20120911 1608 Global Markets & Commodities Related News.

GLOBAL MARKETS: Asian shares fell as investors repositioned before a German Constitutional Court ruling on the euro zone's bailout funds which could remove one risk for Europe, and a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting that may yield widely expected monetary easing. European shares looked set to fall, weighed by concerns about a potential delay to the German constitutional court ruling over the legality of the European bailout fund. Wall Street stocks fell on Monday as investors locked in gains on a recent rally ahead of possible policy action from the Federal Reserve later this week, while weakness in Intel shares weighed on the Nasdaq.(Reuters)

FOREX: The euro hovered below a near-four-month peak against the dollar as traders grew wary after the currency's sharp gains late last week and ahead of key events in Europe and the United States. (Reuters)

FOREX-Euro hovers below 4-month high, 200-day average looms
TOKYO, Sept 11 (Reuters) - The euro hovered below a near-four-month peak against the dollar on Tuesday as traders grew wary after the currency's sharp gains late last week and ahead of key events in Europe and the United States.
"As long as there are expectations of quantitative easing by the Fed, the euro is likely to have some support," said a senior trader at a European brokerage.

U.S. consumer credit falls unexpectedly in July(Reuters)
U.S. consumer credit fell in July for the first time in nearly a year as Americans reduced credit card debt, a worrisome sign for an economy that has struggled to create jobs.

China August commodity imports remain under pressure(Reuters)
China's imports of key commodities such as crude oil and soy hit multi-month lows in August on weak domestic demand, even though iron ore imports managed to gain, as hopes grew for stimulus measures to boost the world's second-biggest economy.

GRAINS: Chicago soybeans slid to a two-week low, falling for a fifth consecutive session, while corn hovered near its lowest in six weeks as investors moved out of bullish bets ahead of key U.S. government reports.(Reuters)

EU to limit use of crop-based biofuels -draft law(Reuters)
The European Union will impose a limit on the use of crop-based biofuels over fears they are less climate-friendly than initially thought and compete with food production, draft EU legislation seen by Reuters showed.

OIL: Brent crude futures fell for the first time in four sessions as investors took profits, though they remained above $114 a barrel with declines limited by hopes the U.S. Federal Reserve would unveil further steps to stimulate the economy this week. (Reuters)

China Aug iron ore imports up 7.9 pct as domestic output drops(Reuters)
China's imports of iron ore in August rose 7.9 percent from the previous month to a three-month high with buyers turning to the international market as a collapse in prices forced domestic producers to slash output.

COLUMN-Iron ore, coal price gains may be premature
--Clyde Russell is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own.--
SINGAPORE, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Any time the prices of commodities rally on the hope that something positive will happen rather than any actual change in fundamental demand, there is the risk of disappointment.
This may well be the case with iron ore and coal, both of which have gained recently in Asia on the hope that China will successfully stimulate its economy, thereby boosting demand.

China Aug metals output up, aluminium at record
HONG KONG, Sept 11 (Reuters) - China's production of most base metals rose in August, reversing declines in the previous month, with primary aluminium hitting an all-time monthly high, official data showed on Tuesday, as smelters expect demand to improve in the next 3 or 4 months.
Metal demand in China, the world's top consumer and producer of copper, aluminium, lead, zinc, nickel and tin, has fallen this year after economic activity slowed in global markets.

COLUMN-China copper imports down, stocks disconnect up
--Andy Home is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own--
LONDON, Sept 10 (Reuters) - China's headline imports of copper dropped a notch in August, coming in at 355,856 tonnes, the second weakest monthly reading so far this year after June's 346,223 tonnes.
Cue the usual attempts to draw some meaningful conclusions about the state of Chinese copper demand and the broader health or otherwise of the Chinese economy.

China's tin purchases likely to rise by year-end -traders
HONG KONG, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Chinese solder manufacturers are likely to increase refined tin purchases by year-end as they build inventories in anticipation of economic stimulus measures, and a spike in demand for their product, in 2013, industry sources said.
China is the world's top producer and consumer of refined tin, and the latest data shows it imported 17,393 tonnes of refined tin and alloy in the first seven months of the year, up 173 percent from the same year-ago period.

China's Jan-July gold output up 7 pct on year - govt
BEIJING, Sept 10 (Reuters) - China, the world's top gold producer, produced 31.3 tonnes of the precious metal in July, bringing total output in the first seven months of the year to 208 tonnes, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on Monday.
Total gold output in the first seven months this year was up 7.09 percent compared with the same period a year ago, the government said.

Iron ore posts biggest gain ever on China building plan
SINGAPORE/LONDON, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Spot iron ore posted its biggest one-day gain on record on Monday and China steel futures rose sharply for a second day, supported by hopes Beijing's approval of more than $150 billion in infrastructure projects would resuscitate steel demand.
Offer prices for imported iron ore cargoes in China rose over the weekend and the benchmark rate jumped by $6, or 6.7 percent, to $95 a tonne on Monday, based on data from information provider Steel Index.

China Aug iron ore output remains steady, steel down
BEIJING, Sept 11 (Reuters) - China produced 116.57 million tonnes of iron ore in August, inching up 1 percent from July and defying expectations of a large output cut as domestic demand held up despite plunging global prices.
Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday also showed that crude steel output across China fell 4.8 percent on the month to reach 58.703 million tonnes, with producers cutting runs to reflect falling demand and prices.

Vale, Brazil steelmakers rise on China measures
SAO PAULO, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Expectations of increased iron ore demand from China sent shares of Brazilian miner Vale higher on Monday while local steel makers also rose after the Asian giant approved $150 billion of infrastructure projects on Friday.
China gave the green light to 60 projects, including expanding rail track across three provinces, as it looks to energize an economy mired in its worst slowdown in three years.

BASE METALS: London copper eased from four-month peaks hit in the previous session as investors looked to German law courts and a Fed meeting this week for stimulus developments, while China's raft of infrastructure spending plans supported prices. (Reuters)

PRECIOUS METALS: Gold edged higher, paring losses from the previous session, with investors awaiting a key German ruling on the euro zone's bailout fund and a U.S. Federal Reserve decision on possible measures to stimulate the economy. (Reuters)

METALS-Copper slips from 4-month top, awaiting stimulus moves
SINGAPORE, Sept 11 (Reuters) - London copper eased on Tuesday from four-month peaks hit in the previous session as investors looked to German law courts and a Fed meeting this week for stimulus developments, while China's raft of infrastructure spending plans supported prices.
"From our side, we expect prices to stabilise. If any easing announcements are more pronounced than expected you can easily have prices trend higher. The dollar has come under pressure, so part of this move is dollar related," said Dominic Schnider, Head of Commodity Research at UBS Wealth Management.

PRECIOUS-Gold firms; investors eye Fed decision, German ruling
SINGAPORE, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Gold edged higher on Tuesday, paring losses from the previous session, with investors awaiting a key German ruling on the euro zone's bailout fund and a U.S.  Federal Reserve decision on possible measures to stimulate the  economy.
"Investors have become very enthusiastic about gold, as well as silver judging by ETF holdings and COMEX positions," said Li  Ning, an analyst at Shanghai CIFCO Futures. "Gold may continue  to fluctuate at these elevated levels, with $1,700 providing  short-term support."