20121031 1113 Global Markets & Energy Related News.

GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian shares firmer; yen slips as risk appetite warms (Reuters)
Asian shares rose and the yen was pressured, as risk appetite recovered slightly after European equities and the euro firmed overnight while U.S. financial markets looked set to  resume trading with the passage of a powerful storm. "Concerns over Japan's fiscal problems and deteriorating trade balance are behind the current phase of yen weakness and the BOJ easing is just one catalyst, said Yuji Saito, director of foreign exchange at Credit Agricole in Tokyo. "So having cleared the post-BOJ positions, the dollar/yen will likely steady ahead of the U.S. jobs data and the U.S. presidential election," he added.

OIL-Brent hovers near $109; recovery eyed post Sandy (Reuters)
Brent crude held steady near $109 a barrel on Wednesday after the huge storm Sandy whiplashed the U.S. East Coast, reducing fuel demand even as refineries in the region gradually resumed operation. "This is really the last thing that the U.S. needed," Nunan said, adding that Americans without insurance coverage would have less spare cash to spend on consumer goods just as the world's largest economy was showing signs of recovery.

POLL-U.S. crude oil inventories seen up on higher imports (Reuters)
U.S. crude oil inventories were forecast to have risen for the fourth straight week as a result of increased imports, an extended Reuters poll of analysts showed on Tuesday.

NATURAL GAS-U.S. natgas futures end down 3 pct, Sandy dampens demand (Reuters)
U.S. natural gas futures ended lower on Tuesday in electronic trade, as Hurricane Sandy knocked out power to millions of East Coast customers this week and slowed demand despite the cooler outlook for late this week and next week. "There may be less demand this week because of power outages, but I'm not sure about the net effect with all the nuclear plants down. There are a lot of nuke units out now," a Chicago-based trader said.

Euro Coal-Prices rise $1-$1.50/T with gas, swaps (Reuters)
Prompt European coal prices rose by $1-$1.50 a tonne on Tuesday in line with coal swaps and higher gas but few trades were reported. "The market must be at the bottom now, at these prices too many producers are feeling pain," one European trader said.