GLOBAL MARKETS: Asian shares gained as investors maintained the hope that Europe will take further action to tackle its debt crisis and the United States and China will adopt stimulus measures to support recovery. European shares were expected to edge lower. U.S. stocks closed at three-month highs for the second day in a row on Monday, extending last week's rally on the hope for more assistance for the troubled euro zone.
FOREX: The euro held steady near a recent one-month high, supported by hopes that the European Central Bank will take action soon to lower borrowing costs for Spain and Italy.
FOREX-Euro pulls back from 1-mth high; Aussie edges higher
SINGAPORE, Aug 7 (Reuters) - The euro dipped versus the dollar and pulled back from a one-month high, but remained supported by expectations that the European Central Bank will take action soon to lower borrowing costs for Spain and Italy.
"I think the risk or the bias here is perhaps a bit more short squeeze in the euro to the upside," said Sim Moh Siong, FX strategist for Bank of Singapore, referring to the possibility of the euro getting a lift if traders with short positions in the single currency unwind their bearish bets.
ECB bond buys on hold as it prepares new programme
The European Central Bank kept a lid on its bond purchase programme last week as it presented plans to launch a new and more transparent scheme that will be tied to intervention by the European rescue funds and political action.
Australia central bank holds rates, sees stimulus working
Australia's central bank kept its main cash rate at 3.5 percent for a second month, saying it was too soon to gauge the full impact of past cuts while noting early signs the stimulus was working.
Shrinking U.S. crops pose inflation challenge for countries
For nations like China and India fighting to tamp down inflation while spurring growth, even as the global economy faces headwinds from Europe's debt crisis, shrinking U.S. crops could be an additional headache as food prices creep higher.
GRAINS: U.S. soybeans edged higher after losing almost 3 percent in the previous session as rain over some key growing regions of the U.S. Midwest eased concerns of further damage to new-crop supplies.
OIL: Brent crude held steady above $109 a barrel, on hopes that Europe would take further action to tackle its intractable debt crisis, while supply worries stemming from North Sea maintenance and Middle East tensions also supported prices.
Fire blazes at California refinery; residents ordered indoors
A massive fire struck at the core of Chevron Corp's large Richmond, California, refinery on Monday, spewing flames and a column of smoke into the air, threatening a prolonged outage that may increase prices of the costliest U.S. gasoline.
Peru's Antamina mine faces fallout from spill
Antamina, one of the world's biggest copper-zinc mines, is facing community opposition and government inquiries after its pipeline burst nearly two weeks ago exposing more than 200 people to a mineral slurry.
Bids scarce, China steel demand outlook stays weak
SINGAPORE, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Buying interest for iron ore cargoes from top consumer China remained thin on Tuesday as uncertainty over when steel demand will pick up depressed appetite for the raw material.
Benchmark iron ore prices, which hit their lowest in 31 months last week, could fall further amid ample spot supplies as miners continue to offer material, hoping some Chinese mills will return to the market to replenish inventories.
China daily steel output falls 2.2 pct in late July -CISA
SHANGHAI, Aug 7 (Reuters) - China's daily crude steel output fell 2.2 percent to 1.949 million tonnes on average over July 21-31 from July 11-20, data from the China Iron & Steel Association (CISA) showed on Tuesday.
China's steelmakers are stepping up maintenance in an effort to cut production and stem losses from a slump in steel prices and a surge in inventories.
BASE METALS: London copper edged down after two sessions of gains, though prices were underpinned by hopes the euro zone would adopt fresh measures to shore up its faltering economy, while traders looked ahead to a slew of data from top metals consumer China.
PRECIOUS METALS: Gold traded flat, retaining gains from the past two sessions as investors waited for action from the European Central Bank in hopes that it would do more to tackle the region's debt crisis.
METALS-Copper slips, but Europe hopes support
London copper edged down after two sessions of gains, though prices were underpinned by hopes the euro zone would adopt fresh measures to shore up its faltering economy, while traders looked ahead to a slew of data from top metals consumer China.
"Yesterday was mostly digesting last week's decent non-farm payrolls and the ECB (European Central Bank) comments. Today everyone is just waiting to see what is next," said commodities analyst Ivan Szpakowski at Credit Suisse in Singapore.
PRECIOUS-Gold steady as investors expect ECB action
Gold traded flat, retaining gains from the past two sessions as investors waited for action from the European Central Bank in hopes that it would do more to tackle the region's debt crisis.
"On the macroeconomic front, things haven't changed dramatically -- the U.S. economy is not doing too bad, and the European economy is a mess. The Fed is waiting for a perfect time to make a final strike with a third round of quantitative easing," said a Shanghai-based trader.
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