20120905 1105 Global Markets & Commodities Related News.

GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian shares, euro fall, investors brace for ECB, US payrolls
TOKYO, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Asian shares and the euro eased on Wednesday, with investors waiting for a European Central Bank meeting on Thursday and U.S. payrolls on Friday for signs of more action to counter European debt woes and support growth.
"I don't recall anyone having had good economic indicators lately. Everyone knows the global economy is in a trough. The policies that will be announced to tackle the problems will be  much more important," said Lee Seung-woo, an analyst at KDB Daewoo Securities in Seoul.


EQUITIES RETREAT AS THE RBA PONDERS NEW RATE CUT (Reuters)
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2012
Risk markets diverged dramatically overnight with Spanish and Italian yields tumbling on ECB President Draghi’s bond-buying remarks while equities slumped as the euro lost ground.
Draghi indicated on Monday that the ECB will be able to purchase sovereign bonds with up to 3-year maturities without this representing state aid  and thereby circumventing German opposition.
His comments triggered 47bp and 27bp drops in Spanish and Italian 2-year yields yesterday to 3.03% and 2.43%.
Long ends also benefited with Spanish 10-year yields ending 29bp lower at 6.59% as expectations grow for decisive action at tomorrow’s ECB meeting.
This enthusiasm was certainly not shared by European and US stock markets.
The FTSE 100 and DAX plunged 1.50% and 1.17% as German Finance Minister Schauelbe turned his attention to Athens and ruled out a third Greek bailout package.
The Dow Jones finished 0.42% in the red after a disappointing August ISM data that bodes ill for Friday’s non-farm payrolls report.
The Australian dollar remained on the back foot amid ongoing China hard landing speculation while yesterday’s RBA statement indicated a more dovish stance with plenty of talk in the local media this morning about an October rate cut.
Australia Q2 GDP is released at 11.30 Sydney time (01:30 GMT) with the consensus forecast for a 0.7% quarter-on-quarter rise.
An hour later HSBC releases its August Services PMI report which came in at 53.1 in July.

Primary markets
ANZ returned to the US dollar covered bond market overnight with a two tranche, 3-year tranche print alongside a 5-year senior unsecure note.
The USD750m 3-year FRN pays 3-month LIBOR+61bp while the USD1.5bn 1.0% 3-year fixed-rate piece priced at 61bp over mid swaps.
The USD750m 1.875% 5-year fixed rate came at Treasuries plus 135bp, at the tight end of T+137.5bp area guidance.
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd (OCBCSP) also visited the US dollar market via a USD1bn 10.5-year non-call 5.5 Tier II issue that priced at T+255bp until the first call date.
It is another hectic week for Singapore investors with at least three credits holding investor meetings.
Dutch bank ABN Amro held a presentation in Singapore yesterday via ABN Amro, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, HSBC and UBS while UK life assurance company Friends Life is hosting investor meetings today with HSBC.
Hong Kong property company Sino Land will be marketing in Singapore tomorrow via DBS and HSBC with a meeting also planned for Hong Kong.


The G7 is pushing on an oily string
(Robert Campbell is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)
NEW YORK, Sept 4 (Reuters) - It is a problem familiar to central bankers: under certain weak economic conditions the tools available to policymakers become ineffective, hence the expression "pushing on a string."
Western governments wishing to undo this summer's geopolitically-induced oil rally (incidentally, one of their making) face a conundrum similar to central bankers' puzzles.

Oil prices re-enter the "danger zone"
(John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)
LONDON, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Get ready for a prolonged slowdown in the major industrial economies.
If Brent crude oil prices stay substantially above $100 per barrel, the economies of the United States and Western Europe will almost certainly struggle in the next few months.
At no point in the last five years have U.S. manufacturing and the wider economy managed to expand strongly when international oil prices have been above $100.

OIL-Oil falls on economic concerns, weak U.S. data
NEW YORK, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Tuesday as concerns about slowing economic growth and curbed demand for petroleum countered hopes for more monetary stimulus from central banks in the United States and Europe.
"You need to see demand coming through," said Michael Hewson, a markets analyst at CMC Markets in London. "And the only way you are going to get demand growth is if oil prices fall. Any upside in oil is going to be limited."

High global oil prices cause for concern-IEA chief
NEW DELHI, Sept 4 (Reuters) - High global oil prices are a cause of concern for the International Energy Agency (IEA), the head of the body which represents 28 importing countries said, although crude markets were better supplied than those for refined fuels.
"Crude markets are reasonably well supplied but there are clearly signs of tightening in product markets," IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven said in response to questions from reporters on Tuesday over a possible release of emergency stocks.

POLL - US crude, product stocks seen down due to Hurricane Isaac
Sept 4 (Reuters) - U.S. commercial crude oil and refined product stockpiles were forecast to have fallen last week as Hurricane Isaac disrupted oil production, imports and refinery activity in the Gulf Coast region, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Tuesday.
The survey of six analysts, ahead of weekly inventory reports from industry group American Petroleum Institute (API) and the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), forecast that crude stocks would drop 5.3 million barrels on average for the week ended Aug. 31.

NATURAL GAS-U.S. natgas futures rise 2 pct, end higher for 4th day
NEW YORK, Sept 4 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures rose nearly 2 percent on Tuesday, up for a fourth straight session along with stronger cash gas as industrial demand returned after the long U.S. Labor Day holiday weekend.
"As the market recovers from the impact of Hurricane Isaac many traders and investors are starting to look at the fact that even with only preemptive shut-ins there is still an impact on supply as well as the weekly inventory levels," said Energy Management Institutes' Dominick Chirichella.

EURO COAL-Stable, bearish signals from China
LONDON, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Physical coal prices in Europe held steady for the second day on Tuesday, supported by oil which rose in early trading and largely ignoring bearish fundamentals.
"While some have begun to call for a bullish turn in thermal prices, we remain skeptical that the fundamentals are yet ripe for such a change," Credit Suisse said in a research note on Tuesday.