20120905 1638 Global Markets & Commodities Related News.

GLOBAL MARKETS: Asian shares slid to near six-week lows and the euro fell, as investors turned edgy ahead of a pivotal European Central Bank meeting on Thursday and U.S. payroll data on Friday. European shares were expected to open little changed, pausing after sharp losses in the previous session, in a sign sentiment was still underpinned by expectations that central banks will take a active role in tackling the global financial crisis. The S&P 500 closed slightly lower on Tuesday as investors continued to await clarity on European Central Bank plans to shore up heavily indebted countries, but the market ended off its lows on a rally in Apple Inc. (Reuters)

FOREX-Euro slips but support seen intact as ECB awaited
TOKYO, Sep 5 (Reuters) - The euro dipped slightly against the dollar in Asian trading on Wednesday, but support for the single currency stayed intact a day ahead of a European Central Bank meeting that is expected to unveil more details of a long-awaited debt-buying plan.    
The European unit was down 0.3 percent at $1.2526 , off its Tuesday session high of $1.2629 but still not far from Friday's high of $1.26378 on trading platform EBS, which was its strongest level since early July.


FOREX: The euro dipped slightly against the dollar in Asian trading, but underlying support for the single currency stayed intact ahead of a European Central Bank meeting on Thursday that is expected to unveil details of a long-awaited debt-buying plan.(Reuters)

Pressure mounts on ECB to bring down bond yields(Reuters)
France and Italy piled more pressure on the European Central Bank on Tuesday to agree steps this week to reduce crippling borrowing costs for southern euro zone states.

Manufacturing another headache for U.S. economy(Reuters)
U.S. manufacturing shrank at its sharpest clip in more than three years last month, while separate data showed exports and hiring in the sector slumped in another shot to the country's struggling economy.

U.S. corn harvest 10 pct done; a record but below forecast(Reuters)
U.S. farmers made little progress in harvesting corn during the past week as rains related to Hurricane Isaac kept them out of their fields, but the harvest was still at a record pace because early planting and the summer's drought caused the crop to mature earlier than usual.

GRAINS: Chicago wheat eased, falling for a fourth consecutive session as rains across the U.S. Plains improved the prospects for winter crop planting and as exports from the Black Sea region continued to pressure the market. (Reuters)

Importers to snap up Russia wheat, wary of export plans
HAMBURG, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Major importers will quickly buy up Russian wheat in coming weeks, wary of the drought-hit country's plans even after the key global supplier said it would not restrict grain exports, traders said on Tuesday.
Russia's government, coping with a drought which has slashed grain yields by more than a quarter, said on Friday it would not restrict grain exports even if its exportable surplus was exhausted.

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.
There were too many variable price-driving factors currently at work for the market's direction to be clear, traders and end-users said.

China coal under more pressure as demand falters
BEIJING, Sept 4 (Reuters) - China's coal prices, already near a two-year low, are likely to fall further as industrial demand growth slows and imports add to pressure on domestic stocks, i nd ustry officials said on Tuesday.
Benchmark prices in China, the world's top producer and importer of the fuel, have been lolling at two-year lows of 626 yuan ($98.50) a tonne since end-July amid a global supply glut.

High global oil prices cause for concern-IEA chief(Reuters)
High global oil prices are a cause of concern for the International Energy Agency, the head of the body which represents 28 importing countries said, although crude markets were better supplied than those for refined fuels.

OIL: Brent futures hovered in a tight range near $114 a barrel on caution ahead of a keenly awaited European Central Bank meeting, while global growth concerns deterred buyers.(Reuters)

Europe's spare copper stuck in Glencore's Dutch warehouses (Reuters)
A warehouse company owned by commodity trader Glencore has attracted most of Europe's scarce copper stocks to its backlogged warehouses in the Dutch port of Vlissingen, exacerbating a supply squeeze for product makers.

BASE METALS: London copper was steady, supported by hopes that central banks will announce new plans to lift global growth following a boost to China's railroad spending and ahead of a European Central Bank meeting on Thursday. (Reuters)

PRECIOUS METALS: Gold inched lower, pulling back from a near six-month high in the previous session after weak U.S. data reinforced speculation of imminent stimulus action, as investors await a key meeting of the European Central Bank this week. (Reuters)

China steel use in home building won't peak until 2024-RBA study
SYDNEY, Sept 5 (Reuters) - China's demand for steel to build homes will not peak for another 12 years, a study from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) predicts, boding well for the outlook for Australia's iron ore exports.
In a study paper on Chinese residential construction, RBA researchers Leon Berkelmans and Hao Wang used projections of urbanisation rates, building size and construction quality to estimate that steel use would not peak until 2024 when it would be 30 percent higher than in 2011.

Flagging China zinc demand hits hopes for increased Q4 use -trade
HONG KONG/SINGAPORE, Sept 4 (Reuters) - China's demand for refined zinc weakened further in August from July, traders said on Tuesday, diluting hopes for a fourth-quarter rise in consumption in the world's top consumer of the metal.
China's worsening demand could pressure benchmark London Metal Exchange zinc prices , which have already fallen nearly a sixth from the year's high struck in January, thanks to a global economic slowdown.

INTERVIEW-Brazil iron mining outlook undimmed by price drop
RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Investment in new Brazilian iron ore mining capacity will be strong for at least two to three years despite plunging prices and problems in China and Europe that could sap demand, according to Brazil's state development bank BNDES.
While the bank's total mine lending fell 45 percent in the first six months of the year, demand for credit by Brazilian and foreign companies suggest that final 2012 lending may be close to the 3 billion reais ($1.48 billion) loaned for mine projects in 2011, Guilherme Cardoso, chief of BNDES's basic industry department, and department manager Pedro Landim told Reuters late Friday.

Iron ore near 3-year trough, Shanghai steel at record low
SINGAPORE, Sept 5 (Reuters) - China steel futures fell to an all-time low on Wednesday as poor demand in the world's top steel market kept the pressure on prices, sending iron ore further below $90 a tonne to its weakest since October 2009.
Iron ore has dropped 36 percent since early July, the main casualty among industrial commodities of China's slowdown, and analysts say the downturn still has momentum.

METALS-Copper finds support on stimulus hopes ahead of ECB meeting
SINGAPORE, Sept 5 (Reuters) - London copper was steady supported by hopes that central banks will announce new plans to lift global growth following a boost to China's railroad spending and ahead of a European Central Bank meeting on Thursday.
A string of worsening factory reports from top metals user China, the United States and Europe this week has darkened the outlook for commodities demand, but has also raised expectations that monetary officials will have to ease policy or boost spending, providing a year-end fillip to prices.

PRECIOUS-Gold inches down, holds near 6-mth top; ECB eyed
SINGAPORE, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Gold inched lower on Wednesday, but did not stray far from a near six-month high hit in the previous session as weak U.S. data reinforced hopes of stimulus measures, while investors eyed a key European Central Bank meeting this week for trading cues.
U.S. manufacturing activities shrank at their sharpest clip in more than three years last month, feeding hopes the Federal Reserve could act soon to shore up the frail economy. The ECB is also under increasing pressure to cut excess borrowing costs ahead at a policy setting meeting on Thursday.

Baltic index drops as panamax rates weaken
Sept 4 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry commodities, fell on Tuesday as rates for panamax vessels continued to slip.
The main index, which factors in the average daily earnings of capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize dry bulk transport vessels, fell 5 points or 0.72 percent to 693 points.