Most Asian Stocks Rise on Improving U.S. Jobs Data, Japan Machinery Orders (Source: Bloomberg)
Most Asian stocks rose after a rebound in Japan’s machinery orders and better-than-expected U.S. jobs data eased concern a slowdown in Europe and China will derail global economic growth. Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. (6305), a maker of bulldozers and cranes, rose 2.4 percent in Tokyo. Panasonic Corp., an electronics company that gets about 10 percent of its sales in the U.S., climbed 1.4 percent after the dollar strengthened against the yen. Samsung Electronics Co., South Korea’s No. 1 consumer electronics exporter, fell 1.1 percent in Seoul after Apple Inc. claimed the company violated a court order in a patent-infringement case. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.1 percent to 126.80 as of 9:39 a.m. in Tokyo, with about three stocks advancing for every two that dropped. Two of 10 industry groups in the measure advanced. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average (NKY) rose 0.7 percent after the nation’s machinery orders rebounded in January, signaling company investment will help to drive a return to growth.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.4 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi Index slid 0.5 percent.
Japanese Stocks Advance For Third Day as U.S. Employment Data Lifts Dollar (Source: Bloomberg)
March 12 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks rose for a third day, extending a rally of five consecutive weeks, after better- than-expected U.S. jobs data pushed the dollar to a 10-month high against the yen, boosting exporters’ earnings outlook. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average (NKY) rose 0.9 percent to 10,021.51 as of 9:01 a.m. in Tokyo. The broader Topix Index gained 0.5 percent to 853.13. The gauge added 1.3 percent last week, capping its fifth weekly gains.
European Stocks Decline as Best Annual Start Since 1998 Seen as Overdone (Source: Bloomberg)
European stocks fell this week as investors speculated the Stoxx Europe 600 Index’s best start to a year since 1998 has overshot the outlook for the economy. Enel SpA sank to a record low as Italy’s largest utility cut its dividend target to reduce debt. PSA Peugeot Citroen sank 7.8 percent after Europe’s second-biggest carmaker announced a 1 billion-euro ($1.3 billion) rights offer. Salzgitter AG lost 7 percent after the steelmaker said it was“impossible” to provide an earnings forecast. The benchmark Stoxx 600 (SXXP) slid 0.7 percent to 265.44 this past week, the biggest drop since Feb. 10. The gauge rose for the past three days as Greece persuaded most bondholders to accept a debt exchange, rebounding from the biggest two-day drop since November earlier in the week. The index had climbed 9.3 percent from the start of the year through March 2 as the European Central Bank lent the region’s lenders more than 1 trillion euros and U.S. data topped forecasts.
“The force of the move into the new year really took the market into extended overbought conditions; technically it looked like there was a need for some consolidation,” said Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist at Brewin Dolphin Securities Ltd. in London. “We could see more of a consolidation phase going forward, but the fundamental picture is still looking more supportive than before.”
S&P 500 Caps Fourth Weekly Advance as Employment Growth Exceeds Forecasts (Source: Bloomberg)
U.S. stocks rose, capping the fourth straight weekly rally for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, after a government report showing stronger-than-forecast payroll growth bolstered optimism in the world’s largest economy. Financial shares had the biggest gain among 10 groups in the S&P 500 as Greece’s private creditors agreed to a debt swap. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and BB&T Corp. (BBT) added at least 1.2 percent. Lennar Corp. (LEN) and D.R. Horton Inc. rallied more than 3 percent, pacing gains in homebuilders, after Credit Suisse Group AG raised its recommendations for the companies. Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) rose 2.9 percent on plans to introduce a new single-cup brewer.
The S&P 500 added 0.4 percent to 1,370.87 at 4 p.m. New York time. The index rose 2.1 percent in four weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 14.08 points, or 0.1 percent, to 12,922.02. The Russell 2000 Index of small companies jumped 1.3 percent to 817. About 6.2 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, or 6.4 percent below the three-month average. “The jobs report was solid, but not spectacular,” said James McDonald, chief investment strategist at Northern Trust Corp. in Chicago. His firm manages $663 billion. “This helps depict the U.S. as the standout Western economy continuing to slowly, but steadily repair. We didn’t see any improvement in the unemployment rate. That tells me the Fed is going to stay accommodative. The path of least resistance for stocks is up.”
Emerging-Market Equity Funds Record 10th Week of Inflows, EPFR Global Says (Source: Bloomberg)
Emerging-market stock funds took in $907 million in the week ended March 7, the 10th week of inflows and the longest run of gains since 2010, according to EPFR Global. Inflows were lured as an easing in tensions with Iran outweighed the prospect of slower growth in China, according to EPFR. Net investment into developing-nation equity funds has totaled $22.6 billion in 2012, compared with outflows of $19.6 billion for the same period of 2011, according to a report e- mailed today by the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based data provider. So-called Global Emerging-Market funds, or GEM funds, recorded net inflow for the week of $1.3 billion, the data show. Asian funds excluding Japan recorded a net outflow of $418 million, Cameron Brandt, EPFR director of research, said by e- mail today. China cuts its economic growth target to 7.5 percent on March 5, from an 8 percent goal in place since 2005.
Retail Sales Likely Rose on Autos, Fuel (Source: Bloomberg)
Retail sales in the U.S. probably rose in February by the most in five months, spurred by the strongest demand for automobiles since 2008, economists said before reports this week. The 1.1 percent rise would follow a 0.4 percent gain in January, according to the median forecast of 67 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News ahead of Commerce Department figures due March 13. Industrial production picked up in February, while inflation excluding food and energy remained in check. Sales at retailers like Gap Inc. (GPS) and Target Corp. (TGT) last month beat analysts’ estimates, a sign an improving job market is helping bolster consumer spending, the biggest part of the economy. A pickup in payrolls, accompanied by limited wage growth, may not be enough to satisfy Federal Reserve officials, who this week will probably reaffirm their commitment to keeping interest rates low through 2014.
“Retail sales could be pretty strong for February,” said Omair Sharif, an economist at RBS Securities LLC in Stamford, Connecticut. “The better job growth numbers are helping. Fed policy makers are going to sit back and take stock” rather than make any new moves.
Operation Twist’s Impact on U.S. Yields Comparable to Fed Easing, BIS Says (Source: Bloomberg)
The Federal Reserve’s extension of the average maturity of its holdings is comparable to its two rounds of asset purchases in lowering borrowing costs, according to the Bank for International Settlements. The program known as Operation Twist may lower the Treasury 10-year note yield by about 85 basis points, or 0.85 percentage point, compared with a reduction of 164 basis points under the Fed’s $2.3 trillion purchases of assets known as quantitative easing, a report from the Basel, Switzerland-based BIS said. Operation Twist “may have a significant impact on the 10- year Treasury bond yield, comparable to that of outright asset purchases,” Jack Meaning, an economics doctoral candidate at the University of Kent, and Feng Zhu, a BIS economist, wrote in the report, which was released today.
They said part of Operation Twist’s reduction of yields may be erased by the Treasury Department, which has increased its average debt maturity to 62.8 months, the highest level since 2002. The U.S. government’s increase in the average maturity of outstanding debt added 41 basis points to the 10-year note yield, Meaning and Zhu wrote.
China Has Biggest Trade Shortfall Since 1989 on Europe Turmoil (Source: Bloomberg)
China had its largest trade deficit since at least 1989 last month as Europe’s sovereign-debt turmoil damped exports and imports rebounded after a weeklong holiday. The shortfall was $31.5 billion, the customs bureau said yesterday. Imports rose 39.6 percent from a year earlier, after a 15.3 percent slump in January, while exports increased 18.4 percent, the bureau said. Data in the first two months are distorted by the timing of the Lunar New Year holiday, which fell in January this year and February in 2011. The data, along with lower-than-forecast inflation, industrial output and retail sales reported March 9, raise the odds PremierWen Jiabao will ease policies to support growth in the world’s second-biggest economy. Commerce Minister Chen Deming’s warning last week that boosting trade by 10 percent this year will require “arduous efforts” may also signal a slower pace of yuan gains as policy makers seek to aid exporters.
“Easing inflation and weakening economic activity send a strong signal for further loosening in the upcoming months,” said Shen Jianguang, Hong Kong-based chief greater China economist for Mizuho Securities Asia Ltd.
China Slowdown May Portend Easing as Asia Considers Options for Stimulus (Source: Bloomberg)
China’s economic growth slowed in the first two months of the year, with both exports and domestic demand moderating faster than analysts had forecast, building the case for Premier Wen Jiabao to accelerate stimulus measures. The world’s second-largest economy had the biggest trade deficit last month in at least 22 years, the weakest January- February factory-production gain since 2009 and retail sales below the median economist estimate, government data showed March 9 and 10. Inflation and lending growth also slowed, leaving Wen with more scope to loosen credit. The nation may cut interest rates for the first time since 2008 or lower banks’ required reserves a third time in four months as policy makers across Asia balance preserving firepower for a deterioration in Europe’s debt crisis with controlling inflation. India last week unexpectedly reduced its cash reserve ratio, while Australia’s central bank said it has scope to lower rates and South Korea and Indonesia held off from stimulus.
“Across Asia, the focus of macroeconomic policies is shifting towards supporting growth,” said Eswar Prasad, a former China division chief at the International Monetary Fund who’s now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington. “Many economies are holding some policy room in reserve as they brace for possible spillovers from external shocks.”
Japanese Machinery Orders Signal Investment to Aid Rebound (Source: Bloomberg)
Japan’s machinery orders rebounded in January, signaling that company investment will help to drive a return to growth in the world’s third-biggest economy. Bookings (JNMOCHNG), an indicator of future capital spending, rose 3.4 percent from a month earlier, the Cabinet Office said in Tokyo today. The median estimate of 30 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 2.3 percent increase. In December, orders fell 7.1 percent. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average exceeded 10,000 for the first time in seven months on March 9 as Greece secured a rescue package, boosting prospects for European demand for Japanese exports. A weakening of the yen since the start of February will aid exporters such as Panasonic Corp. (6752) and Sony Corp. (6758) and the economy is set for a boost from reconstruction work after the earthquake a year ago.
“Global manufacturing activity is gaining momentum, and that’s positive for capital investment in Japan,” said Hiroshi Shiraishi, an economist at BNP Paribas in Tokyo. “We’re also seeing signs of improved overseas demand, particularly from Asia and the U.S., so that’s also good news.”
BRICs Fastest Inflation Accelerating Puts Subbarao on Hold: India Credit (Source: Bloomberg)
Indian inflation, the fastest among the biggest emerging markets, is poised to accelerate as oil costs rise for a nation that depends on imports for 80 percent of its energy requirements, interest-rate swaps show. The cost of locking in rates for five years rose to 7.49 percent in Mumbai on March 9, the highest in almost five months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Wholesale prices rose 6.69 percent last month after increasing 6.55 percent in January, according to the median forecast of economists in a Bloomberg survey before data due on March 14. That would compare with levels of 6.2 percent in Brazil, 3.2 percent in China and 3.7 percent in Russia. Reserve Bank of India Governor Duvvuri Subbarao on March 9 unexpectedly slashed the amount of deposits lenders need to set aside as reserves to ease a cash squeeze in the banking system.
He’ll refrain from lowering borrowing costs at this week’s policy meeting, a separate survey showed, as this year’s 16.4 percent rise in Brent threatens to fuel inflation in a nation where 80 percent of the population lives on less than $2 a day. “Oil prices are becoming a big concern and will aggravate inflation,” Killol Pandya, the Mumbai-based head of fixed- income investment at the local unit of Daiwa Asset Management Co. that oversees $225 million, said in an interview on March 9. “A rate cut is unlikely to happen this month.”
