20120907 1624 Global Markets & Commodities Related News.

Global Markets: Asian shares were on track for their biggest daily gain in six weeks after the European Central Bank outlined its plan to calm the euro zone's debt crisis and firm U.S. data fed speculation of a strong jobs report later in the day. European shares were set to inch higher, adding to the previous session's sharp rally sparked by the ECB's bond buying programme, as investors bet all-important U.S. monthly payrolls data will show improvement in the jobs market.U.S. stocks closed at multi-year highs on Thursday, with the S&P 500 ending at its highest level since before the collapse of Lehman Brothers as investors hailed a new European bond-buying program aimed at stemming the region's debt crisis. (Reuters)

FOREX: The euro inched up versus the dollar and held near a two-month high while the safe haven yen nursed heavy losses as markets cheered the European Central Bank's plan to tackle the region's debt crisis.  (Reuters)

FOREX-Euro hovers near 2-mth peak, cheered by ECB bond plan
SINGAPORE/SYDNEY, Sept 7 (Reuters) - The euro inched up versus the dollar and held near a two-month high while the safe haven yen nursed heavy losses as markets cheered the European Central Bank's plan to tackle the region's debt crisis.
"The ECB's actions afford time, allowing risk appetite to stage a comeback for now," said Vincent Chaigneau, a strategist at Societe Generale.

Draghi gets ECB backing for unlimited bond-buying (Reuters)
The European Central Bank agreed on Thursday to launch a new and potentially unlimited bond-buying programme to lower struggling euro zone countries' borrowing costs and draw a line under the debt crisis.

Lackluster U.S. economy shows stronger pulse  (Reuters)
U.S. companies added staff in August at the fastest clip in five months and a gauge of employment in the service sector also improved, upbeat signals for a struggling labor market.

GRAINS: Chicago soybeans lost mChicago soybeans fell for a third straight session with rains improving crop prospects in parts of the U.S. grain belt which has been scorched by the worst drought in 56 years.  (Reuters)

Egypt buys Black Sea wheat, seeks Russia export clarity  (Reuters)
Egypt bought 475,000 tonnes of Black Sea origin wheat on Thursday, an unusually large purchase at a single tender which traders said was probably because it wanted to stock up in case Russia imposes any export restrictions.

China's coal, iron imports set to post drop for 3rd month
BEIJING/HONG KONG, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Chinese imports of coal and iron ore are likely to have fallen for the third month in a row in August, hit by protracted weakness in the world's second-biggest economy, while crude oil and copper cargoes last month could match July levels.
Few positives are expected from preliminary trade data due on Monday, with weak demand from the world's biggest importer of iron ore and coal bruising prices. Benchmark iron ore prices fell nearly a quarter in August, while coal prices are near two-year lows.

White House consults experts as it mulls tapping oil reserve (Reuters)
Obama administration officials met with a handful of oil market experts on Thursday as the White House considers the merits of another release of emergency oil reserves - potentially one much larger than the last.

OIL: Brent futures slipped towards $113 per barrel ahead of a U.S. jobs report that will gauge the economic health of the world's biggest oil consumer as it considers a release of emergency oil reserves, potentially much larger than the last. (Reuters)

China slowdown cuts deeper into Indonesia's coal sector
BALIKPAPAN, Indonesia, Sept 7 (Reuters) - The slowdown in China's economic growth is cutting deeper into Indonesia's coal sector, forcing producers to reduce output and slash costs, and testing the resilience of a commodity boom in Southeast Asia's largest economy.
Top Indonesian exporters PT Bumi Resources  and PT Adaro Energy  are feeling the pinch after a 20 percent fall in international benchmark coal prices this year. Moody's Investors Service said Indonesian in d ustry co s ts in 2012 will rise as much as 15 percent.

Euro Coal-Europe takes more S.African, prices dip again
LONDON, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Physical coal prices in Europe crept higher by 20-60 cents a tonne on Thursday.
Few trades were reported and those at levels barely changed from earlier this week, traders and utilities said.
"Prices rose slightly in early trade but by the afternoon, gas and power had weakened and coal lost some of the morning's gains," one European trader said.

Indonesia's August refined tin exports down 32 pct on mth -govt
JAKARTA, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Shipments of refined tin from Indonesia, the world's top exporter, fell 32 percent in August to 5,645.87 tonnes from 8,298.47 tonnes in July, a trade ministry official said on Friday.  
Indonesian refined tin exports for August were 34 percent lower compared to 8, 5 59.61 tonnes in the same period last year.

China daily steel output dips 3 pct in late Aug -CISA
SHANGHAI, Sept 6 (Reuters) - China's average daily crude steel output fell 3 percent to 1.872 million tonnes between Aug. 21-31 from the preceding 10 days, data from the China Iron & Steel Association showed on Thursday, as steel mills trimmed output amid slumping prices.
Daily production was 1.930 million tonnes on average during the Aug. 11-20 period.

COLUMN-Iron ore and the last man standing game
--Andy Home is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own--
LONDON, Sept 6 (Reuters) - It wasn't supposed to be like this.
The price of spot iron ore fell again today, touching a near three-year low of $86.70 per tonne, according to The Steel Index.
It has now fallen by 36 percent in the space of a couple of months and in doing so it has shredded the previous narrative for the iron ore market.

Iron Ore-Shanghai rebar rises 3 pct on infrastructure push
SINGAPORE, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Shanghai steel futures rose for the first time in six sessions on Friday, buoyed by news that China has approved infrastructure projects to revitalise a slowing economy which raised hopes for a recovery in steel demand.
China has given the go-ahead to 30 infrastructure projects, adding to 25 rail projects approved earlier, the official China Securities Journal reported. The total value of projects approved this week by the country's economic planner stands at above 1 trillion yuan .

BASE METALS: London copper edged higher and was set eke out a fourth week of gains in five, supported by the European Central Bank's plan to buy bonds to shore up the region's economy.  (Reuters)

PRECIOUS METALS: Gold eased from a near six-month top hit in the previous session, as upbeat data from a struggling U.S. labour market dimmed hopes of more stimulus measures from the Federal Reserve.  (Reuters)

METALS-Copper inches up after ECB, U.S. jobs eyed
SINGAPORE, Sept 7 (Reuters) - London copper edged higher and was set eke out a fourth week of gains in five, supported by the European Central Bank's plan to buy bonds to shore up the region's economy.
"There are still questions as to whether the ECB programme will help calm investors and whether you'll get QE from the Fed," said Credit Suisse metals analyst Ivan Szpakowski.

PRECIOUS-Gold retreats as U.S. jobs data dims stimulus hopes
SINGAPORE, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Gold eased from a near six-month high hit in the previous session as upbeat data from a struggling U.S. labour market dimmed hopes for more stimulus measures from the Federal Reserve.
"There is definitely long liquidation going on after the ADP number," said a Singapore-based trader. "People spent the whole of yesterday buying gold and it is a bit overcooked up here. Now we have good data and the market is struggling to see how it can get a bad payrolls data."

Baltic index down as capesize, panamax rates dip
Sept 6 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry commodities, fell for the seventh straight session on Thursday as rates for both capesize and panamax vessels continued to weaken.
The main index, which factors in the average daily earnings of capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize dry bulk transport vessels, fell 9 points or 1.32 percent to 675 points.