20121011 1643 Global Markets & Commodities Related News.

STOCKS: Asian shares tracked Wall Street lower as weak forecasts from U.S. corporate bellwethers underscored concern over global demand, particularly from China, while rising tensions in the Middle East pulled oil prices off lows. European markets opened lower. (Reuters)

FOREX: The euro fell as uncertainty over Spain's bailout prospects continued to spook sentiment, which was also dented by a drop in share markets due to worries about slowing global growth. (Reuters)

FOREX-Euro falls as worries over Spain, growth dent risk appetite
TOKYO, Oct 11 (Reuters) - The euro fell as uncertainty over Spain's bailout prospects continued to spook sentiment, which was also dented by  a drop in share markets due to worries about slowing global growth.
"Given that the S&P still kept Spain's investment grade, the reaction was much more than expected, suggesting how players would rather enter the market short than long the euro," said Kimihiko Tomita, head of foreign exchange for State Street Global Markets in Tokyo.
"The market was waiting for fresh news with some weight to push the euro lower as the currency has remained quite resilient to negative news recently," Tomita said.

IMF calls for action as euro zone crisis festers (Reuters)
The IMF prodded the world's rich countries for swifter action on Thursday as Europe's debt crisis drags on while the United States and Japan show scant progress handling their budget deficits.

S&P cuts Spain credit rating to BBB-minus, near junk (Reuters)
Standard & Poor's on Wednesday cut Spain's sovereign credit rating to BBB-minus, just above junk territory, citing a deepening economic recession that is limiting the government's policy options to arrest the slide.

GRAINS: Chicago soybeans rose more than 1 percent, recovering from a one-week low hit the day before, while corn gained after marking its lowest in almost two weeks as traders adjusted positions ahead of a key supply-demand report. (Reuters)

French wheat stocks may hit lowest in 13 years (Reuters)
Farm office FranceAgriMer on Wednesday cut its forecast of French soft wheat stocks at the end of this season to the lowest level in at least 13 years as it raised its export outlook.

U.S., OPEC cut global oil demand estimates (Reuters)
Global oil demand is looking weaker than previously forecast as the slowing economy continues to weigh on consumption, according to monthly reports released on Wednesday by the U.S. government and OPEC.

OIL: Brent crude climbed toward $115 a barrel as rising tensions in the Middle East stoked supply fears, keeping prices less than a dollar away from their highest in almost a month, although forecasts of lower demand capped gains. (Reuters)

Indonesia's Sept refined tin exports up 75 pct on mth -govt
JAKARTA, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Shipments of refined tin from Indonesia, the world's top exporter, gained 75 percent in September to 9,874.47 tonnes from 5,645.87 tonnes in August, a trade ministry official said on Thursday.
August shipments of refined tin were hit after firms in the top tin-producing region of Bangka-Belitung announced operations had stopped at all but two of the 28 licensed smelters there. Operations have since resumed.

Global steel demand growth to slow next year - Worldsteel (Reuters)
Global demand for steel, used in car making and construction, will slow next year because of weaker consumption growth in China and uncertainties from the European debt crisis, the World Steel Association said.  

China crude steel output falls in Sept, may rebound in Oct
SHANGHAI, Oct 11 (Reuters) - China's average daily crude steel output fell to 1.843 million tonnes between Sept 21-30, down 0.74 percent from the preceding 10 days, data from the China Iron & Steel Association (CISA) showed on Thursday.
A steep decline in steel prices in August and early September forced Chinese steel mills to cut production to minimise losses, as the slowing economy in the world's top steel-producing region hit demand.

Global steel demand growth to slow next year - Worldsteel
NEW DELHI, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Global demand for steel, used in car making and construction, will slow next year because of weaker consumption growth in China and uncertainties from the European debt crisis, the World Steel Association said.  
World steel consumption will grow 2.1 percent to 1.409 billion tonnes this year and 3.2 percent to 1.455 billion tonnes in 2013, the World Steel Association (Worldsteel) said on Thursday. That compares with 6.2 percent growth last year.

BASE METALS: Copper steadied from two-week lows in line with a rebound in the euro, but more weak forecasts from U.S. companies and a downgrade to Spain's credit rating eroded risk appetite, capping the metals' advance. (Reuters)

PRECIOUS METALS: Gold traded steady after dropping more than 1 percent over the last four sessions, although a gloom over the euro zone debt crisis that is supporting the dollar is expected to take some shine off bullion. (Reuters)

POLL-ANALYSTS' VIEW-Reuters Q3 precious metals price poll
LONDON, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Precious metals analysts have become more bullish for the prospects for gold and silver than they were three months ago, but their outlook for platinum and palladium has darkened in line with the outlook for global growth, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.
The impact of the euro zone debt crisis on the global economy is expected to keep global monetary policy loose, which should favour gold, while restricting demand for the more industrial metals like silver and the platinum group metals.

POLL-Gold experts turn bullish for Q4, 2013
LONDON, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Gold analysts have turned increasingly bullish on the outlook for prices in the final quarter of 2012, unanimously expecting a record-high average, and further gains next year, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.
The world's major central banks this year have pledged to pump more cash into the financial markets to lower borrowing costs in an attempt to beat a slowing global economy.

METALS-Copper steadies from two-week low, growth woes cap gains
SINGAPORE, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Copper steadied from two-week lows in line with a rebound in the euro, but more weak forecasts from U.S. companies and a downgrade to Spain's credit rating eroded risk appetite, capping the metals' advance.
"The mining companies and Alcoa are saying they're expecting reduced demand, the IMF and World Bank have said growth is going lower ... There's too much negative news out there. It's an issue until we get some concrete earnings that tell us there's an improvement," said Jonathan Barratt, chief executive of Barratt's Bulletin, a Sydney-based commodity research firm.
"When it comes to demand for primary (copper) imports, tell me what is positive out there, for copper there has been a supply issue, but people are happy to buy only what they need, when they need it," he added.

PRECIOUS-Gold steady after 4-day loss; euro zone gloom weighs
SINGAPORE, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Gold traded steady after dropping more than 1 percent over the last four sessions, although a gloom over the euro zone debt crisis that is supporting the dollar is expected to take some shine off bullion.
"The continuously rising ETF holdings show that investors are still confident in gold in the longer term, even though the euro zone trouble may have some short-term impact," said Chen Min, an analyst at Jinrui Futures in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.
"The Fed's QE (quantitative easing) and low interest rate policy has put a floor under gold, and we probably won't see a sharp pullback," he said.