Philippines Central Bank May Pause After Its Two Rate Cuts, Tetangco Says (Source: Bloomberg)
The Philippine central bank may pause after reducing the benchmark interest rate at both of its meetings so far this year as elevated oil prices threaten to spur inflation, Governor Amando Tetangco said. “Pausing gives us time to digest and monitor the impact of past policy actions and to consider other relevant data,” Tetangco said in an e-mailed reply to questions March 10. “A pause is always on the table, as are other policy moves.”
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas cut interest rates by a quarter-percentage-point at each of its past two policy meetings, taking the overnight borrowing rate to 4 percent, the lowest level in a year. The Philippines reduced borrowing costs in a bid to shore up faltering growth and stave off the destabilizing effects of Europe’s debt crisis on the global economy. Crude oil prices have gained more than 8 percent so far this year, a jump that risks spurring price pressures in a nation that imports almost all its requirements, even as inflation cooled to its slowest pace in more than two years in February.
European Finance Ministers Set to Approve Greek Aid Payout, Examine Spain (Source: Bloomberg)
Euro-area finance ministers seeking to step past the largest sovereign debt restructuring in history will attempt to gain a foothold this week as they grapple with implementing the latest Greek bailout. Ministers from the 17 nations that share the euro will gather in Brussels today to sign off on the 130 billion-euro ($170 billion) second package for Greece after bondholders agreed last week to take a loss on the country’s debt. They’ll also focus on Spain’s budget-cutting efforts and Portugal’s aid program, underscoring their desire to prevent contagion. The debt swap seeks to wipe more than 100 billion euros off Greece’s books and contain an economic collapse in the country as European overseers work to hold Greek leaders to their commitments. The difficulties the government in Athens will confront in meeting creditors’ demands have prompted speculation of still further assistance.
“You have to see it very realistically,” Austrian Central Bank Governor Ewald Nowotny told state broadcaster ORF March 10 when asked about the possibility of a third Greek package. “It would be foolish to rule such a thing out completely, but I don’t see the necessity at this time.”
IMF Scales Back Aid to Greece in Nation’s 2nd Rescue Package (Source: Bloomberg)
The International Monetary Fund intends to contribute 18 billion euros ($23.6 billion) in fresh funds to the second aid package for Greece, scaling back IMF help for the nation that triggered Europe’s debt crisis. The planned IMF contribution disclosed yesterday represents 14 percent of the 130 billion-euro second rescue of Greece being arranged with the euro area. The IMF accounted for 27 percent -- or 30 billion euros -- of Greece’s initial 110 billion-euro bailout in May 2010. “The IMF is trying to manage a difficult balance between staying involved in the rescue package for Greece while limiting the risk to its own funds,” Eswar Prasad, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington and a former IMF official, said in an e-mail. The IMF is “increasing its overall exposure to Greece. This poses both financial and political risks for the fund.”
India’s Central Bank Cuts Reserve Ratio as Cash Squeeze Threatens Economy (Source: Bloomberg)
India’s central bank unexpectedly cut the amount of deposits lenders need to set aside as reserves to ease a cash squeeze in the banking system that threatens to deepen an economic slowdown. The Reserve Bank of India reduced the cash reserve ratio to 4.75 percent from 5.5 percent, according to an e-mailed statement yesterday. The move, the first such action outside a policy meeting since July 2010, will add 480 billion rupees ($9.6 billion) into lenders, it said. The bank last reduced the ratio by 50 basis points, or 0.5 percentage point, on Jan. 24. The unscheduled step before a March 15 policy review underscores the RBI’s concern that a shortage of cash in the banking system will hurt the economy, forecast to expand at the slowest pace in three years in the fiscal period ending March 31. Asian nations including China and the Philippines have eased monetary policy to spur growth amid Europe’s debt crisis.
“The strong and surprise action by the RBI is aimed at ensuring that the rapid deterioration in growth momentum is arrested,” said Shubhada Rao, chief economist at Yes Bank Ltd. (YES) in Mumbai. “The CRR cut will help alleviate the stress in the banking system and guide the liquidity deficit to lower levels.”
Egypt Reports February Inflation Accelerated on Increases in Food Prices (Source: Bloomberg)
Egypt’s inflation rate accelerated in February on rising food prices, one of the causes of unrest that toppled President Hosni Mubarak in 2011. The annual inflation rate in urban parts of Egypt, the gauge the central bank monitors, increased to 9.2 percent from 8.6 percent in January, the official statistics agency said on its website today. Food and beverage costs, the biggest component of the consumer-price index, increased an annualized 12.6 percent compared with 11.2 percent in January. February’s higher inflation figure follows “a depreciated exchange rate as compared to the previous year,” said Nada Farid, a Cairo-based economist at investment bank Beltone Financial. “We believe the Central Bank of Egypt will keep policy rates unchanged” at its upcoming meeting, “to balance between slight inflationary pressures and still-weak economic prospects.”
Gross domestic product expanded 0.4 percent in the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with growth of 0.2 percent in the previous quarter and 5.6 percent a year earlier, according to a Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation report. The economy grew 1.8 percent in the fiscal year through June, the slowest pace in at least a decade.
Dubai Shares Advance Most in Two Years on Oil Price, U.S. Employment Gains (Source: Bloomberg)
Dubai’s shares surged the most in more than two years as oil rose and investors bet stronger-than- forecast U.S. jobs data will bolster global growth, helping the emirate’s benchmark index extend a rally. Arabtec Holding Co. (ARTC), the United Arab Emirates’ biggest construction company, surged the most since 2010. Dubai Financial Market PJSC (DFM) soared 9.7 percent. The DFM General Index (DFMGI) rallied 4.7 percent, the largest advance since December 2009, to 1,686.66, at the 2 p.m. close in the emirate. The Bloomberg GCC 200 (BGCC200) Index of Persian Gulf stocks added 1.1 percent. Dubai’s shares have rallied 25 percent so far this year after improved earnings and dividends boosted investor confidence. They posted their first weekly drop since January last week, tumbling 5.4 percent amid speculation the surge may have been overdone. A U.S. report showing the best six-month streak of job growth since 2006 helped lift the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) 0.4 percent on March 9.
“With international markets performing well, local sentiment has picked up,” said Ziad Dabbas, a financial analyst at National Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC, the U.A.E.’s second-biggest bank by assets. “After the strong correction last week, some believe this is an opportunity to go back in. We feel the market may ultimately continue to improve in the long term.”
Monday, March 12, 2012
20120312 0935 Soy Oil & Palm Oil Related News.
ITS CPO export up 29.5% to 444,259 tonnes for the period of 1~10 Mar 2012.
SGS CPO export up 32.9% to 448,615 tonnes for the period of 1~10 Mar 2012.
MPOB Official Data for the month of Feb 2012 vs Jan 2012
Exports down 12.6% to 1,210,754 tonnes
Stocks up 2% to 2,059,693 tonnes
Output down 7.9% to 1,185,126 tonnes
Soybeans (Source: CME)
US soybean futures end lower, retreat from early gains as traders take profits. The rally in soybean futures that pushed prices to 6-month highs stalled Friday as forecasters predicted high prices will slow global demand and boost the size of the crop US farmers plant, analysts say. Despite USDA cutting South American production more than expected, traders were focused on how USDA forecasters predicted rising prices will cool global export demand. Traders also voiced concern that further cuts to Latin American will be limited, as forecasters should have a good handle on crops at this point. CBOT May soy ended down 3/4c at $13.37 3/4/bushel, after climbing to $13.55 1/2 overnight.
Soybean Meal/Oil (Source: CME)
Soy product futures end mixed, with the unwinding of soymeal/soyoil spreads featured. The spread of buying soymeal versus soyoil had propelled meal to 5-month highs, but without a new fundamental spark, traders looked to take profits. There was a large spread position unwound in the market, says Mike Zuzolo, president Global Commodity Analytics and Consulting. CBOT May soymeal dropped $4.50 to $362.70/short ton, and May soyoil climbed 0.88c to 54.27 cents/lb.
Palm oil touches 9-month high on upbeat forecasts
KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures hit their highest level in nine months, buoyed by an improved global outlook and upbeat price forecasts for the edible oil from analysts at a key conference.
"Fundamentally what we already knew has been out there in the market for a while. If we are talking why there is a sudden surge, it could be the very bullish outlook at the conference," said Selena Leong, an analyst with DMG & Partners Research in Singapore.
SGS CPO export up 32.9% to 448,615 tonnes for the period of 1~10 Mar 2012.
MPOB Official Data for the month of Feb 2012 vs Jan 2012
Exports down 12.6% to 1,210,754 tonnes
Stocks up 2% to 2,059,693 tonnes
Output down 7.9% to 1,185,126 tonnes
Soybeans (Source: CME)
US soybean futures end lower, retreat from early gains as traders take profits. The rally in soybean futures that pushed prices to 6-month highs stalled Friday as forecasters predicted high prices will slow global demand and boost the size of the crop US farmers plant, analysts say. Despite USDA cutting South American production more than expected, traders were focused on how USDA forecasters predicted rising prices will cool global export demand. Traders also voiced concern that further cuts to Latin American will be limited, as forecasters should have a good handle on crops at this point. CBOT May soy ended down 3/4c at $13.37 3/4/bushel, after climbing to $13.55 1/2 overnight.
Soybean Meal/Oil (Source: CME)
Soy product futures end mixed, with the unwinding of soymeal/soyoil spreads featured. The spread of buying soymeal versus soyoil had propelled meal to 5-month highs, but without a new fundamental spark, traders looked to take profits. There was a large spread position unwound in the market, says Mike Zuzolo, president Global Commodity Analytics and Consulting. CBOT May soymeal dropped $4.50 to $362.70/short ton, and May soyoil climbed 0.88c to 54.27 cents/lb.
Palm oil touches 9-month high on upbeat forecasts
KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures hit their highest level in nine months, buoyed by an improved global outlook and upbeat price forecasts for the edible oil from analysts at a key conference.
"Fundamentally what we already knew has been out there in the market for a while. If we are talking why there is a sudden surge, it could be the very bullish outlook at the conference," said Selena Leong, an analyst with DMG & Partners Research in Singapore.
Friday, March 9, 2012
20120309 1814 FCPO EOD Daily Chart Study.
Bollinger band reading : upside biased with possible pullback correction.
MACD Histrogram : rising, buyer in charge.
Support : 3350, 3300, 3270, 3250 level.
Resistance : 3420, 3450, 3470, 3500 level.
Comment :
FCPO closed recorded rallied higher for the 3rd day with increased volume participation. Soy oil price currently surging higher recording nearly 2% gains after overnight closed higher while crude oil price also trading higher.
Market continue to surge higher after reuters survey showing weaker output and lower inventory level and partly support by firmer soy bean oil as market awaits USDA data tonight with anticipation of lower South America crop forecast. They will also be MPOB Feb 2012 official data and cargo surveyor export data on next Monday.
Chart study adjusted to suggesting an upside biased market development with possible pullback correction.
When to buy : buy at support or weakness with larger cut loss and profit target.
When to sell : sell at resistant or strength with quick cut loss and profit target.
20120309 1727 FKLI EOD Daily Chart Study.
Bollinger band reading : pullback correction upside biased.
MACD Histrogram : falling lower, buyer leaving while seller testing market.
Support : 1570, 1565, 1550, 1540 level.
Resistance : 1580, 1590, 1600, 1610 level.
