Markets recovered some ground on value hunting after last week's heavy losses, but investors remained wary over the euro zone despite world leaders calling for Greece to stay in the monetary union and for Europe to balance austerity with growth. U.S. stocks fell after a sloppy debut by Facebook Inc spoiled hopes that a spectacular open for the most-anticipated stock sale in years would brighten the mood in what has been a gloomy month for equity markets.
The euro extended its rebound from last week's four-month low but investors remained concerned over the financial turmoil in Greece and Spain, drawing little comfort from a broad G8 pledge to take steps to fight the euro zone's debt crisis.
FOREX-Euro bounces off 4-month low, but remains under pressure
TOKYO, May 21 (Reuters) - The euro extended its rebound from last week's four-month low on Monday but investors remained concerned over financial turmoil in Greece and Spain, drawing little comfort from a broad G8 pledge to take steps to fight the euro zone's debt crisis.
"We are entering a consolidation phase with regard to the euro. It will not be known for a while whether Greece will stay in the euro or not with a Greek election a few weeks away," said Minori Uchida, chief analyst at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.
U.S. wheat rose as much as 3.8 percent on Monday to its highest in nearly nine months, adding to last week's steep gains, as dry weather stoked fears about production losses in top exporters the United States and Russia.
Algeria's Jan-April wheat imports down
Algeria's soft and durum wheat imports in the first four months of this year were down 15.6 percent on the same period in 2011, customs data showed, after high purchases last year boosted stocks.
Brazil sugar output gap filled by other origins
Brazil's faltering sugar output has created a supply gap that is being filled by alternative origins, triggering uncertainty for refiners who would normally use the Brazilian sweetener, commodities house Czarnikow said on Friday.
Thailand to import rubber, TOCOM prices jump
Thailand, the world's biggest rubber producer and exporter, will import rubber for the first time to meet deliveries at a time when domestic supply is tight because of the impact of unseasonal rains, The Thai Rubber Association said on Monday.
China April cotton imports at 510,000 T-CCS
China, the world's top cotton buyer, imported 510,000 tonnes of cotton in April, down from 625,196 tonnes in March, according to official Customs data issued by the China Customs Statistics (CCS) Information Center.
Brent crude rose towards $108 recovering from a 2012 low, on hopes that China could take new steps to stimulate growth and lift fuel demand at the world's second largest oil user, although concerns about the euro zone crisis capped gains.
China April gasoline exports at 140,000 tonnes - CCS
China's gasoline exports stood at 140,000 tonnes in April and outbound shipments in the first four months declined 36.4 percent from a year earlier to 1.15 million tonnes, data from the China Customs Statistics Information Centre (CCS) showed on Monday.
US oil demand down in April, gasoline demand tepid-API
U.S. crude oil demand dipped slightly in April as gasoline consumption posted a small gain for the month, the American Petroleum Institute said on Friday.
Euro Coal-Prices dip, Jly S.African trades at $93.10
LONDON, May 18 (Reuters) - European prompt physical coal prices dipped again by $1-2 on Friday, drawing some buying interest although most market participants are increasingly bearish about coal's near-term price outlook.
Coal inventories are high in Europe's main import hub Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp, in China and at U.S. ports and mines, but demand has not kept pace over the past several months with growing supply.
Chinese buyers default on coal shipments -traders
SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE, May 21 (Reuters) - Chinese traders have defaulted on some thermal coal contracts following a drop in prices over the past month, traders said on Monday, providing more evidence that a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy is hitting the appetite for commodities.
The coal defaults also come after sources at steel mills and traders said last week that some iron ore shipments had been postponed.
China April gasoline exports at 140,000 tonnes - CCS
BEIJING, May 21 (Reuters) - China's gasoline exports stood at 140,000 tonnes in April and outbound shipments in the first four months declined 36.4 percent from a year earlier to 1.15 million tonnes, data from the China Customs Statistics Information Centre (CCS) showed on Monday.
The world's second-largest oil consumer also exported 80,000 tonnes of diesel last month, while importing 40,000 tonnes of the fuel.
Weak coal shipments weigh on U.S. railroads
May 18 (Reuters) - More cars, less coal. That sums up the shipping trends at the biggest U.S. railroads so far in the second quarter.
Three of the biggest freight railroads -- Kansas City Southern , Norfolk Southern Corp and CSX Corp. -- reported strong growth in auto shipments but weakness in their key coal-hauling businesses, as they gave mid-quarter updates to a transportation conference on Friday.
Kansas City Southern says coal shipments weaken
NEW YORK, May 18 (Reuters) - Railroad operating company Kansas City Southern said on Friday shipments of coal, farm products and chemicals are weaker than it had expected a month ago, but it kept its full-year profit forecast unchanged, saying shipments should pick up once the railroad moves past some temporary factors.
"We had a much more positive outlook 30 days ago," Chief Financial Officer Michael Upchurch told the Bank of America Merrill Lynch global transportation conference.
