20120720 1601 Global Markets & Commodities Related News.

GLOBAL MARKETS: Asian shares eased but were poised for their biggest weekly gain since January, as strong U.S. corporate earnings lifted the S&P 500 to a 2-1/2 month high while Spain's fiscal woes kept the euro under pressure. European shares were expected to open fractionally lower, taking their cue from losses in Asia and consolidating four month highs as a two-session rally runs out of catalysts. U.S. stocks rose on Thursday for a third straight day, with the S&P 500 at a 2-1/2 month high, as earnings from technology companies and expectations for more monetary stimulus outweighed weak economic data.

FOREX: The euro eased against the dollar and hovered near a record low versus the Australian dollar, undermined by worries about Spain's fiscal woes and recent falls in euro zone money-market rates.

FOREX-Euro held back by Spain's woes, near record low vs Aussie
SINGAPORE, July 20 (Reuters) - The euro eased against the dollar and hovered near a record low versus the Australian dollar on Friday, and was seen on shaky ground due to worries about Spain's fiscal woes and as investors hunt for higher yields.      
Weak demand at a bond auction pushed Spain's 10-year bond yield above 7 percent on Thursday for the first time in more than a week, intensifying doubts over whether Madrid can avoid a full-blown bailout.

Merkel wins Spanish aid vote with big majority
German Chancellor Angela Merkel easily won a parliamentary vote on a euro zone rescue package for Spanish banks on Thursday despite growing unease in her centre-right coalition about the rising cost of Europe's debt crisis for German taxpayers.

Factory, jobs data show U.S. economy mired in weakness
The slowdown in the U.S. economy persisted early in the third quarter as factory activity in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region contracted in July for a third straight month and new claims for jobless aid surged last week.

POLL-Global economy hobbled by Europe, 2013 promises more
The global economy will labour against a dismal tide from recession-hit Europe for the rest of this year, but 2013 should bring better growth, according to Reuters polls of hundreds of economists worldwide.

GRAINS: U.S. new-crop corn rose, taking its drought-driven rally to more than 55 percent in five weeks, as crops continued to wilt under a searing Midwest heat, stoking fears of a food shortage.

Brazil sugar lineup grows under rains, strike
The lineup of ships waiting to load sugar in Brazil rose to 87 from 81 a week earlier as rains and striking sanitary inspectors at the ports slowed loading, Williams shipping agents said in a report released late Wednesday.

After first-half surge, US drillers find respite in guar wars
U.S. oil and gas drillers are finally catching a break from the surging cost of a tiny seed at the heart of the nation's oil and gas bonanza.

OIL: Brent crude held above $107, edging lower after a surge of 20 percent in four weeks prompted some selling as Israel signalled it would not rush into any open conflict over a deadly attack on its citizens, easing geopolitical worries.


Euro Coal-Holds steady in thin trade
LONDON, July 19 (Reuters) - Physical prompt coal prices held steady on Thursday, supported by oil hitting a seven-week high but few trades were reported.
Prices have found a floor at roughly $85 a tonne and are unlikely to fall much further, although a slight drift lower through the remainder of the summer is possible, traders and end-users said.

China coal demand seen cooling further in H2 -assn
SHANGHAI, July 19 (Reuters) - Coal demand from China, the world's top consumer, is expected to slow further in the second-half, while rising supply from domestic mines and imports swells stocks, a media report on Thursday cited the China Coal Association as saying.
A slower pace of economic growth has already hit China's coal demand in the first half, with consumption up just 2.8 percent to 1.97 billion tonnes from the first half of 2011, the association's vice president Jiang Zhimin was quoted as saying at a briefing.

Iron Ore-Price slide extends, spot at 8-1/2-month low

SINGAPORE, July 20 (Reuters) - Shanghai rebar futures hit a contract low for the eighth time in nine sessions, and are set to post their worst week since October as weak Chinese demand kept the pressure on prices, pulling down iron ore to 8-1/2-month lows. 

"It looks like the trend will continue next week. There is very limited trading in the open market. Sentiment is quite weak and no one is willing to buy," said a manager for an iron ore trading firm in Shanghai.

 

Vale Q2 iron ore production rises to 80.54 mln tonnes

RIO DE JANEIRO, July 18 (Reuters) - Brazilian miner Vale  produced 80.54 million tonnes of iron ore in the second quarter, the company said in a securities filing Wednesday. 

That marks a 0.35 percent increase from 80.26 million tonnes in the second quarter of 2011, the company said, but a 15.1 percent increase from 69.99 million tonnes of iron ore produced during the first quarter of this year.

PREVIEW-China's rising steel exports slam Asian producers

SEOUL/SHANGHAI, July 20(Reuters) - China's slowing demand for steel is driving Chinese exports of the metal to the highest level in more than three years, flooding the Asian market with supplies at a time when producers such as South Korea's POSCO  are grappling with thinning profits.
Europe used to soak up most of China's steel exports, but the region's protracted debt woes have forced producers like Baoshan Iron & Steel  to turn their shipments to destinations closer to home.

Japan Q2 crude steel output highest in 5 quarters
TOKYO, July 19 (Reuters) - Japan's crude steel output rose on an annual basis in the April-June quarter for the first time in five quarters, as robust car output bolstered the sagging sector, but a strong yen currency and slowing car sales cloud the outlook for the third quarter.
Crude steel output in the second quarter rose 4.3 percent on the year to 27.5 million tonnes, a level not seen since the January-March quarter of 2011, the Japan Iron and Steel Federation said on Thursday.

BASE METALS: London copper was down trading at $7,707 per tonne after touching a high of $7,813 per tonne on Thursday, its highest since July 3.

PRECIOUS METALS: Gold hovered near $1,580, an ounce as investors clung onto hopes for more monetary easing from the U.S. central bank after weak data in the previous session, but a dollar rebound would likely cap gains.

METALS-LME copper holds near 2-week top on China stimulus hope
SHANGHAI, July 20 (Reuters) - London copper prices edged up on Friday, holding near a two-week high hit in the previous session on hopes of more steps by top consumer China to boost its economy after Beijing's comments on jobs creation.
But gains are likely to be capped by China's warning against relaxing curbs on the property sector, favoured by many investors as a quick way to boost domestic consumption, and by weak U.S. data underscoring a fragile U.S. economic recovery.

PRECIOUS-Gold steady on weak US data; dollar weighs
SINGAPORE, July 20 (Reuters) - Gold hovered near $1,580 an ounce on Friday as investors clung onto hopes for more monetary easing from the U.S. central bank after weak data in the previous session, but a dollar rebound would likely cap gains.
The latest data showed factory activity in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region contracted in July for a third straight month and new jobless claims surged last week.


Baltic's freight index slides on sluggish demand
July 19 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry commodities, fell on Thursday for the eighth straight day as the market continued to struggle with slower cargo trade and mounting fleet growth.
The overall index, a gauge of the cost of shipping commodities such as iron ore, cement, grain, coal and fertiliser, fell 21 points or 1.96 percent to 1,053 points.