Comment :
FKLI closed marginally lower with quiet volume changed hand doing 2 points discount compare to cash market that also closed slightly higher. Overnight U.S. markets closed firmer and today Asia markets ended higher while European markets currently drifting between positive and negative zone.
Global market traded mostly higher after Greece completed its debt swap deal and China reported lower Feb inflation rate while awaits U.S. monthly jobs report.
Technical analysis still calling a pullback correction upside biased market development.
When to buy : buy at support or weakness with quick cut loss and profit target.
When to sell : sell at resistance or strength with quick cut loss and profit target.
20120309 1709 Regional Markets EOD Daily Chart Study.
DJIA chart reading : correction range bound little upside biased.
Hang Seng chart reading : correction range bound little upside biased.
KLCI chart reading : pullback correction upside biased.
Greek debt hopes buoy shares, eyes on U.S. jobs
TOKYO, March 9 (Reuters) - Tokyo stocks jumped to a seven-month high on Friday as Asian shares rose on signs Greece is a step nearer to averting a default, although momentum may be checked by caution ahead of U.S. data that is expected to confirm a labour market recovery.
"News about Greece is generally positive and is expected to underpin the euro in the near-term, while expectations the European Central Bank won't lower interest rates also will spur a buy-back in the euro," said Yuji Saito, director of the foreign exchange division at Credit Agricole Bank in Tokyo.
FOREX-Euro up on Greek relief; China, U.S. data next
SYDNEY, March 9 (Reuters) - The euro and commodity currencies held on to overnight gains in Asia on Friday after Greece moved closer to securing fresh funds needed to avoid a messy debt default.
But further gains will depend on China's consumer inflation data due around 0130 GMT and industrial output at 0530 GMT, which could either support or undermine the improving risk sentiment.
Soy at 5-month top on Chinese buying, wheat rebounds
SYDNEY, March 9 (Reuters) - Chicago soy futures rose to their highest in more than 5 months on Friday, on track for a fourth straight week of gains as the market was supported by strong U.S. export sales led by demand from China.
"The focus is on the USDA report and according to most forecasters, we are likely to see a contraction in oilseed numbers," said Luke Mathews, commodities strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Hot summer may not hit US corn after warm winter-study
CHICAGO, March 8 (Reuters) - Farmers in Iowa and Illinois should not bank on searing summer heat just because both of the top U.S. corn states saw one of their warmest winters in at least 50 years, University of Illinois economists said in a study released on Thursday.
Agricultural economists Darrel Good and Scott Irwin studied temperature and corn yield data from 1960 to 2011 for Iowa and Illinois and found little correlation that warm summers follow warm winters or that corn yields were affected.
Grain ships halted in Argentina, dockers walk off job
BUENOS AIRES, March 8 (Reuters) - Crews needed to guide ships through the ports of grains powerhouse Argentina will stay off the job until more staff is assigned to work busy docking shifts, a union leader said on Thursday.
The week-old walkout by the dockers has bogged down shipments from the world's biggest supplier of soyoil, used for cooking and in the booming international biofuels sector. Argentina is also a major global provider of corn and soybeans.
Britain, Spain seen blocking EU deal on GM crop bans
BRUSSELS, March 8 (Reuters) - European Union ministers are unlikely to agree draft rules to let countries decide themselves whether to grow or ban genetically modified (GM) crops, despite efforts by Denmark's EU presidency to reach a compromise.
EU environment ministers meeting in Brussels on Friday will vote on a Danish compromise designed to break a deadlock that has split governments in the 27-country bloc since the draft rules were proposed in 2010.
Viterra sees big Canada, Australia crop plantings
WINNIPEG, Manitoba, March 8 (Reuters) - Planting conditions in Canada and Australia point to large grain and oilseed crops in 2012, and a global production rebound could pressure grain prices this year, the CEO of Canada's biggest grain handler Viterra , said on Thursday.
In Western Canada, farmers expect to boost plantings by 8 percent to 10 percent, to between 57 million and 59 million acres, as previously flooded land returns to production, the company said, as it reported a lower quarterly profit.
Brent rises above $125 on Greece debt hopes, U.S. data
SINGAPORE, March 9 (Reuters) - Brent crude rose above $125 a barrel on Friday, posting its sixth weekly gain in seven, as Greece successfully closed its bond swap offer for creditors, a key step towards securing an international bailout to avoid a messy default.
"Europe has a big impact on Brent prices and the market has been pricing in a more positive outcome and is also closely watching sentiment data out of the United States," said Natalie.
CNPC's Feb crude runs above plan, record diesel stks in late Jan
BEIJING, March 9 (Reuters) - China National Petroleum Corp's crude oil throughput and oil products output were both more than 200,000 tonnes higher in February than planned, China's second largest refiner said in a company-run newspaper.
CNPC's diesel inventories reached a record high in late January, the China Petroleum Daily said.
Keystone oil pipeline bill fails in U.S. Senate
WASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democrats on Thursday defeated a Republican proposal to give a permit to the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline in a vote that will give Republicans more ammunition to criticize President Barack Obama's energy policies on the campaign trail.
Republicans argue the pipeline, which would ship oil from Canada and northern U.S. states to Texas, would create jobs and improve energy security at a time of surging gasoline prices.
Exxon Mobil sees dip in oil, gas output this year
NEW YORK, March 8 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp said its 2012 oil and natural gas output would drop 3 percent from last year even as it increases spending to bring several large new projects on line, and its shares fell 1.2 percent.
Despite the expected drop in 2012, production should increase by an average of 1 to 2 percent annually through 2016, the company told analysts in New York on Thursday.
Copper rises 1 pct, China data boosts demand outlook
SINGAPORE, March 9 (Reuters) - London copper rose for a third day in a row after data showing Chinese inflation at a 20-month low raised hopes for further monetary easing that could spur demand from the world's top consumer of the metal.
"We'll see policymakers much keener to loosen some of the monetary controls and that will make more funding available for construction projects," said Matt Fusarelli, analyst at Australia-based consultancy AME Group.
China's Shougang gets approval to acquire smaller Tonghua
BEIJING, March 9 (Reuters) - China's Shougang Group has received approval to acquire the smaller mill Tonghua Steel in northeastern China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said on Friday, as Beijing's seeks to consolidate the fragmented sector.
Shougang, the country's sixth-biggest mill, has been aggressively seeking to acquire smaller producers after moving its facilities out of Beijing to improve the air environment of China's capital.
Lynas sees Malaysia rare earths plant timeline intact
MELBOURNE, March 9 (Reuters) - Australia's Lynas Corp still expects its rare earths plant in Malaysia to open by June, despite an appeal against the government's decision to grant a licence to the plant that is key to breaking China's grip on global markets.
Lynas said the Malaysian government had received an appeal against the temporary operating licence granted to the company in February and would hear the appeal in April.
Gold firms as China data sparks easing hopes
SINGAPORE, March 9 (Reuters) - Gold edged up, rising in tandem with other commodities and equities, after lower-than-expected inflation data out of China suggested more monetary easing could be on its way.
"A lower headline inflation number means that the central bank can continue to be very accommodative, which means printing more money," said Jeremy Friesen, commodity strategist at Societe Generale in Hong Kong.
China Feb oil, copper imports to fall after holiday
SHANGHAI/HONG KONG, March 8 (Reuters) - China's imports of crude oil and copper in February are expected to have fallen from January's levels, as many oil refineries start regular maintenance and industrial consumers push back metal shipments amid swollen inventories and feeble demand.
Crude oil shipments should ease from the 23.41 million tonnes, or 5.51 million barrels per day, recorded in January, as some of the country's top refineries pared their run rates to the lowest in four months for maintenance.
Indonesia eyes moves on tin exports, palm tax
JAKARTA, March 8 (Reuters) - A cut in shipments of refined tin is among the options Indonesia, the world's top exporter of the base metal, could consider in a bid to push prices above $30,000 a tonne, the country's junior trade minister said on Thursday.
In an effort to push global prices above $23,000 a tonne, tin smelters in Indonesia's main tin-producing region of Bangka-Belitung islands imposed a brief ban on export of tin ingots from October last year, but the move failed.
CNPC's Feb crude runs above plan, record diesel stks in late Jan
BEIJING, March 9 (Reuters) - China National Petroleum Corp's crude oil throughput and oil products output were both more than 200,000 tonnes higher in February than planned, China's second largest refiner said in a company-run newspaper.
CNPC's diesel inventories reached a record high in late January, the China Petroleum Daily said.
Keystone oil pipeline bill fails in U.S. Senate
WASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democrats on Thursday defeated a Republican proposal to give a permit to the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline in a vote that will give Republicans more ammunition to criticize President Barack Obama's energy policies on the campaign trail.
Republicans argue the pipeline, which would ship oil from Canada and northern U.S. states to Texas, would create jobs and improve energy security at a time of surging gasoline prices.
China Feb oil, copper imports to fall after holiday
SHANGHAI/HONG KONG, March 8 (Reuters) - China's imports of crude oil and copper in February are expected to have fallen from January's levels, as many oil refineries start regular maintenance and industrial consumers push back metal shipments amid swollen inventories and feeble demand.
Crude oil shipments should ease from the 23.41 million tonnes, or 5.51 million barrels per day, recorded in January, as some of the country's top refineries pared their run rates to the lowest in four months for maintenance.
Australian miners sanguine on new Indonesia law
MELBOURNE, March 9 (Reuters) - Australian miners are playing down the impact of a new law in Indonesia limiting foreign ownership in mines to no more than 49 percent, even after a senior Indonesian official said the law would apply to all foreign miners.
The government has said it wants Indonesians to have greater ownership of resources in the country, which is the world's top exporter of thermal coal and tin and has abundant reserves of copper and gold.
China zinc imports may rise if mine remains closed for 3 mths
HONG KONG, March 8 (Reuters) - China's imports of zinc and raw material concentrates could climb if a key mine and zinc smelter do not reopen in three months, analysts and traders said on Thursday.
Shenzhen Zhongjin Lingnan Nonfemet , a major domestic metal producer, on Sunday shut its 200,000-tonne-a-year Fan Kou lead and zinc mine and 110,000-tonne-a-year Dan Xia zinc smelter for maintenance due to fears about lead pollution.
METALS-Copper rises 1 pct, China data boosts demand outlook
SINGAPORE, March 9 (Reuters) - London copper rose for a third day in a row on Friday after data showing Chinese inflation at a 20-month low raised hopes for further monetary easing that could spur demand from the world's top consumer of the metal.
A successful bond swap in Greece aimed at slashing its debt mountain also aided sentiment towards industrial metals and other riskier assets, ahead of the release of key U.S. employment data later in the day.
PRECIOUS-Gold firms as China data sparks easing hopes
SINGAPORE, March 9 (Reuters) - Gold edged up on Friday, rising in tandem with other commodities and equities, after lower-than-expected inflation data out of China suggested more monetary easing could be on its way.
China's annual rate of consumer inflation slowed sharply to a 20-month low of 3.2 percent in February, comfortably within Beijing's 2012 target of 4 percent, giving policymakers room to further loosen monetary policy to support slowing growth.
Iron Ore-Shanghai rebar at 1-month high after China data
SINGAPORE, March 9 (Reuters) - Shanghai steel futures rose to one-month highs on Friday, heading for a third weekly gain, after data showing a drop in China's inflation raised investors' hopes of an increase in demand from the world's top steel consumer.
China's annual consumer inflation slowed to a 20-month low of 3.2 percent in February, staying comfortably within Beijing's 2012 target and giving policymakers scope to further loosen monetary policy to support flagging growth.
