Asian shares fell after weekend talks to form a new Greek government failed and China's latest move to loosen monetary policy highlighted concerns its economy is faltering, prompting investors to further trim their exposure to risk. Shares of U.S. banks slumped on Friday after JPMorgan said it lost billions of dollars on bad trades, but the overall market ended only modestly lower, thanks to gains in technology shares.
The euro hit its lowest level in nearly four months after Greek political leaders failed in their latest efforts to form a ruling coalition, keeping investors on edge over the risk of the country exiting the euro zone.
FOREX-Euro hits 4-mth low on Greece jitters; Aussie dips
SINGAPORE, May 14 (Reuters) - The euro hit its lowest level in nearly four months on Monday after Greek political leaders failed in their latest efforts to form a ruling coalition, keeping investors on edge over the risk of the country exiting the euro zone.
"I think they will steer the rudder that way, even if that leads to costs on the inflation front. If that is the case, the direction would be toward weakness in the currency," he said.
U.S. soybean futures fell, extending falls from the previous session, on fund selling of long positions and as economic worries in the euro zone and top soybean buyer China weighed on the oilseed.
Argentine grains workers end strike, agree to talk
Workers at one of Argentina's biggest grains ports have lifted a strike and agreed to respect a Labor Ministry order for talks to resolve the pay dispute, union and industry sources said on Friday.
Brazil's 2012/13 coffee crop 55.3 mln bags-Neumann
Brazil's 2012/13 coffee harvest now starting will reach 55.3 million 60-kg bags, giant German coffee trader Neumann Kaffee Gruppe (NKG) said in a report seen by Reuters on Friday.
ISO sees global sugar surplus halving to 3 mln t 2012/13
The global sugar surplus is forecast to halve to around 3 million tonnes in 2012/13 (October-September) from a surplus of 6.5 million tonnes in 2011/12, the International Sugar Organization (ISO) said on Friday.
Brent crude slipped towards $111, continuing to drop for a third straight session, after talks to form a new government in Greece failed, deepening the euro zone crisis and cutting fuel demand further.
Euro Coal-Prices stable, S.African supply tight
LONDON, May 11 (Reuters) - European prompt physical coal prices were little changed on Friday with no fresh trades reported.
The European market is likely to remain burdened by oversupply despite strong coal consumption in Germany, the UK and Spain but prices are unlikely to drop below $85.00 a tonne, traders and utilities said.
Asia Coal-Australia prices slip to under $105/T, demand weak
PERTH, May 11 (Reuters) - Australia's thermal coal price index slipped to under $105 per tonne in the week after a brief spike earlier in the week that was attributed to a "fat finger" error as weak demand continued to weight on prices.
Australia's Newcastle spot index for the week to date closed Thursday at $104.36 per tonne, data provided by online trading platform globalCOAL showed.
Iron Ore-Shanghai rebar at 4-month lows on slow demand
SINGAPORE, May 14 (Reuters) - China steel futures fell to more than four-month lows on Monday, pressured by slow demand in the world's biggest consumer which has curbed appetite for raw material iron ore and pulled down prices to levels last seen in February.
The weakness, mirrored in other risky assets from copper to oil, came despite China's weekend move to cut banks' reserves to lift lending and boost a slowing economy. Analysts say increasing market liquidity may not solve China's woes.
Indonesia plans to limit miners' exports at 2009-10 volume
JAKARTA, May 11 (Reuters) - Indonesia plans to introduce new quotas to limit mineral exports, as well as a 20 percent duty on mineral exports by certain companies, Indonesian government officials said on Friday.
The government is in the process of introducing new regulations intended to protect Indonesia's resources and increase state revenue, but has been criticised for creating uncertainty in the mining sector which accounted for 12 percent of GDP in 2011.
China April refined copper output drops 3.7 pct m/m
HONG KONG, May 11 (Reuters) - China's production of refined copper fell 3.7 percent in April from March, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Friday, indicating that the weaker-than-expected domestic demand had cut smelters' operating rates.
The monthly fall was the first since January when the Lunar New Year break slowed output. China's overall industrial production growth was at 9.3 percent in April, the weakest in nearly 3 years.
Nippon Steel revises up April-June output estimate
TOKYO, May 14 (Reuters) - Nippon Steel Corp , the world's No.4 steelmaker, said on Monday it sees its crude steel output at 7.6 to 7.7 million tonnes in the April-June quarter, up 100,000 tonnes from its April estimate, due to stronger-than-expected domestic car output.
It said it expects its crude steel output to rise further to around 8 million tonnes in July-September as Asia's steel market is bottoming out and the domestic construction steel market will improve.
London copper fell to near one-month lows, giving up early gains, as investors worried about slowing growth in top copper consumer China, which some think may need more than the unsurprising weekend cut in banks' cash reserves to recover.
Gold edged up as bargain hunters lifted prices from four-month lows, but gains could be capped by fears about a worsening debt crisis in Europe, after an inconclusive Greek election raised the risk the country could exit the euro zone and the European Union.
METALS-Copper hits near 1-month low on China doubts
SINGAPORE, May 14 (Reuters) - London copper fell to near one-month lows on Monday, giving up early gains, as investors worried about slowing growth in top copper consumer China, which some think may need more than the unsurprising weekend cut in banks' cash reserves to recover.
"I don't think the cut in the reserve requirement was something unexpected. Maybe the timing is a bit more debatable," said Thomas Lam, chief economist at DMG & Partners Securities.
PRECIOUS-Gold ticks up on bargain hunting; off 4-month low
SINGAPORE, May 14 (Reuters) - Gold edged up on Monday as bargain hunters lifted prices from four-month lows, but gains could be capped by fears about a worsening debt crisis in Europe, after an inconclusive Greek election raised the risk the country could exit the euro zone and the European Union.
"I think for as long as the crisis in Europe drags on, it's going to keep sentiment broadly in check. At the moment, gold has been painted with the risk brush. It's going to be very much a tracker of the equity markets," said Nick Trevethan, a senior commodity strategist at ANZ in Singapore.
Baltic sea index falls on weak freight demand
May 11 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry commodities, fell on Friday for a third day due to weakness in dry bulk shipments and analysts expect that a rebound is unlikely in the near term.
The overall index, which reflects the daily freight market prices for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize dry bulk transport vessels, fell 8 points or 0.7 percent to 1,138 points.
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