping to buy the sweetener at much cheaper prices.
Brent heads towards $125 on U.S. stocks draw, weaker dlr
SINGAPORE, March 21 (Reuters) - Brent crude edged towards $125 a barrel, rebounding from sharp losses a day earlier, as lower-than-expected U.S. crude stocks and a weaker dollar offset the prospect of top exporter Saudi Arabia ramping up supply.
"The lower stocks is giving support to the market, but the Saudi comments will put a short-term cap on the oil price, and ease fears of supply issues emanating out of Iran," said Ben Le Brun, market analyst with OptionsXpress in Sydney.
Japan says told U.S. it would cut Iran oil imports further
TOKYO, March 21 (Reuters) - Japan's top government spokesman said on Wednesday that Japan had told the United States that it would accelerate its cuts in Iranian crude imports.
Japan is estimated to have reduced oil purchases from Iran by 15-22 percent in the second half of last year, a move lauded by the United States, which on Tuesday decided to give a six-month reprieve to banks in Japan and 10 EU nations from the threat of being cut off from the U.S. financial system.
China may import 1 billion tonnes of coal, or not
--Clyde Russell is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own.--
SINGAPORE, March 19 (Reuters) - The good news for anybody planning to spend billions of dollars developing a coal mine in Australia, Indonesia or Mozambique is that China's import demand may jump to 1 billion tonnes a year within two decades.
But the bad news for mining executives is the Asian giant's imports may not rise much at all as domestic output growth can meet future needs.
Venezuela: US plan to tap oil reserves unsustainable
CABRUTICA, Venezuela, March 20 (Reuters) - Venezuela said on Tuesday that a plan by the United States and Britain to tap strategic oil reserves was unsustainable in the long term and would only have a limited impact on prices.
Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said OPEC had no plans to hold an extraordinary meeting to discuss the issue, which he said was primarily a political move ahead of November's presidential election in the United States.
Euro Coal-Prices stable, China growth worries weigh
LONDON, March 20 (Reuters) - Prices of prompt physical coal were largely unchanged again on Tuesday with coal lacking clear direction from fundamentals but macro factors such as China growth worries could start to erode prices, utilities and traders said.
Bids and offers were again too far apart to trade and both buyers and sellers were uncertain of the market's strength.
China Feb coal imports up 167 pct y/y - report
BEIJING, March 20 (Reuters) - Coal imports by China, the world's top user, amounted to 20.55 million tonnes in February, up 167.1 percent from a year earlier, a report on energy industry website China Energy Net (www.china5e.com) showed on Tuesday.
Imports in the first two months increased 51 percent from a year earlier to 40.2 million tonnes, the report said.
Feb daily aluminium output 68,900 T - IAI
LONDON, March 20 (Reuters) - Daily average primary aluminium output in February dropped to 68,900 tonnes compared with a revised 69,000 in January and 69,600 in February 2011, provisional figures from the International Aluminium Institute (IAI) showed.
Total production in February (29 days) was 1.998 million tonnes, compared with 2.139 million tonnes in January (31 days) and 1.950 million in February 2011.
Copper market in 358,000 T deficit in 2011-ICSG
SINGAPORE, March 21 (Reuters) - The global market for refined copper was in a 358,000 deficit in 2011, in line with the same period of 2010, the International Copper Study Group (ICSG) said on Wednesday.
World refined useage grew by 3 percent to 20 million tonnes, while world refined production grew by the same percentage to 19.63 million tonnes, ICSG said in its latest monthly bulletin.
Global steel output shows recovery still fragile
LONDON, March 20 (Reuters) - The daily rate of global crude steel production rose slightly in February from a month earlier, helped by a seasonal demand pick-up in top producer China, according to a Reuters calculation based on data released by an industry body on Tuesday.
When the figures take into account the extra day in February 2012 compared with 2011, however, both Chinese and global daily steel production were down slightly last month compared with February 2011, showing the sector continued to suffer from the uncertain economic situation.
Iron Ore-Indian low-grade ore prices rise in cautious market
SINGAPORE, March 21 (Reuters) - Prices of lower-grade Indian iron ore in China rose on Wednesday after a miner sold cargoes at steep prices at a tender, although overall market appetite remained thin with players unsure about the outlook for China's steel demand.