Baltic sea index rises on Atlantic activity
March 8 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index tracking rates for ships carrying dry commodities rose for the eleventh straight day on Thursday, on steady gains for panamaxes due to fresh grain and coal cargoes in the Atlantic.
The main index, which factors in the average daily earnings of capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize dry bulk transport vessels, rose 14 points or 1.75 percent to 812 points.
Shipping crisis to extend into 2013 - Moody's
LONDON, March 7 (Reuters) - The global shipping slump is expected to last well into 2013 as a glut of vessels and a growing credit squeeze will challenge even the toughest companies in the seaborne sector, Moody's Investor Service said on Wednesday.
Shipping companies, especially in the oil tanker and dry bulk sectors, already hit by worsening economic turmoil, weak earnings and oversupply ordered in the good times now face tighter financing as banks cut their exposure to risky and dollar denominated assets such as ship finance to meet tougher capital rules.
TOKYO, March 9 (Reuters) - Tokyo stocks jumped to a seven-month high on Friday as Asian shares rose on signs Greece is a step nearer to averting a default, although momentum may be checked by caution ahead of U.S. data that is expected to confirm a labour market recovery.
"News about Greece is generally positive and is expected to underpin the euro in the near-term, while expectations the European Central Bank won't lower interest rates also will spur a buy-back in the euro," said Yuji Saito, director of the foreign exchange division at Credit Agricole Bank in Tokyo.
FOREX-Euro up on Greek relief; China, U.S. data next
SYDNEY, March 9 (Reuters) - The euro and commodity currencies held on to overnight gains in Asia on Friday after Greece moved closer to securing fresh funds needed to avoid a messy debt default.
But further gains will depend on China's consumer inflation data due around 0130 GMT and industrial output at 0530 GMT, which could either support or undermine the improving risk sentiment.
Soy at 5-month top on Chinese buying, wheat rebounds
SYDNEY, March 9 (Reuters) - Chicago soy futures rose to their highest in more than 5 months on Friday, on track for a fourth straight week of gains as the market was supported by strong U.S. export sales led by demand from China.
"The focus is on the USDA report and according to most forecasters, we are likely to see a contraction in oilseed numbers," said Luke Mathews, commodities strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Hot summer may not hit US corn after warm winter-study
CHICAGO, March 8 (Reuters) - Farmers in Iowa and Illinois should not bank on searing summer heat just because both of the top U.S. corn states saw one of their warmest winters in at least 50 years, University of Illinois economists said in a study released on Thursday.
Agricultural economists Darrel Good and Scott Irwin studied temperature and corn yield data from 1960 to 2011 for Iowa and Illinois and found little correlation that warm summers follow warm winters or that corn yields were affected.
Grain ships halted in Argentina, dockers walk off job
BUENOS AIRES, March 8 (Reuters) - Crews needed to guide ships through the ports of grains powerhouse Argentina will stay off the job until more staff is assigned to work busy docking shifts, a union leader said on Thursday.
The week-old walkout by the dockers has bogged down shipments from the world's biggest supplier of soyoil, used for cooking and in the booming international biofuels sector. Argentina is also a major global provider of corn and soybeans.
Britain, Spain seen blocking EU deal on GM crop bans
BRUSSELS, March 8 (Reuters) - European Union ministers are unlikely to agree draft rules to let countries decide themselves whether to grow or ban genetically modified (GM) crops, despite efforts by Denmark's EU presidency to reach a compromise.
EU environment ministers meeting in Brussels on Friday will vote on a Danish compromise designed to break a deadlock that has split governments in the 27-country bloc since the draft rules were proposed in 2010.
Viterra sees big Canada, Australia crop plantings
WINNIPEG, Manitoba, March 8 (Reuters) - Planting conditions in Canada and Australia point to large grain and oilseed crops in 2012, and a global production rebound could pressure grain prices this year, the CEO of Canada's biggest grain handler Viterra , said on Thursday.
In Western Canada, farmers expect to boost plantings by 8 percent to 10 percent, to between 57 million and 59 million acres, as previously flooded land returns to production, the company said, as it reported a lower quarterly profit.
Brent rises above $125 on Greece debt hopes, U.S. data
SINGAPORE, March 9 (Reuters) - Brent crude rose above $125 a barrel on Friday, posting its sixth weekly gain in seven, as Greece successfully closed its bond swap offer for creditors, a key step towards securing an international bailout to avoid a messy default.
"Europe has a big impact on Brent prices and the market has been pricing in a more positive outcome and is also closely watching sentiment data out of the United States," said Natalie.
CNPC's Feb crude runs above plan, record diesel stks in late Jan
BEIJING, March 9 (Reuters) - China National Petroleum Corp's crude oil throughput and oil products output were both more than 200,000 tonnes higher in February than planned, China's second largest refiner said in a company-run newspaper.
CNPC's diesel inventories reached a record high in late January, the China Petroleum Daily said.
Keystone oil pipeline bill fails in U.S. Senate
WASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democrats on Thursday defeated a Republican proposal to give a permit to the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline in a vote that will give Republicans more ammunition to criticize President Barack Obama's energy policies on the campaign trail.
Republicans argue the pipeline, which would ship oil from Canada and northern U.S. states to Texas, would create jobs and improve energy security at a time of surging gasoline prices.
Exxon Mobil sees dip in oil, gas output this year
NEW YORK, March 8 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp said its 2012 oil and natural gas output would drop 3 percent from last year even as it increases spending to bring several large new projects on line, and its shares fell 1.2 percent.
Despite the expected drop in 2012, production should increase by an average of 1 to 2 percent annually through 2016, the company told analysts in New York on Thursday.
Copper rises 1 pct, China data boosts demand outlook
SINGAPORE, March 9 (Reuters) - London copper rose for a third day in a row after data showing Chinese inflation at a 20-month low raised hopes for further monetary easing that could spur demand from the world's top consumer of the metal.
"We'll see policymakers much keener to loosen some of the monetary controls and that will make more funding available for construction projects," said Matt Fusarelli, analyst at Australia-based consultancy AME Group.
China's Shougang gets approval to acquire smaller Tonghua
BEIJING, March 9 (Reuters) - China's Shougang Group has received approval to acquire the smaller mill Tonghua Steel in northeastern China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said on Friday, as Beijing's seeks to consolidate the fragmented sector.
Shougang, the country's sixth-biggest mill, has been aggressively seeking to acquire smaller producers after moving its facilities out of Beijing to improve the air environment of China's capital.
Lynas sees Malaysia rare earths plant timeline intact
MELBOURNE, March 9 (Reuters) - Australia's Lynas Corp still expects its rare earths plant in Malaysia to open by June, despite an appeal against the government's decision to grant a licence to the plant that is key to breaking China's grip on global markets.
Lynas said the Malaysian government had received an appeal against the temporary operating licence granted to the company in February and would hear the appeal in April.
Gold firms as China data sparks easing hopes
SINGAPORE, March 9 (Reuters) - Gold edged up, rising in tandem with other commodities and equities, after lower-than-expected inflation data out of China suggested more monetary easing could be on its way.
"A lower headline inflation number means that the central bank can continue to be very accommodative, which means printing more money," said Jeremy Friesen, commodity strategist at Societe Generale in Hong Kong.
China Feb oil, copper imports to fall after holiday
SHANGHAI/HONG KONG, March 8 (Reuters) - China's imports of crude oil and copper in February are expected to have fallen from January's levels, as many oil refineries start regular maintenance and industrial consumers push back metal shipments amid swollen inventories and feeble demand.
Crude oil shipments should ease from the 23.41 million tonnes, or 5.51 million barrels per day, recorded in January, as some of the country's top refineries pared their run rates to the lowest in four months for maintenance.
Indonesia eyes moves on tin exports, palm tax
JAKARTA, March 8 (Reuters) - A cut in shipments of refined tin is among the options Indonesia, the world's top exporter of the base metal, could consider in a bid to push prices above $30,000 a tonne, the country's junior trade minister said on Thursday.
In an effort to push global prices above $23,000 a tonne, tin smelters in Indonesia's main tin-producing region of Bangka-Belitung islands imposed a brief ban on export of tin ingots from October last year, but the move failed.
CNPC's Feb crude runs above plan, record diesel stks in late Jan
BEIJING, March 9 (Reuters) - China National Petroleum Corp's crude oil throughput and oil products output were both more than 200,000 tonnes higher in February than planned, China's second largest refiner said in a company-run newspaper.
CNPC's diesel inventories reached a record high in late January, the China Petroleum Daily said.
Keystone oil pipeline bill fails in U.S. Senate
WASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democrats on Thursday defeated a Republican proposal to give a permit to the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline in a vote that will give Republicans more ammunition to criticize President Barack Obama's energy policies on the campaign trail.
Republicans argue the pipeline, which would ship oil from Canada and northern U.S. states to Texas, would create jobs and improve energy security at a time of surging gasoline prices.
China Feb oil, copper imports to fall after holiday
SHANGHAI/HONG KONG, March 8 (Reuters) - China's imports of crude oil and copper in February are expected to have fallen from January's levels, as many oil refineries start regular maintenance and industrial consumers push back metal shipments amid swollen inventories and feeble demand.
Crude oil shipments should ease from the 23.41 million tonnes, or 5.51 million barrels per day, recorded in January, as some of the country's top refineries pared their run rates to the lowest in four months for maintenance.
Australian miners sanguine on new Indonesia law
MELBOURNE, March 9 (Reuters) - Australian miners are playing down the impact of a new law in Indonesia limiting foreign ownership in mines to no more than 49 percent, even after a senior Indonesian official said the law would apply to all foreign miners.
The government has said it wants Indonesians to have greater ownership of resources in the country, which is the world's top exporter of thermal coal and tin and has abundant reserves of copper and gold.
China zinc imports may rise if mine remains closed for 3 mths
HONG KONG, March 8 (Reuters) - China's imports of zinc and raw material concentrates could climb if a key mine and zinc smelter do not reopen in three months, analysts and traders said on Thursday.
Shenzhen Zhongjin Lingnan Nonfemet , a major domestic metal producer, on Sunday shut its 200,000-tonne-a-year Fan Kou lead and zinc mine and 110,000-tonne-a-year Dan Xia zinc smelter for maintenance due to fears about lead pollution.
METALS-Copper rises 1 pct, China data boosts demand outlook
SINGAPORE, March 9 (Reuters) - London copper rose for a third day in a row on Friday after data showing Chinese inflation at a 20-month low raised hopes for further monetary easing that could spur demand from the world's top consumer of the metal.
A successful bond swap in Greece aimed at slashing its debt mountain also aided sentiment towards industrial metals and other riskier assets, ahead of the release of key U.S. employment data later in the day.
PRECIOUS-Gold firms as China data sparks easing hopes
SINGAPORE, March 9 (Reuters) - Gold edged up on Friday, rising in tandem with other commodities and equities, after lower-than-expected inflation data out of China suggested more monetary easing could be on its way.
China's annual rate of consumer inflation slowed sharply to a 20-month low of 3.2 percent in February, comfortably within Beijing's 2012 target of 4 percent, giving policymakers room to further loosen monetary policy to support slowing growth.
Iron Ore-Shanghai rebar at 1-month high after China data
SINGAPORE, March 9 (Reuters) - Shanghai steel futures rose to one-month highs on Friday, heading for a third weekly gain, after data showing a drop in China's inflation raised investors' hopes of an increase in demand from the world's top steel consumer.
China's annual consumer inflation slowed to a 20-month low of 3.2 percent in February, staying comfortably within Beijing's 2012 target and giving policymakers scope to further loosen monetary policy to support flagging growth.
