20120827 1104 Global Markets & Commodities Related News.

GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian shares inch down, mark time before Jackson Hole
TOKYO, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Asian shares edged down in choppy trade, while gold and oil rose on Monday, encouraged by a fresh report of a potential framework for the European Central Bank's new bond buying scheme, as well as hopes of a strong easing from the Federal Reserve.
"Commodities which are highly sensitive to monetary policy easing are underpinned by such speculation, so it's hard to sell in markets such as gold, silver and oil where it's easier for speculative money to flow in," said Bob Takai, general manager of Sumitomo Corp's energy division.

COMMODITIES-Nine-week rally shows signs of fatigue, gold flat
NEW YORK, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Commodity markets fell for a second day on Friday as the longest rally since early last year showed signs of running out of steam, with grain traders having adjusted to a drought-stricken crop and oil dealers bracing for a possible release from strategic crude stockpiles.
"That resistance which kept gold in a range in the last several months should become a new level of support, suggesting gold is not going down but going higher," said Adam Sarhan, CEO of Sarhan Capital.

OIL-Brent rises above $115, tropical storm threatens supply
SINGAPORE, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Brent crude rose more than a dollar on Monday to above $115 per barrel on supply worries as Tropical Storm Isaac threatened to interrupt most U.S. offshore oil production in the Gulf of Mexico.
"The markets are now getting excited on the possibility of additional monetary stimulus by the Federal Reserve," said Ben Le Brun, a Sydney-based market analyst at OptionsXpress.

World oil supply tightens in last 2 months - EIA
WASHINGTON, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Global spare oil inventories tightened over the last two months, a U.S. government report said on Friday, which could lend the  Obama administration some support if it decides to tap emergency oil reserves as the West applies sanctions on Iran.
World crude inventories in countries other than Iran fell about 1.2 million barrels per day in July and August, due mostly to a seasonal peak in demand, said the report by the Energy Information Administration.

IEA may release oil reserves as soon as Sept-report
PARIS/NEW YORK, Aug 24 (Reuters) - World oil consumers are poised to tap into emergency oil inventories as soon as early September after the International Energy Agency (IEA) dropped its resistance to a U.S.-led plan, a source and an oil journal said on Friday.
Just one week after its chief said there was no discussion of possible emergency action, the IEA is now thought to have agreed to the idea, the industry journal Petroleum Economist reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources. The release could be as large or larger than last year's 60 million barrel injection.

U.S. natgas futures end lower, reverse early gains
NEW YORK, Aug 24 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures ended lower on Friday, reversing early gains as traders shrugged off concerns about possible storm-related supply disruptions and focused instead on swelling inventories and forecasts for moderating weather.  
"Cooling loads have backed off this morning in the models for the next 10 days. That leaves CDDs (cooling degree days) only a hair above normal on net," Gelber & Associates analyst Patrick Saunders said in a report.

Euro Coal-prices subdued as Atlantic supplies improve
LONDON, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Physical prompt coal prices saw little movement in Europe on Friday, ahead of a long weekend in Britain, and the market remained subdued as a result of rising Colombian output and weak demand from the region's sluggish economy.
"We see very few adjustments supporting a more positive price outlook over the 2013-2017 period, over which we model an increasing surplus," Deutsche Bank said in a research note on Friday.