Asian shares rose to a seven-week high as investors kept hopes high for more monetary policy stimulus to support the faltering global economy, starting with a likely rate cut by the European Central Bank. European stock index futures pointed to a slightly lower open, with investors seen taking some profits from two-month highs ahead of policy meetings of the European Central Bank and the Bank of England on Thursday. U.S. stocks extended a rally for a third day on Tuesday as sharp gains in oil prices lifted energy shares and traders factored in increased expectations for central bank stimulus.
The euro inched lower on bond redemption-related selling, with some investors stuck on the sidelines for the U.S. market holiday, while others took positions before a European Central Bank policy meeting on Thursday
FOREX-Euro edges down on bond redemptions; ECB eyed
TOKYO, July 4 (Reuters) - The euro inched lower on bond redemption-related selling on Wednesday, with some investors stuck on the sidelines for the U.S. market holiday, while others took positions before a European Central Bank policy meeting on Thursday.
The euro dipped 0.2 percent to $1.2588 , still holding above the Tuesday's low of 1.2559. Immediate resistance loomed at 1.2693, a high reached on Friday after European leaders hammered out a deal to tackle the region's debt crisis.
POLL- US heat seen cutting corn yield another 2.5 pct
Relentless heat and drought likely sliced another 2.5 percent off this year's U.S. corn crop, threatening to transform what would have been a record harvest into a drought-stunted haul, according to a Reuters poll.
Argentine soybean crushings set to fall- Oil World
Argentine soybean crushings are likely to be sharply reduced in coming months after the country's poor crop this year, curtailing the country's soyoil and soymeal export supplies, Hamburg-based oilseeds analysts Oil World forecast on Tuesday.
Oil World ups global rapeseed crop forecast
Hamburg-based oilseeds analysts Hamburg Oil World on Tuesday raised its estimate of the global 2012/13 rapeseed/canola crop by 0.6 million tonnes to 61.6 million tonnes, up from 59.59 million tonnes harvested in 2011/12.
Ukraine's PM promises free grain export in 2012/13
Ukraine does not plan to impose any limits on grain exports in the new July-June 2012/13 marketing season, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
Brent crude slipped, but stayed above $100 per barrel as weak global economic data fuelled expectations of a stimulus response by central banks, and rising tension over Iran's nuclear programme fed worries about supply disruption.
POLL-US crude stockpiles seen falling on storm outages
U.S. commercial crude oil stockpiles were forecast to have fallen last week on production cuts in the Gulf of Mexico because of Tropical Storm Debby, an expanded Reuters poll of analysts showed on Tuesday.
S.Africa June coal exports from RBCT up m/m
JOHANNESBURG, July 2 (Reuters) - South Africa exported 5.45 million tonnes of coal from the Richards Bay Coal Terminal in June, up from 4.63 million tonnes the previous month, data showed on Monday.
Africa's biggest economy - a major exporter of coal to power stations in Europe and Asia - had 2.91 million tonnes of stock at the terminal at the end of June, RBCT said.
Euro Coal-Aug S.African trades at $91.50/T
LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - Prompt South African FOB physical coal prices continued the rally begun last week to trade at $91.50 a tonne FOB Richards Bay on Friday, as traders bought to cover short positions at the same time as analysts were cutting their 2012 price forecasts.
Prompt Richards Bay prices have spiked by over $10.00 a tonne during the past few weeks, driven more by short-covering by players who sold heavily when prices dropped to two-year lows in May than by end-user driven demand.
Australia slaps import duties on Asian steel pipes
CANBERRA, July 3 (Reuters) - Australia's Customs Service imposed import duties on steel pipes made in China, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan on Tuesday after finding steelmakers were dumping cheap products in the local market.
Severstal owner sees rise in steel demand slowing-report
Alexey Mordashov, chief executive and owner of Russia's second-biggest steel producer Severstal , expects the rise in world steel demand to slow in line with Chinese economic growth, the Kommersant daily reported.
Italy 4-month steel exports up, imports down-industry
Steel exports from Italy, the European Union's No.2 producer after Germany, rose 9.3 percent year-on-year to 6.407 million tonnes in the first four months of 2012, while imports plunged, data from industry body Federacciai showed on Tuesday.
Iron Ore-Prices for Australian cargoes rise, no turnaround seen
SINGAPORE, July 4 (Reuters) - Price offers for Australian iron ore in top importer China rose on Wednesday after cargoes were sold at higher prices the previous day, although buyers are unlikely to push up rates amid a persistently weak Chinese steel market.
Weak demand in China for steel, however, is likely to keep iron prices soft in coming weeks, analysts say, ahead of the peak demand period in late autumn and early winter.
COLUMN-Steel sector needs a better price tool-kit
--Andy Home is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own--
LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - Has the iron ore pricing revolution stalled? Is it even in danger of going into reverse? Behind those two questions is the general unhappiness with the current embryonic spot market articulated at last week's Metal Bulletin conference in Amsterdam.
Leading the reactionary charge was Chung Joon-yang, chief executive of South Korean steel group Posco with his call for a return to the old system of annually-negotiated benchmark pricing.
Indonesia issues more mining export permits
JAKARTA, July 3 (Reuters) - Indonesia has awarded mineral export permits to 22 firms since it introduced curbs on such shipments in May, a trade ministry official said on Tuesday, after the restrictions triggered panic buying by customers in key buyers Japan and China.
Indonesia, one of the world's leading metals exporters, in May asked all miners to submit plans to build smelters in a bid to squeeze more revenue for its mining sector ahead of a 2014 ban on raw mineral exports, while also imposing a tax of 20 percent on ore exports.
London copper edged down as investors locked in recent steep gains, waiting for more signs from central banks to revive a faltering global economy that has dented demand for industrial metals.
Gold hovered near a two-week high, helped by hopes central banks will ease monetary policy in a bid to nurture a fragile recovery in the global economy.
METALS-Copper falls, off 7-week top; monetary easing eyed
SHANGHAI, July 4 (Reuters) - London copper edged down on Wednesday as investors locked in recent steep gains, waiting for more signs from central banks to revive a faltering global economy that has dented demand for industrial metals.
Trading is expected to remain cautious ahead of a European Central Bank meeting on Thursday, which may now have to produce more than a sharp interest rate cut to ease market doubts over the ECB rescue fund's ability to lower borrowing costs for indebted members such as Spain.
PRECIOUS-Gold near 2-wk peak on hopes for monetary easing
SINGAPORE, July 4 (Reuters) - Gold hovered near a two-week high on Wednesday, helped by hopes central banks will ease monetary policy in a bid to nurture a fragile recovery in the global economy.
The European Central Bank is expected to cut interest rates on Thursday in the wake of a string of weak economic data, a move that would likely support gold as it typically benefits from a low interest rate environment.
Capesize rates perk up Baltic Index
July 3 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry commodities, rose on Tuesday as rates for capesize vessels surged.
The overall index, a gauge of the cost of shipping commodities such as iron ore, cement, grain, coal and fertiliser, was up 50 points or 4.94 percent at 1,063 points.
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