Baltic sea index rises on Atlantic activity
March 8 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index tracking rates for ships carrying dry commodities rose for the eleventh straight day on Thursday, on steady gains for panamaxes due to fresh grain and coal cargoes in the Atlantic.
The main index, which factors in the average daily earnings of capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize dry bulk transport vessels, rose 14 points or 1.75 percent to 812 points.
Shipping crisis to extend into 2013 - Moody's
LONDON, March 7 (Reuters) - The global shipping slump is expected to last well into 2013 as a glut of vessels and a growing credit squeeze will challenge even the toughest companies in the seaborne sector, Moody's Investor Service said on Wednesday.
Shipping companies, especially in the oil tanker and dry bulk sectors, already hit by worsening economic turmoil, weak earnings and oversupply ordered in the good times now face tighter financing as banks cut their exposure to risky and dollar denominated assets such as ship finance to meet tougher capital rules.
20120308 1126 Global Market & Commodities Related News.
GLOBAL MARKETS-Greek debt hopes buoy shares, data next in line
TOKYO, March 9 (Reuters) - Asian shares rose on Friday, with Tokyo hitting a seven-month high, on signs Greece had successfully closed its bond swap offer for private creditors, although caution ahead of the release of U.S. employment data could check momentum.
"News about Greece is generally positive and is expected to underpin the euro in the near-term, while expectations the European Central Bank wouldn't lower interest rates also will spur buy back in the euro," said Yuji Saito, director of the foreign exchange division at Credit Agricole Bank in Tokyo.
China’s Inflation Eases to Slowest in 20 Months, Giving Room for Stimulus (Source: Bloomberg)
China’s inflation eased to the slowest pace in 20 months in February, giving policy makers more room to stimulate the world's second-biggest economy as investment and export growth weaken. Consumer prices rose 3.2 percent from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said on its website today. That was less than a median estimate of 3.4 percent in a Bloomberg News survey of 35 economists and January's 4.5 percent rate. Data in the first two months of the year are distorted by the timing of a weeklong Chinese holiday. Moderating inflation pressures may give the ruling Communist Party more room to keep boosting wages and to ease price controls on resources such as energy and water. The government this year may also cut required reserves for banks and the benchmark interest rate, according to Patrick Bennett, a strategist at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in Hong Kong.
“With inflation continuing to trend downwards, it leaves policy makers with fewer obstacles to relax economic policies,” Helen Qiao, Hong Kong-based chief China economist at Morgan Stanley, said before the release.
Asian Stocks, Copper Rise on Greece Debt, China Inflation (Source: Bloomberg)
Asian stocks rose, paring the first weekly drop in three months, while copper and the South Korean won gained as a majority of eligible Greek bondholders agreed to a debt restructuring and Chinese inflation slowed. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) added 0.5 percent as of 10:42 a.m. in Tokyo. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 1 percent. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures lost 0.2 percent before data that may show a smaller gain in U.S. jobs. The won strengthened 0.2 percent, climbing against all 16 major counterparts. Copper futures in London gained 0.5 percent. Greece’s government got about 85 percent of bondholders to swap their holdings of the country’s debt for new securities in the biggest restructuring in history, a banking official said. China’s inflation slowed to 3.2 percent in February, the slowest pace in almost two years, the statistics bureau reported. U.S. employers probably added 210,000 jobs in February, economist forecasts show.
“People have got ammunition to be a bit more upbeat about investment markets,” said Angus Gluskie, who manages more than $350 million at White Funds Management in Sydney. “What we are likely to see today and overnight is a reminder for people that the Greek risk, at least for the moment, has been taken off the table and economic data is all heading in the right direction.”
COMMODITIES-Weak dollar boosts oil, metals; soy rallies
NEW YORK, March 8 (Reuters) - Oil and metals prices rose for a second straight day on Thursday on inflationary pressure from a weaker dollar, while soybeans hit five-month highs, helped by robust export sales of the oilseed.
Economic optimism from the expected conclusion of Greece's bond deal boosted financial markets across the board, with the euro gaining its most against the dollar in two weeks.
Beware the tight OECD oil stocks fallacy
--Robert Campbell is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own--
NEW YORK, March 8 (Reuters) - There are plenty of good reasons to expect continued strength in oil prices but the claim, advanced by some bulls, that oil inventories in the developed world are dangerously low is not one of them and hardly stands up to scrutiny.
To be sure it is factually correct that oil inventories in the member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development are at least 50 million barrels below their average level of the last five years.
OIL-Oil gains a second day on Greek deal, Iran
NEW YORK, March 8 (Reuters) - Crude oil futures rose for a second day on Thursday as investors cheered progress on Greece's bond swap deal, which moved the beleaguered country nearer to unlocking funds it needs to avoid default.
"Worries of a debt default by Greece eased and market focus is returning to those factors that led oil futures to hit recent highs," said Gene McGillian, analyst at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut.
NATURAL GAS-Supply drives US natgas futures to near 10-year low
NEW YORK, March 8 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures fell to near 10-year lows on Thursday after a government report showed a smaller-than-expected decline in weekly inventories.
"Weather is a lot milder than last year, so prices are drifting lower to find more coal-to-gas switching," said Anthony Yuen, strategist at Citigroup in New York.
EURO COAL-Prices stable, EDP awards at API2 discount
LONDON, March 8 (Reuters) - Prompt physical coal prices were unchanged on Thursday despite a rise in oil prices as it stabilised just below $100 a tonne, a level which has drawn out a few more buyers.
"There's definitely some stockpiling, people playing the contango going on but it's limited by the space available. At $95 it makes sense for some people," one major European trader said.
TOKYO, March 9 (Reuters) - Asian shares rose on Friday, with Tokyo hitting a seven-month high, on signs Greece had successfully closed its bond swap offer for private creditors, although caution ahead of the release of U.S. employment data could check momentum.
"News about Greece is generally positive and is expected to underpin the euro in the near-term, while expectations the European Central Bank wouldn't lower interest rates also will spur buy back in the euro," said Yuji Saito, director of the foreign exchange division at Credit Agricole Bank in Tokyo.
China’s Inflation Eases to Slowest in 20 Months, Giving Room for Stimulus (Source: Bloomberg)
China’s inflation eased to the slowest pace in 20 months in February, giving policy makers more room to stimulate the world's second-biggest economy as investment and export growth weaken. Consumer prices rose 3.2 percent from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said on its website today. That was less than a median estimate of 3.4 percent in a Bloomberg News survey of 35 economists and January's 4.5 percent rate. Data in the first two months of the year are distorted by the timing of a weeklong Chinese holiday. Moderating inflation pressures may give the ruling Communist Party more room to keep boosting wages and to ease price controls on resources such as energy and water. The government this year may also cut required reserves for banks and the benchmark interest rate, according to Patrick Bennett, a strategist at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in Hong Kong.
“With inflation continuing to trend downwards, it leaves policy makers with fewer obstacles to relax economic policies,” Helen Qiao, Hong Kong-based chief China economist at Morgan Stanley, said before the release.
Asian Stocks, Copper Rise on Greece Debt, China Inflation (Source: Bloomberg)
Asian stocks rose, paring the first weekly drop in three months, while copper and the South Korean won gained as a majority of eligible Greek bondholders agreed to a debt restructuring and Chinese inflation slowed. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) added 0.5 percent as of 10:42 a.m. in Tokyo. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 1 percent. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures lost 0.2 percent before data that may show a smaller gain in U.S. jobs. The won strengthened 0.2 percent, climbing against all 16 major counterparts. Copper futures in London gained 0.5 percent. Greece’s government got about 85 percent of bondholders to swap their holdings of the country’s debt for new securities in the biggest restructuring in history, a banking official said. China’s inflation slowed to 3.2 percent in February, the slowest pace in almost two years, the statistics bureau reported. U.S. employers probably added 210,000 jobs in February, economist forecasts show.
“People have got ammunition to be a bit more upbeat about investment markets,” said Angus Gluskie, who manages more than $350 million at White Funds Management in Sydney. “What we are likely to see today and overnight is a reminder for people that the Greek risk, at least for the moment, has been taken off the table and economic data is all heading in the right direction.”
COMMODITIES-Weak dollar boosts oil, metals; soy rallies
NEW YORK, March 8 (Reuters) - Oil and metals prices rose for a second straight day on Thursday on inflationary pressure from a weaker dollar, while soybeans hit five-month highs, helped by robust export sales of the oilseed.
Economic optimism from the expected conclusion of Greece's bond deal boosted financial markets across the board, with the euro gaining its most against the dollar in two weeks.
Beware the tight OECD oil stocks fallacy
--Robert Campbell is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own--
NEW YORK, March 8 (Reuters) - There are plenty of good reasons to expect continued strength in oil prices but the claim, advanced by some bulls, that oil inventories in the developed world are dangerously low is not one of them and hardly stands up to scrutiny.
To be sure it is factually correct that oil inventories in the member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development are at least 50 million barrels below their average level of the last five years.
OIL-Oil gains a second day on Greek deal, Iran
NEW YORK, March 8 (Reuters) - Crude oil futures rose for a second day on Thursday as investors cheered progress on Greece's bond swap deal, which moved the beleaguered country nearer to unlocking funds it needs to avoid default.
"Worries of a debt default by Greece eased and market focus is returning to those factors that led oil futures to hit recent highs," said Gene McGillian, analyst at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut.
NATURAL GAS-Supply drives US natgas futures to near 10-year low
NEW YORK, March 8 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures fell to near 10-year lows on Thursday after a government report showed a smaller-than-expected decline in weekly inventories.
"Weather is a lot milder than last year, so prices are drifting lower to find more coal-to-gas switching," said Anthony Yuen, strategist at Citigroup in New York.
EURO COAL-Prices stable, EDP awards at API2 discount
LONDON, March 8 (Reuters) - Prompt physical coal prices were unchanged on Thursday despite a rise in oil prices as it stabilised just below $100 a tonne, a level which has drawn out a few more buyers.
"There's definitely some stockpiling, people playing the contango going on but it's limited by the space available. At $95 it makes sense for some people," one major European trader said.
20120308 1011 Global Economic Related News.