Indian ore with iron content of less than 60 percent were being offered at a dollar more per tonne in China compared to Tuesday, according to industry consultancy Umetal.
Italy's Q1 steel output seen up 5 pct -Federacciai
MILAN, March 20 (Reuters) - Steel output in Italy, the European Union's second-biggest producer after Germany, will grow at a slower pace in the first three months of 2012 than a year ago due to falling demand on the key European market, a senior industry official said.
"According to our preliminary forecasts, production growth should be about 5 percent in the first quarter," Giuseppe Pasini, chairman of Italy's steel industry body Federacciai, told Reuters after an industry fair presentation.
Australia's miners sees China iron ore demand flattening
PERTH, March 20 (Reuters) - Australian iron ore miners, key beneficiaries of China's modern-day industrial revolution, on Tuesday signaled demand growth was finally slowing in response to Beijing's moves to cool its economy.
It was the strongest indication yet from an industry closest to China's phenomenal industrial growth over the last decade that the boom times, if not over, are tempering.
Australia lifts iron ore exports forecast
SYDNEY, March 21 (Reuters) - Australia raised its forecast for 2011/12 iron ore exports to a record 473 million tonnes, from a previous projection of 460 million tonnes, reflecting expectations demand from top buyer China will remain strong.
While China slashed its growth target for this year to an eight-year low of 7.5 percent, big miners are betting on a soft landing for the world's second biggest economy and forging ahead with their longer-term iron ore output expansion plans.
• Glencore to resume Philippine copper operations by mid-yr
MANILA, March 20 (Reuters) - Glencore International will resume operations at the only copper refinery in the Philippines by June or July, six months after a fire halted its operations, a company official told Reuters on Tuesday.
Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Corp (PASAR), majority owned by Glencore, shut in January after a fire at its site in the central Leyte province, destroying anti-pollution devices.
Markets fail to see China iron ore slowdown is good
--Clyde Russell is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own.--
SINGAPORE, March 21 (Reuters) - The market sell-off after BHP Billiton said China's iron ore demand is "flattening" was as predictable as it was wrong, with investors failing to see the news is exactly what's needed to prolong the commodity boom.
It was predictable that equities and growth-exposed currencies such as the Australian dollar dropped, as this is what happens when markets become concerned that China, the engine of global economic growth and commodity demand, is slowing too much and risks a hard landing.
• Gold edges up on dollar; physical demand sluggish
SINGAPORE, March 21 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged higher after dropping nearly 1 percent in the previous session, as a slightly weaker dollar came to the aid of buyers, while sluggish physical demand and an improving U.S. economic outlook capped gains.
"Gold has seen some liquidation by funds after the hopes for QE3 (third round of quantitative easing) were dashed," said Peter Fung, head of dealing at Wing Fung Precious Metals in Hong Kong.
METALS-LME copper gains; China demand worries weigh
SINGAPORE, March 21 (Reuters) - London copper rebounded on Wednesday, after falling to a more than one-week low in the previous session, while worries over a slower growth in Chinese demand for commodities kept a lid on gains.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.6 percent to $8,481.25 a tonne by 0323 GMT, reversing losses from the previous session when it dropped to its lowest since March 9 at $8,383 a tonne.
PRECIOUS-Gold edges up on dollar; physical demand sluggish
SINGAPORE, March 21 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged higher on Wednesday after dropping nearly 1 percent in the previous session, as a slightly weaker dollar came to the aid of buyers, while sluggish physical demand and an improving U.S. economic outlook capped gains.
The latest U.S. housing market data added to a string of numbers indicating steady recovery in the world's largest economy, diminishing hopes of further quantitative easing which had helped buoy gold earlier this year.
Baltic sea index rises despite capesize weakness
March 20 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates to ship dry commodities, rose on Tuesday as higher rates for smaller vessels countered weakness in capesizes.
The overall index, a gauge of the cost of shipping commodities such as iron ore, cement, grain, coal and fertiliser, climbed 5 points or 0.57 percent to 884 points.
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