Japan April copper cable shipments up 0.4 pct y/y
Japanese copper wire and cable shipments rose 0.4 percent from a year earlier to an estimated 56,400 tonnes in April, an industry body said on Monday.
COLUMN-What does sliding iron ore say about China?
(Andy Home is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own)
LONDON, May 18(Reuters) - Prices of industrial metals traded on the London Metal Exchange (LME) have taken a hammering over the last week or so.
That of copper , the investment darling of the complex, has sunk back to levels last seen in January in response to deepening euro zone crisis and deepening Chinese slowdown.
China's towering metal stockpiles cast economic shadow
QINGDAO, China, May 18 (Reuters) - When metals warehouses in top consumer China are so full that workers start stockpiling iron ore in granaries and copper in car parks, you know the global economy could be in trouble.
At Qingdao Port, home to one of China's largest iron ore terminals, hundreds of mounds of iron ore, each as tall as a three-storey building, spill over into an area signposted "grains storage" and almost to the street.
Japan April crude steel output rises 7.60 pct yr/yr
TOKYO, May 21 (Reuters) - Japan's crude steel output rose 7.60 percent in April from a year earlier to 9.07 million tonnes, the Japan Iron and Steel Federation said.
Output, which is not seasonally-adjusted, decreased 2.70 percent from March.
Vale sees iron ore price rising in 2nd half of 2012
RIO DE JANEIRO, May 18 (Reuters) - Brazilian mining company Vale SA remains confident the price of iron-ore, its main product, will rise in the second half of 2012, relieving environmental and economic pressures on the company which have hurt growth and delayed new projects.
Iron ore fell to its lowest level in nearly six months on Friday, slipping 1.7 percent to $131.30 a tonne. The medium- to long-term price, though, should be in the range of $120 to $180 a tonne, Jose Carlos Martins, Vale's head of ferrous metals and strategy, said at a lunchtime gathering with reporters in Rio de Janeiro.
Iron Ore-Sellers cut prices further as China demand wanes
SINGAPORE, May 21 (Reuters) - Sellers of imported iron ore in China slashed price offers further on Monday as weak demand continued to weigh on spot steel prices, opening more downside room for iron ore after a fall of nearly 5 percent last week.
Some Chinese mills have delayed deliveries of iron ore shipments from miners, as appetite for the raw material from the world's biggest consumer continues to thin.
Vale sees iron ore price rising in 2nd half of 2012
RIO DE JANEIRO, May 18 (Reuters) - Brazilian mining company Vale SA remains confident the price of iron-ore, its main product, will rise in the second half of 2012, relieving environmental and economic pressures on the company which have hurt growth and delayed new projects.
Iron ore fell to its lowest level in nearly six months on Friday, slipping 1.7 percent to $131.30 a tonne. The medium- to long-term price, though, should be in the range of $120 to $180 a tonne, Jose Carlos Martins, Vale's head of ferrous metals and strategy, said at a lunchtime gathering with reporters in Rio de Janeiro.
China's towering metal stockpiles cast economic shadow
QINGDAO, China, May 18 (Reuters) - When metals warehouses in top consumer China are so full that workers start stockpiling iron ore in granaries and copper in car parks, you know the global economy could be in trouble.
At Qingdao Port, home to one of China's largest iron ore terminals, hundreds of mounds of iron ore, each as tall as a three-storey building, spill over into an area signposted "grains storage" and almost to the street.
Copper extended gains on bargain-hunting, short-covering and a weaker dollar after it bounced off four-month lows in the previous session.
METALS-Copper extends gains; euro zone weighs
SHANGHAI, May 21 (Reuters) - Copper extended gains on bargain-hunting, short-covering and a weaker dollar on Monday, after it bounced off four-month lows in the previous session.
"Some technical buying during the session should cause the metal's prices to flourish a bit, with stop-loss selling coming in at around $7,780. I see copper ranging from $7,600 to $7,800," said an LME trader.
Gold inched up to extend last week's rise, tracking a steady euro after world leaders pledged to combat financial turmoil, although worries about Greece and the euro zone debt crisis continued to feed caution in the financial markets.
PRECIOUS-Gold gains on steady euro; Europe concerns stay
SINGAPORE, May 21 (Reuters) - Gold inched up on Monday to extend last week's rise, tracking a steady euro after world leaders pledged to combat financial turmoil, although worries about Greece and the euro zone debt crisis continued to feed caution in the financial markets.
"We suspect that any early gains will eventually be rolled back, as the markets refocus their attention on the more pressing problems at hand, and ones that cannot be easily papered over by well-intentioned communiques," said Ed Meir, an analyst at INTL FCStone, in a research note.
Baltic sea index up as panamax rates rebound
May 18 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry commodities, rose on Friday as rates for smaller panamax vessels rebounded.
The overall index, which reflects the daily freight market prices for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize dry bulk transport vessels, was up 4 points at 1,141 points.
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