Shares steady as Q1 ends; eyes on Europe, China
TOKYO, March 30 (Reuters) - Asian shares steadied as the region's benchmark indices marked their best first quarter in over 20 years and investors awaited a meeting on a possible euro zone firewall and Chinese data that may dictate market trends in coming months.
"Europe is the biggest risk factor in the second quarter, with elections in Greece and France potentially fuelling doubts about commitments to fiscal reforms if those opposed to austerity measures win," said Daisuke Karakama, market economist for Mizuho Corporate Bank in Tokyo.
FOREX-Yen momentum seen fading after blip up, Europe eyed
TOKYO, March 30 (Reuters) - The yen briefly jumped to a three-week high against the dollar on Friday as speculators bought the currency, triggering stop losses, but a lack of expected strong follow-through buying by businesses saw the yen edge back.
"Speculators have been piling in ever since late New York trade, but many got burnt as exporter-buying was smaller than they had expected," said a senior spot trader for a major Japanese bank who did not want to be quoted by name.
U.S. wheat rises from 2-month low, USDA report eyed
SINGAPORE, March 30 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat edged higher , taking a breather after sliding to a two-month low in the last session in a selloff before a key U.S. quarterly report on plantings and stocks.
"It is mainly position squaring and there is nothing much to do with physical activity, the market is more concerned about plantings for the next year," said Ker Chung Yang, an analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
China 2011/12 soy imports seen up 8.9 pct y/y -CNGOIC
BEIJING, March 30 (Reuters) - China, the world's top soy importer, is expected to import about 57 million tonnes of the oilseed in the year to Sept. 30, up 8.9 percent from the previous year, according to the latest estimate from an official think-tank.
Chinese crushers have increased imports to meet robust demand from the livestock breeding sector as the industry has also expanded crushing capacity this year.
Mexico considering 250,000-MT sugar import quota-industry
MEXICO CITY, March 29 (Reuters) - Mexico's economy ministry could approve sugar imports of 250,000 tonnes next month due to shortages from a long drought, sugar industry sources said.
A proposal for the quota is currently with the ministry's regulatory commission and if approved would likely be published in April, even though local sugar producers are against more imports, Mexico's cane growers' union on Thursday.
Argentine soy crop cut again as drought bites-Exchange
BUENOS AIRES, March 29 (Reuters) - Argentina's 2011/12 soy output was estimated at 45 million tonnes, down from a previous forecast of 46.2 million tonnes, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said Thursday, citing drought-related losses in the northern growing areas.
A dry spell at the height of the Southern Hemisphere summer in December and January cut into Argentina's crop yields.
Colombia's southern provinces to help spur coffee output
BOGOTA, March 29 (Reuters) - Colombia's southern provinces have emerged as new coffee power-houses that may help the Andean nation recover from a three-year output slump with expansion of production areas at a time when traditional coffee regions face continued decline.
Provinces such as Huila, which has overtaken the traditional coffee-growing areas of Antioquia, will be crucial in helping Colombia recover its historic output battered by torrential rains, a fungus outbreak, and coffee renovation program that has cut production.
Brazil to turn credit weapon on falling coffee price
BRASILIA, March 29 (Reuters) - Brazil plans to ratchet up the amount of credit it offers coffee producers to stock beans and defer sales, the agriculture ministry's top coffee official said, a measure aimed at preventing further dramatic falls in prices ahead of the large upcoming harvest.
Moving to shore up prices which hit a 17-month low last week, the government will allocate about half the main credit line to coffee growers specifically for the purpose of tiding them over financially when they defer sales, up from about a quarter of the budget set aside for this in 2011.
Copper up, on track for 10 pct Q1 advance
SINGAPORE, March 30 (Reuters) - London copper climbed, on track for a more than 10 percent first-quarter gain, although an early advance this year has been pinned back by sluggish demand growth in top consumer China.
"This week copper has been highly correlated with equity markets, so even if prices can rebound on China's official PMI data, I think it will be capped, maybe around $8,600 per tonne," said Bonnie Liu, a Macquarie analyst in Shanghai.
China Zhongjin restarts mine after environmental closure
HONG KONG, March 30 (Reuters) - Shenzhen Zhongjin Lingnan Nonfemet Co Ltd said on Friday that it has resumed production at its Fan Kou lead and zinc mine, which was shut down for maintenance to meet requirements of the local environmental authorities.
The company, one of China's leading lead and zinc miners and metal producers, closed the mine and its 110,000-tonne-per-year Dan Xia zinc smelter in early March after children from Dongtang town, near the mine and smelter, were found to have elevated levels of lead in their blood.
BHP iron ore chief quits amid expansion
MELBOURNE, March 30 (Reuters) - BHP Billiton's veteran iron ore chief, Ian Ashby, is stepping down after 25 years with the world's biggest miner, it said on Friday, clearing the way for a new leader to complete the company's long-term $11 billion iron ore expansion.
BHP's energy coal head, Jimmy Wilson, 50, will take over the reins of the iron ore business, BHP's biggest revenue earner and most profitable arm over the past several years.
POSCO, Marubeni lead $3.6 bln investment in Australia iron ore project
TOKYO, March 30 (Reuters) - Marubeni Corp , Japan's fifth-biggest trading house, said on Friday a consortium of it, South Korean steelmaker POSCO and shipbuilder STX Corp will buy 30 percent of the Roy Hill iron ore project in Australia from Hancock Prospecting for A$3.5 billion ($3.61 billion).