Indonesia: Holds interest rate as inflation risk increases
Indonesia’s central bank held interest rates to support growth as a government plan to raise fuel prices and electricity tariffs revives inflation risk. Governor Darmin Nasution and his board kept the reference rate at 5.75%, Bank Indonesia said in a statement in Jakarta yesterday. A plan to raise prices of subsidized fuel threatens to reignite cost pressure in Indonesia and limits the scope for easing after an unexpected cut in the last meeting. (Bloomberg)
South Korea: Holds rate for ninth month as growth slows
The Bank of Korea held off altering borrowing costs for a ninth straight month as policy makers balance the risks from Europe’s debt crisis against rising oil costs that add to price pressures. Governor Kim Choong Soo and his board kept the benchmark seven-day repurchase rate unchanged at 3.25%, the central bank said in a statement in Seoul yesterday. Rising oil prices are one of the biggest concerns for South Korea, Vice Finance Minister Shin Je Yoon said yesterday.(Bloomberg)
Brazil: Accelerates interest rate cuts amid lacklustre growth
Brazil’s central bank surprised analysts by accelerating the pace of interest rate cuts, bringing borrowing costs below 10% for only the second time amid signs of lackluster growth in Latin America’s biggest economy. In a split vote yesterday, policy makers led by bank President Alexandre Tombini cut the Selic rate by 75bps to 9.75%t. Two dissenting members voted to lower the rate by a half point for a fifth straight meeting. (Bloomberg)
Greece: Swap deadline passes as investors signal agreement
The Greek government’s deadline for the biggest sovereign restructuring in history passed with a majority of investors signaling their readiness to participate in the debt swap. The euro and stocks gained before the offer’s close at 10 p.m. in Athens yesterday as Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos told his Cabinet ministers that Greece had made “an appropriate framework with significant incentives” for bondholders. Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos told Parliament that “a historic process will be completed last night,” and the results announced today. (Bloomberg)
US: Jobless claims rose 8,000 last week to 362,000
The number of Americans filing claims for jobless benefits rose to 362,000 last week, a level consistent with an improving labor market. Applications for unemployment insurance payments increased by 8,000 in the week ended 3 March, Labor Department figures showed today. Economists forecast 352,000 claims, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. The average over the past four weeks held close to a four-year low. The rate of firings indicates companies have grown more comfortable with headcounts and could take on additional employees when demand picks up. (Bloomberg)
US: Consumer confidence in rises to highest in four years
Household confidence improved last week to a four-year high as more Americans said the economy was improving and decided it was a good time to shop. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index was minus 36.7 in the period ended 4 March, the highest since April 2008, up from minus 38.8 in the prior period. The gauge on the state of the economy reached a one-year high, while the buying-climate measure climbed to a level last exceeded in December 2009. For a fifth straight week, half of those surveyed also rated their personal finances as positive, bolstered by a resilient stock market, faster job growth and rising wages.(Bloomberg)
Indonesia’s central bank held interest rates to support growth as a government plan to raise fuel prices and electricity tariffs revives inflation risk. Governor Darmin Nasution and his board kept the reference rate at 5.75%, Bank Indonesia said in a statement in Jakarta yesterday. A plan to raise prices of subsidized fuel threatens to reignite cost pressure in Indonesia and limits the scope for easing after an unexpected cut in the last meeting. (Bloomberg)
South Korea: Holds rate for ninth month as growth slows
The Bank of Korea held off altering borrowing costs for a ninth straight month as policy makers balance the risks from Europe’s debt crisis against rising oil costs that add to price pressures. Governor Kim Choong Soo and his board kept the benchmark seven-day repurchase rate unchanged at 3.25%, the central bank said in a statement in Seoul yesterday. Rising oil prices are one of the biggest concerns for South Korea, Vice Finance Minister Shin Je Yoon said yesterday.(Bloomberg)
Brazil: Accelerates interest rate cuts amid lacklustre growth
Brazil’s central bank surprised analysts by accelerating the pace of interest rate cuts, bringing borrowing costs below 10% for only the second time amid signs of lackluster growth in Latin America’s biggest economy. In a split vote yesterday, policy makers led by bank President Alexandre Tombini cut the Selic rate by 75bps to 9.75%t. Two dissenting members voted to lower the rate by a half point for a fifth straight meeting. (Bloomberg)
Greece: Swap deadline passes as investors signal agreement
The Greek government’s deadline for the biggest sovereign restructuring in history passed with a majority of investors signaling their readiness to participate in the debt swap. The euro and stocks gained before the offer’s close at 10 p.m. in Athens yesterday as Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos told his Cabinet ministers that Greece had made “an appropriate framework with significant incentives” for bondholders. Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos told Parliament that “a historic process will be completed last night,” and the results announced today. (Bloomberg)
US: Jobless claims rose 8,000 last week to 362,000
The number of Americans filing claims for jobless benefits rose to 362,000 last week, a level consistent with an improving labor market. Applications for unemployment insurance payments increased by 8,000 in the week ended 3 March, Labor Department figures showed today. Economists forecast 352,000 claims, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. The average over the past four weeks held close to a four-year low. The rate of firings indicates companies have grown more comfortable with headcounts and could take on additional employees when demand picks up. (Bloomberg)
US: Consumer confidence in rises to highest in four years
Household confidence improved last week to a four-year high as more Americans said the economy was improving and decided it was a good time to shop. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index was minus 36.7 in the period ended 4 March, the highest since April 2008, up from minus 38.8 in the prior period. The gauge on the state of the economy reached a one-year high, while the buying-climate measure climbed to a level last exceeded in December 2009. For a fifth straight week, half of those surveyed also rated their personal finances as positive, bolstered by a resilient stock market, faster job growth and rising wages.(Bloomberg)
20120308 1011 Malaysia Corporate Related News.
Pay rise for civil servants
Civil servants are to receive salary increases of between 7% and 13% under an improved Malaysian Remuneration System. This follows the scrapping of the controversial Public Service New Remuneration Scheme (SBPA), which had come under criticism from government employees. Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced the improved Malaysian Remuneration System (SSM) to the applause of more than 10,000 civil servants at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre. (StarBiz)
Perodua, Petronas in RM225m lubricant deal
Perodua and Petronas Daganga have signed a RM225m deal to supply the former with lubricant oil over the next five years. Perodua managing director Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh said. He said the contract, dubbed “Perodua Genuine Oil”, would see the second national car maker using RM45m worth of “Petronas SL/SM” grade oil at all its service outlets nationwide a year for five years with immediate effect. (Financial Daily)
MAHB to raise RM616m
Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) is expected to raise RM616m from its private placement after fixing the issue price at RM5.60 a share. The airport operator had earlier proposed private placement of up to 110m new ordinary shares of RM1 each, representing 10% of the company's issued and paid-up share capital, primarily to part-finance the additional capital expenditure incurred for the enhancements to its KLIA2 and also to defray expenses relating to the proposed private placement. (StarBiz)
Top Glove eyes acquisition this year
Top Glove Corp Bhd, the world's largest rubber glove maker by volume, aims to buy at least one other glove producer this year as part of its strategy to gain market share and drive earnings, according to its chairman and founder. The company was in talks with a number of rubber glove makers, chairman Tan Sri Lim Wee-Chai told Reuters in an interview. Lim said Top Glove was well placed to make acquisitions on the back of its strong net cash position. The company held some RM300m net cash as of 29 Feb, 16.7% higher than August a year earlier. (Reuters)
Aeon in RM350m expansion drive
AEON Co (M) Bhd, which operates the Jusco department store and supermarket chain, has allocated RM350m for capital expenditure this year, particularly to increase its market penetration in the retail business. This includes the opening of two new shopping centres as well as refurbishment of existing stores. (BT)
Pantech buys UK-based company for RM45m
Pantech Group Holdings has entered into an agreement to acquire UK-based Nautic Steels (Holdings) Ltd and its wholly-owned Nautic Steel Ltd from Robert Andrews, for a maximum of GBP9.5m (RM45m). Pantech, a manufacturer of steel pipes and fittings, will wholly own the two companies which have a mainstay in milling, machining and welding tube and pipe fittings for special metals for the marine oil industry. (StarBiz)
Civil servants are to receive salary increases of between 7% and 13% under an improved Malaysian Remuneration System. This follows the scrapping of the controversial Public Service New Remuneration Scheme (SBPA), which had come under criticism from government employees. Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced the improved Malaysian Remuneration System (SSM) to the applause of more than 10,000 civil servants at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre. (StarBiz)
Perodua, Petronas in RM225m lubricant deal
Perodua and Petronas Daganga have signed a RM225m deal to supply the former with lubricant oil over the next five years. Perodua managing director Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh said. He said the contract, dubbed “Perodua Genuine Oil”, would see the second national car maker using RM45m worth of “Petronas SL/SM” grade oil at all its service outlets nationwide a year for five years with immediate effect. (Financial Daily)
MAHB to raise RM616m
Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) is expected to raise RM616m from its private placement after fixing the issue price at RM5.60 a share. The airport operator had earlier proposed private placement of up to 110m new ordinary shares of RM1 each, representing 10% of the company's issued and paid-up share capital, primarily to part-finance the additional capital expenditure incurred for the enhancements to its KLIA2 and also to defray expenses relating to the proposed private placement. (StarBiz)
Top Glove eyes acquisition this year
Top Glove Corp Bhd, the world's largest rubber glove maker by volume, aims to buy at least one other glove producer this year as part of its strategy to gain market share and drive earnings, according to its chairman and founder. The company was in talks with a number of rubber glove makers, chairman Tan Sri Lim Wee-Chai told Reuters in an interview. Lim said Top Glove was well placed to make acquisitions on the back of its strong net cash position. The company held some RM300m net cash as of 29 Feb, 16.7% higher than August a year earlier. (Reuters)
Aeon in RM350m expansion drive
AEON Co (M) Bhd, which operates the Jusco department store and supermarket chain, has allocated RM350m for capital expenditure this year, particularly to increase its market penetration in the retail business. This includes the opening of two new shopping centres as well as refurbishment of existing stores. (BT)
Pantech buys UK-based company for RM45m
Pantech Group Holdings has entered into an agreement to acquire UK-based Nautic Steels (Holdings) Ltd and its wholly-owned Nautic Steel Ltd from Robert Andrews, for a maximum of GBP9.5m (RM45m). Pantech, a manufacturer of steel pipes and fittings, will wholly own the two companies which have a mainstay in milling, machining and welding tube and pipe fittings for special metals for the marine oil industry. (StarBiz)
20120309 0952 Global Market Related News.
Asian Stocks Rise a Second Day as Greece Moves to Complete Debt-Swap Deal (Source: Bloomberg)
Asian stocks rose for a second day as Greece moved closer to completing the biggest sovereign-debt restructuring in history, easing concern the nation at the center of Europe’s credit crisis will default. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. (8316), Japan’s No. 2 publicly traded bank, gained 1.4 percent. Hitachi Construction Machinery Co (6305), a machinery maker whose biggest market is China, gained 2.8 percent in Tokyo as economists forecast reports today will show China’s economic growth is slowing, which may prompt the government to boost stimulus measures. Newcrest Mining Ltd. (NCM) advanced 3.4 percent in Sydney after metal prices gained. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.7 percent to 126.84 as of 9:16 a.m. in Tokyo. The measure has lost 1.1 percent this week, snapping a record 11-week increase.
“People have got ammunition to be a bit more upbeat about investment markets,” said Angus Gluskie, who manages more than $350 million at White Funds Management in Sydney. “What we are likely to see today and overnight is a reminder for people that the Greek risk, at least for the moment, has been taken off the table and economic data is all heading in the right direction.”
Japanese Stocks Advance for Second Day as Greek Debt Swap Looks Certain (Source: Bloomberg)
Japanese stocks rose for a second day, with the Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average heading for its highest close since August, as Greece moved closer to the biggest sovereign-debt restructuring in history. Sony Corp., which depends on Europe for more than a fifth of its sales, climbed 2.2 percent after the euro strengthened against the yen, boosting the earnings outlook for Japanese exporters. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., Japan’s No. 2 publicly traded bank, gained 1.7 percent. Mitsubishi Corp. (8058), Japan’s biggest commodities trader by revenue, rose 1.5 percent after oil and metal prices increased. “It looks like the negotiations on the Greek debt-swap are going to pass without any big storm,” said Juichi Wako, a senior strategist at Tokyo-based Nomura Holdings Inc. “Shares may be bought as Greece is moving nearer to restructuring its debts. Many investors were waiting for a buy chance.”
The Nikkei 225 rose 1.4 percent to 9,904.16 as of 9:30 a.m. in Tokyo, heading for a weekly gain of 1.3 percent. The broader Topix (TPX) gained 1.2 percent to 846.01, with more than five times as many shares advancing as falling.
