20121206 1215 Global Markets & Energy Related News.

GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian shares steady on Obama 'fiscal cliff' comments
TOKYO, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Asian shares were steady near 16-month highs, supported by hopes that U.S. lawmakers will reach a compromise to avoid the so-called 'fiscal cliff' of year-end tax hikes and spending cuts which threaten to push the U.S. economy back into recession.
"The Obama remarks will have a positive impact on today's stock market," said Kwak Byeong-yeol, an analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities, of South Korean shares, which opened 0.1 percent higher.

FOREX-Euro steady in early Asian trade
TOKYO, Dec 6 (Reuters) - The euro held its ground in early Asian trade after slipping from a seven-week high against the dollar in the previous session, as investors awaited a European Central Bank policy meeting.    
"Politically, LDP leader Abe has softened his aggressive stance on monetary policy. However, we remain bearish on JPY over the medium term, and will look to increase our JPY short once positioning looks less stretched," analysts at Citigroup wrote in a note to clients.

Oil falls after US gasoline inventories leap higher
NEW YORK, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell by around 1 percent on Wednesday after data showed a huge increase in gasoline stockpiles in the United States last week, while disappointing euro zone and U.S. economic figures hurt sentiment about energy demand.
"The report is solidly bearish and a welcomed development for consumers," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital in New York.

US fuel stocks rise sharply as refiners produce more-EIA
NEW YORK, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Stocks of refined fuel products in the United States rose sharply last week, and crude inventories fell as refineries processed more crude, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed on Wednesday.
Gasoline stocks rose by the biggest weekly margin since September of 2001, surging 7.86 million barrels to 212.12 million barrels in the week to Nov. 30, the EIA said. The rise was much sharper than a 1.8 million barrel build forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll.

US study says the more LNG exported the better
WASHINGTON, Dec 5 (Reuters) - A U.S. government-sponsored report offered a full-throated endorsement on Wednesday for expanding liquefied natural gas exports, saying that shipping the nation's surplus gas abroad would clearly help the overall economy even though it will raise energy prices.
The report, commissioned by the Energy Department, is expected to help shape the Obama administration's response to more than a dozen proposed export projects that have been put on hold over the past year, as a surge in shale gas production upended the market and depressed domestic prices.

US shale production to push oil, gas output higher-EIA
WASHINGTON, Dec 5 (Reuters) - U.S. oil and gas production over the next two decades will be higher than previously expected, the government said on Wednesday, underscoring the push toward greater energy self-sufficiency and more exports of natural gas.
In its annual outlook, including the first forecasts through 2040, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said imports as a share of total U.S. energy production, including oil, gas and renewables, would be 9 percent by 2040 against 19 percent in 2011 and 29 percent as recently as 2007.

U.S. expects buyers of Iran's crude to deepen cuts
WASHINGTON, Dec 5 (Reuters) - The United States expects countries that buy oil from Iran to further reduce their purchases if they want to avoid U.S. sanctions, a State Department source said on Wednesday.
"The law requires additional cuts so we expect buyers to make additional cuts," a source at the State Department said about the U.S. sanctions law signed a year ago by President Barack Obama.