The Roy Hill project, located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, plans first ore shipment for 2014, with full production estimated at 55 million tonnes a year, Marubeni said.
Chile says Feb copper output up 6.5 yr/yr
SANTIAGO, March 29 (Reuters) - Chile produced 379,474 tonnes of copper in February, up 6.5 percent from the same month a year earlier on mining from deposits with higher ore grades and due to a low base of comparison with 2011, the government said on Thursday.
Copper output in Chile, the No. 1 producer which provides a third of the world's red metal, fell 5.2 percent compared with January, when production reached 396,341 tonnes.
Four big bourses on London Metal Exchange shortlist
LONDON, March 29 (Reuters) - CME Group , NYSE Euronext , InterContinental Exchange (ICE) and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. (HKEx) are on a shortlist of bidders for the London Metal Exchange (LME), sources close to the matter said.
The four exchanges are looking at LME operations in the city ahead of a May 7 deadline to make offers in the second bidding round of a process the 135-year-old bourse kicked off last September, the sources told Reuters.
Chile sees copper prices up in second half 2012
SANTIAGO, March 29 (Reuters) - Chile sees copper prices rising slightly in the second half of 2012, as demand from top consumer China remains robust while supplies stay tight, with mines working at full capacity and a lack of new projects, state copper commission Cochilco said on Thursday.
While the global copper market registered a slight surplus of 69,100 tonnes last year, Cochilco Chief Executive Andres Mac-Lean said mining challenges will trigger a 200,000 tonne deficit this year, pressuring copper prices to average $3.85 per pound.
Timah says 2011 refined tin output fell 6 percent
JAKARTA, March 29 (Reuters) - PT Timah , Indonesia's largest tin miner, said refined tin production fell 6 percent to 38,132 tonnes last year.
In a statement on Thursday, Timah, the world's largest exporter of tin and second-largest producer of refined tin, gave no reason for the fall.
Rio Tinto joins China's first iron ore physical platform
SHANGHAI, March 30 (Reuters) - Rio Tinto has become a member of China's first iron ore physical trading platform which Beijing hopes will help it gain more control over pricing in a sector long dominated by foreign players.
Rio is the second foreign miner to join the new trading mechanism, launched by the China Beijing International Mining Exchange (CBMX), after Australia's Fortescue Metals Group joined the platform this month.
BHP iron ore chief quits amid expansion
MELBOURNE, March 30 (Reuters) - BHP Billiton's veteran iron ore chief, Ian Ashby, is stepping down after 25 years with the world's biggest miner, it said on Friday, clearing the way for a new leader to complete the company's long-term $11 billion iron ore expansion.
BHP's energy coal head, Jimmy Wilson, 50, will take over the reins of the iron ore business, BHP's biggest revenue earner and most profitable arm over the past several years.
Copper faces larger surpluses mid-decade-BME
LONDON, March 29 (Reuters) -The copper market will face large surpluses from around the middle of the decade as new supply comes on stream, leaving little scope for price gains and putting some projects at risk, said Paul Dewison, director of base metals at BME copper, a division of Intierra.
Speaking at the Reuters Mining and Metals Summit in London, Dewison said copper prices , which have gained 10 percent this year to trade around $8,300 a tonne at present, should average about $8,445 this year, easing to $8,300 next year.
Chile says Feb copper output up 6.5 yr/yr
SANTIAGO, March 29 (Reuters) - Chile produced 379,474 tonnes of copper in February, up 6.5 percent from the same month a year earlier on mining from deposits with higher ore grades and due to a low base of comparison with 2011, the government said on Thursday.
Copper output in Chile, the No. 1 producer which provides a third of the world's red metal, fell 5.2 percent compared with January, when production reached 396,341 tonnes.
Gold hovers around $1,660/oz; euro zone eyed
SINGAPORE, March 30 (Reuters) - Gold was trapped in a tight range around $1,660 an ounce ahead of a meeting of euro zone finance ministers that may boost the bloc's bailout power, and sluggish physical demand weighed on sentiment.
"We don't expect to see real physical demand until prices drop below $1,600," said a Singapore-based dealer.
METALS-Copper up, eyes 10 pct first quarter advance
SINGAPORE, March 30 (Reuters) - London copper climbed on Friday, on track for a more than ten percent first quarter gain, although an early advance this year has been hampered by signs of slowing growth in top consumer China.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange climbed half a percent to $8,394.75 a tonne by 0115 GMT, having traded flat the previous session. A strong start to the week, which saw copper rally more than two percent on prospects of protracted easy monetary policy in the U.S., ran out of steam. Copper is on target to notch up gains of more than 10 percent for the first quarter, but has so far failed to gain traction above $8,700 a tonne, and remains more than 17 percent below record highs of $10,190 from the first quarter last year.
PRECIOUS-Gold hovers around $1,660/oz; traders eye euro zone meet
SINGAPORE, March 30 (Reuters) - Gold was trapped in a tight range around $1,660 an ounce, ahead of a meeting of euro zone finance ministers that may boost the bloc's bailout power, and sluggish physical demand weighed on sentiment.
"We don't expect to see real physical demand until prices drop below $1,600," said a Singapore-based dealer.
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