S&P 500 Caps Biggest Two-Day Advance of the Year (Source: Bloomberg)
U.S. stocks rallied, giving the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index its biggest two-day advance of the year, as Greece moved closer to completing its debt swap. Banks (S5BANKX) had the biggest increase in the S&P 500 among 24 groups. Wells Fargo & Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) rose at least 1.2 percent. Alcoa Inc. (AA) and Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) added more than 1.8 percent to pace gains among the biggest companies. Coach Inc. (COH), the largest U.S. luxury handbag maker, climbed 4.6 percent after saying its business continues to be “strong” in China. McDonald’s (MCD) Corp. lost 3.2 percent as sales trailed estimates. The S&P 500 rose 1 percent to 1,365.91 at 4 p.m. New York time, adding 1.7 percent in two days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 70.61 points, or 0.6 percent, to 12,907.94. The Russell 2000 Index of small companies gained 1.3 percent to 806.34. About 6.1 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges today, or 8.8 percent below the three-month average.
“Greece has no choice and the bondholders have no choice,” said Stanley Nabi, New York-based vice chairman of Silvercrest Asset Management Group, which oversees $10.5 billion. “They’re both in the mud. The swap will go through. That will cause a moderate sigh of relief in the market. How long it will extend? That’s the big question mark.”
European Stocks Gain Before Greek Debt-Swap Deadline; EADS Rises on Payout (Source: Bloomberg)
European stocks rallied the most in a month as the deadline on Greece’s debt swap approached and Germany’s industrial output increased more than forecast. European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co. climbed to a five- year high after doubling its dividend and predicting earnings will climb. BNP Paribas SA jumped 3.7 percent as Simon Property Group Inc. agreed to buy some of the French bank’s stake in Klepierre SA. Enel SpA (ENEL), Italy’s largest energy company, sank 5.7 percent after cutting its dividend. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index (SXXP) advanced 1.6 percent to 264.16 at the close in London, the biggest increase since Feb. 3. The gauge rose 0.6 percent yesterday after a private report showed hiring in U.S. companies accelerated last month. The measure has surged 8 percent this year as the European Central Bank lent the region’s lenders more than 1 trillion euros ($1.3 trillion) for three years to ease liquidity.
“Investors will be able to draw a line under Greece that has been going on for too long,” said Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist at Brewing Dolphin Securities Ltd. in London. “In the U.S., economic news flow has been very encouraging. The overall trend of employment has been positive.”
Jobless Claims in U.S. Rose 8,000 Last Week (Source: Bloomberg)
The number of Americans filing claims for jobless benefits rose to 362,000 last week, a level consistent with an improving labor market. Applications for unemployment insurance payments increased by 8,000 in the week ended March 3, Labor Department figures showed today. Economists forecast 352,000 claims, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. The average over the past four weeks held close to a four-year low. The rate of firings indicates companies have grown more comfortable with headcounts and could take on additional employees when demand picks up. Economists forecast a Labor Department report tomorrow will show that employers boosted payrolls in February and the jobless rate held at an almost three-year low. “The level of claims is still quite low,” said Jennifer Lee, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto. “I’m still encouraged by what we’ve seen in the labor market in recent months.”
Global Insurers Are Targeted in Latest U.S. Bid to Expand Iran Sanctions (Source: Bloomberg)
U.S. lawmakers are targeting global insurers as they seek to expand sanctions aimed at crippling Iran’s economy and forcing its leaders to make concessions involving the country’s disputed nuclear program. Representative Brad Sherman, a California Democrat, introduced legislation yesterday to penalize underwriters that insure or reinsure any deals with Iran prohibited under U.S. law, including oil and gas investments or insurance for companies or banks that are subject to U.S. sanctions. Senator Mark Kirk, an Illinois Republican, intends to introduce a similar measure in the Senate, according to his staff. The legislation would mostly affect Asia-Pacific or Russian underwriters because European insurance companies have scaled back or eliminated coverage of Iran-related deals. The European Union banned insurance and reinsurance to Iranian entities or their agents in 2010. U.S. insurance companies are banned from underwriting Iran-related business unless they get a special license from the U.S. government.
Success in Public-Spending Cuts Turns to Hurdle in Japan Quake Rebuilding (Source: Bloomberg)
After years of criticism for public- works spending that rewarded political constituents at the cost of adding debt, Japan succeeded in cutting the largesse in half. Now, that legacy of success is hampering an economic rebound. Reconstruction bids are going unmet one year after the earthquake that devastated the northeast region, because builders lack resources to fill them. Builders’ payrolls fell 24 percent nationwide in the decade through March 2011. Sendai, where the airport was wrecked by the post-quake tsunami on March 11, has 14 ready-mix cement factories, compared with 30 in 1998.
The longer it takes to complete the resurrection of towns, utilities and transport networks under Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s 20 trillion yen ($246 billion) in relief spending, the more limited the economic impact it will have, says Akio Makabe, who has written books on behavioral finance. With limited scope to speed the projects along, Noda’s administration has instead pressed the central bank into stepping up monetary stimulus. “There will be a huge difference, psychologically -- the speed and timing really matters in disaster reconstruction,” Makabe, a professor of economics at Shinshu University in central Japan, said in an interview. “Economists expect stimulus from reconstruction demand will peak in the April-to- June period, but given the current pace of progress, we must assume such a projection is already being pushed backward.”
Investors Agree to Swap About 85% of Greek Debt (Source: Bloomberg)
Private investors agreed to swap about 85 percent of their Greek government bonds for new securities in the biggest sovereign debt restructuring in history, according to a banker briefed on the results. Preliminary indications showed that as much as 155 billion euros ($205 billion) of the 177 billion euros of Greek-law bonds were offered, said the banker, who declined to be identified. Twelve billion euros of debt not under Greek law was also tendered, as was 7 billion euros of bonds from state-owned companies guaranteed by the government, the banker said. With Greece again the focus of the euro-area debt crisis now in its third year, the goal of the exchange is to reduce the 206 billion euros of privately held Greek debt by 53.5 percent. Together with a 130 billion-euro second Greek aid package, the writedown is a key element in European leaders’ efforts to turn the tide against the crisis that has roiled Europe, forcing Ireland and Portugal to follow Greece in requiring bailouts.
The euro and stocks gained before the offer’s close at 10 p.m. in Athens as Prime Minister Lucas Papademos told his Cabinet ministers he looked forward to “the maximum possible participation of the private sector,” according to an e-mailed transcript of his comments.
Hong Kong’s Tang Vows to Tackle Wealth Gap to Revive Leadership Campaign (Source: Bloomberg)
Hong Kong Chief Executive candidate Henry Tang pledged to boost government spending to tackle a widening wealth gap as he sought to reverse a slump in public support ahead of this month’s election. The former chief secretary said in an interview yesterday he will expand public housing by a further 60 percent in five years, spend HK$6 billion ($774 million) annually more on schools, and create 100,000 jobs for the middle class should he win election on March 25. “The middle class has been squeezed,” said Tang, 59. “Every government in the western world is reexamining its role in the market place. I would say government can be more proactive.”
The promises from Tang, who is backed by some of the city’s richest men, are an attempt to address growing public anger over surging property prices and a perception of collusion between government and business that have brought thousands onto the streets. Tang, who has been beset by personal scandals that have eroded his popularity, is battling to revive his candidacy as he trails his main rival by more than 30 percentage points.
China Hard Landing Concerns Vastly Overblown, Yale’s Roach Says (Source: Bloomberg)
Concerns that China will enter a so- called hard landing are “vastly overblown” even as economic growth becomes more unbalanced, according to Yale University Professor Stephen Roach. China’s government has done a terrific job in controlling inflation, Roach, former non-executive chairman for Morgan Stanley in Asia and chief economist, said at a conference in Shanghai yesterday. The greatest risk to economic growth is the increasing reliance on fixed-asset investment and the declining contribution of private consumption, he said. China, the world’s second-largest economy, pared the nation’s economic growth target to 7.5 percent from an 8 percent goal in place since 2005, according to a state-of-the-nation speech that Premier Wen Jiabao delivered to about 3,000 lawmakers at the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress that started on March 5 in Beijing. Officials will also aim for inflation of about 4 percent this year, unchanged from the 2011 goal, it said.
“I don’t think the banking system will collapse and the property bubble will burst,” Roach said in Shanghai. “These are all exaggerations.”
Canada Joins ECB Keeping Stimulus as Risks Ease (Source: Bloomberg)
The Bank of Canada today joined its peers in the euro region and U.K. in prolonging monetary stimulus and said the risks are edging toward quicker inflation and away from another global recession. The central bank kept its main interest rate at 1 percent, extending the longest pause since the 1950s, and said there is less slack in the economy amid easing global tensions and faster domestic spending that may lift prices. The Canadian dollar rose after the announcement, which came on the same day European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said inflation will probably breach the bank’s 2 percent limit this year “with upside risks prevailing.” Two Bank of England policy makers said last week that inflation may be firmer than the central bank has projected.
The Bank of Canada is “trying to bring a broader range of risks to the attention of financial markets, households and businesses,” including inflation, said Dawn Desjardins, assistant chief economist at Royal Bank of Canada in Toronto. “The economy still requires tender loving care of low interest rates.”
Draghi Lays Groundwork for ECB Stimulus Exit as Inflation Takes Spotlight (Source: Bloomberg)
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi signaled he’s done enough to battle the sovereign debt crisis, laying the groundwork for an eventual exit from record-low interest rates and emergency lending measures. Declaring that the environment “has improved enormously” and there are “many signs of returning confidence in the euro,” Draghi yesterday turned the spotlight on “upside risks” to inflation, which is now forecast to remain above the ECB’s 2 percent limit this year. That suggests policy makers don’t plan to cut rates further or add to their 1 trillion euros ($1.32 trillion) of long-term loans to banks, economists said. “The ECB adopted a significantly less dovish tone, dropping anything that could hint at any additional non-standard measure or a further rate cut to come,” said Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank in London. “Instead, the tone suggests that the ECB expects its eventual next move to be a reversal of some non-standard measures or even a rate hike.”
The ECB’s unprecedented crisis-fighting measures have swelled its balance sheet to more than 3 trillion euros, prompting Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann to write a letter to Draghi warning that the central bank may be taking on too much risk. While the ECB has repeatedly been forced to retreat from exit plans as the debt crisis spread, Draghi indicated he may share Weidmann’s desire for a return to more conventional policy settings.
Greece Debt-Swap Deadline Looms as Investors Signal Agreement (Source: Bloomberg)
The Greek government’s deadline for the biggest sovereign restructuring in history passed with a majority of investors signaling their readiness to participate in the debt swap. The euro and stocks gained before the offer’s close at 10 p.m. in Athens today as Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos told his Cabinet ministers that Greece had made “an appropriate framework with significant incentives” for bondholders. “For this reason I look forward to the maximum possible participation of the private sector,” Papademos said, according to an e-mailed transcript of his comments. Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos told Parliament that “a historic process will be completed tonight,” and the results announced tomorrow.
Holders of at least 60 percent of the Greek bonds eligible for the deal, including Greece’s largest banks, most of the country’s pension funds and more than 30 European banks and insurers including BNP Paribas SA and Commerzbank AG (CBK), have agreed to the offer. That brings the total to at least 125 billion euros ($166 billion), based on data compiled by Bloomberg from company reports and government statements.
Greece Readies Record Debt Swap (Source: Bloomberg)
Greece moved closer to sealing the biggest sovereign restructuring in history as investors indicated they’ll participate in the nation’s debt swap. Holders of about 60 percent of the Greek bonds eligible for the deal, including Greece’s largest banks, most of the country’s pension funds and more than 30 European banks and insurers including BNP Paribas (BNP) SA and Commerzbank AG (CBK), have agreed to the offer so far. That brings the total to about 124 billion euros ($163 billion), based on data compiled by Bloomberg from company reports and government statements. The euro and stocks gained on speculation Greece was on the verge of reaching its participation target by the deadline of 10 p.m. in Athens today. The goal of the exchange is to reduce the 206 billion euros of privately held Greek debt by 53.5 percent and turn the tide against the debt crisis that has roiled Europe for more than two years.
“A historic process will be completed tonight,” Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos told Parliament in Athens today. “If all goes well, tomorrow we can announce that we are relieving Greeks of 105 billion euros of debt.”
Draghi Says Inflation to Exceed 2% in 2012 (Source: Bloomberg)
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said inflation will probably breach the bank’s 2 percent limit this year and signaled the worst of the sovereign debt crisis may be over even as the economy stalls. “Inflation rates are now likely to stay above 2 percent in 2012, with upside risks prevailing,” Draghi said in Frankfurt today after the ECB kept its benchmark interest rate at a record-low 1 percent. While risks to the economic outlook remain on the downside, “the risk environment has improved enormously,” he said. “We see many signs of returning confidence in the euro.” Draghi’s comments are “certainly hawkish,” said James Nixon, an economist at Societe Generale SA in London. “Basically, the ECB is confident that the crisis has been averted and the focus is now back on inflation.”
The debt crisis is damping growth across the euro region and making banks reluctant to lend. Having flooded the banking sector with more than 1 trillion euros ($1.31 trillion) to avert a credit crunch, the ECB is now confronted with an oil-price increase that’s propping up inflation at a time when at least six of the 17 euro nations are in recession.
Brazil Accelerates Interest Rate Cuts Amid Signs of Lackluster Growth (Source: Bloomberg)
Brazil’s central bank surprised analysts by accelerating the pace of interest rate cuts, bringing borrowing costs below 10 percent for only the second time amid signs of lackluster growth in Latin America’s biggest economy. In a split vote yesterday, policy makers led by bank President Alexandre Tombini cut the Selic (BZSTSETA) rate by 75 basis points to 9.75 percent. Two dissenting members voted to lower the rate by a half point for a fifth straight meeting. “They just lost patience,” said Nomura Securities’ Tony Volpon, one of just two economists who anticipated the move in a Bloomberg survey of 62 analysts. “The government clearly is afraid, given what they know up to now, that 2012 could be another weak growth year, and they want to buy insurance against that.” A report yesterday showing industrial production in January fell by the most in three years may have tipped the balance in favor of a deeper cut.
The government believes that “drastically” reducing real interest rates that are the second-highest in the Group of 20 richest nations after Russia will also help fight currency gains, said Volpon, the chief emerging markets economist for the Americas at Nomura, in a telephone interview. The real has gained 31 percent since 2008, the second-biggest gainer of the 25 most-traded emerging market currencies tracked by Bloomberg after the Chilean peso.
Asian stocks rose for a second day as Greece moved closer to completing the biggest sovereign-debt restructuring in history, easing concern the nation at the center of Europe’s credit crisis will default. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. (8316), Japan’s No. 2 publicly traded bank, gained 1.4 percent. Hitachi Construction Machinery Co (6305), a machinery maker whose biggest market is China, gained 2.8 percent in Tokyo as economists forecast reports today will show China’s economic growth is slowing, which may prompt the government to boost stimulus measures. Newcrest Mining Ltd. (NCM) advanced 3.4 percent in Sydney after metal prices gained. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.7 percent to 126.84 as of 9:16 a.m. in Tokyo. The measure has lost 1.1 percent this week, snapping a record 11-week increase.
“People have got ammunition to be a bit more upbeat about investment markets,” said Angus Gluskie, who manages more than $350 million at White Funds Management in Sydney. “What we are likely to see today and overnight is a reminder for people that the Greek risk, at least for the moment, has been taken off the table and economic data is all heading in the right direction.”
Japanese Stocks Advance for Second Day as Greek Debt Swap Looks Certain (Source: Bloomberg)
Japanese stocks rose for a second day, with the Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average heading for its highest close since August, as Greece moved closer to the biggest sovereign-debt restructuring in history. Sony Corp., which depends on Europe for more than a fifth of its sales, climbed 2.2 percent after the euro strengthened against the yen, boosting the earnings outlook for Japanese exporters. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., Japan’s No. 2 publicly traded bank, gained 1.7 percent. Mitsubishi Corp. (8058), Japan’s biggest commodities trader by revenue, rose 1.5 percent after oil and metal prices increased. “It looks like the negotiations on the Greek debt-swap are going to pass without any big storm,” said Juichi Wako, a senior strategist at Tokyo-based Nomura Holdings Inc. “Shares may be bought as Greece is moving nearer to restructuring its debts. Many investors were waiting for a buy chance.”
The Nikkei 225 rose 1.4 percent to 9,904.16 as of 9:30 a.m. in Tokyo, heading for a weekly gain of 1.3 percent. The broader Topix (TPX) gained 1.2 percent to 846.01, with more than five times as many shares advancing as falling.
S&P 500 Caps Biggest Two-Day Advance of the Year (Source: Bloomberg)
U.S. stocks rallied, giving the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index its biggest two-day advance of the year, as Greece moved closer to completing its debt swap. Banks (S5BANKX) had the biggest increase in the S&P 500 among 24 groups. Wells Fargo & Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) rose at least 1.2 percent. Alcoa Inc. (AA) and Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) added more than 1.8 percent to pace gains among the biggest companies. Coach Inc. (COH), the largest U.S. luxury handbag maker, climbed 4.6 percent after saying its business continues to be “strong” in China. McDonald’s (MCD) Corp. lost 3.2 percent as sales trailed estimates. The S&P 500 rose 1 percent to 1,365.91 at 4 p.m. New York time, adding 1.7 percent in two days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 70.61 points, or 0.6 percent, to 12,907.94. The Russell 2000 Index of small companies gained 1.3 percent to 806.34. About 6.1 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges today, or 8.8 percent below the three-month average.
“Greece has no choice and the bondholders have no choice,” said Stanley Nabi, New York-based vice chairman of Silvercrest Asset Management Group, which oversees $10.5 billion. “They’re both in the mud. The swap will go through. That will cause a moderate sigh of relief in the market. How long it will extend? That’s the big question mark.”
European Stocks Gain Before Greek Debt-Swap Deadline; EADS Rises on Payout (Source: Bloomberg)
European stocks rallied the most in a month as the deadline on Greece’s debt swap approached and Germany’s industrial output increased more than forecast. European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co. climbed to a five- year high after doubling its dividend and predicting earnings will climb. BNP Paribas SA jumped 3.7 percent as Simon Property Group Inc. agreed to buy some of the French bank’s stake in Klepierre SA. Enel SpA (ENEL), Italy’s largest energy company, sank 5.7 percent after cutting its dividend. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index (SXXP) advanced 1.6 percent to 264.16 at the close in London, the biggest increase since Feb. 3. The gauge rose 0.6 percent yesterday after a private report showed hiring in U.S. companies accelerated last month. The measure has surged 8 percent this year as the European Central Bank lent the region’s lenders more than 1 trillion euros ($1.3 trillion) for three years to ease liquidity.
“Investors will be able to draw a line under Greece that has been going on for too long,” said Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist at Brewing Dolphin Securities Ltd. in London. “In the U.S., economic news flow has been very encouraging. The overall trend of employment has been positive.”
Jobless Claims in U.S. Rose 8,000 Last Week (Source: Bloomberg)
The number of Americans filing claims for jobless benefits rose to 362,000 last week, a level consistent with an improving labor market. Applications for unemployment insurance payments increased by 8,000 in the week ended March 3, Labor Department figures showed today. Economists forecast 352,000 claims, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. The average over the past four weeks held close to a four-year low. The rate of firings indicates companies have grown more comfortable with headcounts and could take on additional employees when demand picks up. Economists forecast a Labor Department report tomorrow will show that employers boosted payrolls in February and the jobless rate held at an almost three-year low. “The level of claims is still quite low,” said Jennifer Lee, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto. “I’m still encouraged by what we’ve seen in the labor market in recent months.”
Global Insurers Are Targeted in Latest U.S. Bid to Expand Iran Sanctions (Source: Bloomberg)
U.S. lawmakers are targeting global insurers as they seek to expand sanctions aimed at crippling Iran’s economy and forcing its leaders to make concessions involving the country’s disputed nuclear program. Representative Brad Sherman, a California Democrat, introduced legislation yesterday to penalize underwriters that insure or reinsure any deals with Iran prohibited under U.S. law, including oil and gas investments or insurance for companies or banks that are subject to U.S. sanctions. Senator Mark Kirk, an Illinois Republican, intends to introduce a similar measure in the Senate, according to his staff. The legislation would mostly affect Asia-Pacific or Russian underwriters because European insurance companies have scaled back or eliminated coverage of Iran-related deals. The European Union banned insurance and reinsurance to Iranian entities or their agents in 2010. U.S. insurance companies are banned from underwriting Iran-related business unless they get a special license from the U.S. government.
Success in Public-Spending Cuts Turns to Hurdle in Japan Quake Rebuilding (Source: Bloomberg)
After years of criticism for public- works spending that rewarded political constituents at the cost of adding debt, Japan succeeded in cutting the largesse in half. Now, that legacy of success is hampering an economic rebound. Reconstruction bids are going unmet one year after the earthquake that devastated the northeast region, because builders lack resources to fill them. Builders’ payrolls fell 24 percent nationwide in the decade through March 2011. Sendai, where the airport was wrecked by the post-quake tsunami on March 11, has 14 ready-mix cement factories, compared with 30 in 1998.
The longer it takes to complete the resurrection of towns, utilities and transport networks under Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s 20 trillion yen ($246 billion) in relief spending, the more limited the economic impact it will have, says Akio Makabe, who has written books on behavioral finance. With limited scope to speed the projects along, Noda’s administration has instead pressed the central bank into stepping up monetary stimulus. “There will be a huge difference, psychologically -- the speed and timing really matters in disaster reconstruction,” Makabe, a professor of economics at Shinshu University in central Japan, said in an interview. “Economists expect stimulus from reconstruction demand will peak in the April-to- June period, but given the current pace of progress, we must assume such a projection is already being pushed backward.”
Investors Agree to Swap About 85% of Greek Debt (Source: Bloomberg)
Private investors agreed to swap about 85 percent of their Greek government bonds for new securities in the biggest sovereign debt restructuring in history, according to a banker briefed on the results. Preliminary indications showed that as much as 155 billion euros ($205 billion) of the 177 billion euros of Greek-law bonds were offered, said the banker, who declined to be identified. Twelve billion euros of debt not under Greek law was also tendered, as was 7 billion euros of bonds from state-owned companies guaranteed by the government, the banker said. With Greece again the focus of the euro-area debt crisis now in its third year, the goal of the exchange is to reduce the 206 billion euros of privately held Greek debt by 53.5 percent. Together with a 130 billion-euro second Greek aid package, the writedown is a key element in European leaders’ efforts to turn the tide against the crisis that has roiled Europe, forcing Ireland and Portugal to follow Greece in requiring bailouts.
The euro and stocks gained before the offer’s close at 10 p.m. in Athens as Prime Minister Lucas Papademos told his Cabinet ministers he looked forward to “the maximum possible participation of the private sector,” according to an e-mailed transcript of his comments.
Hong Kong’s Tang Vows to Tackle Wealth Gap to Revive Leadership Campaign (Source: Bloomberg)
Hong Kong Chief Executive candidate Henry Tang pledged to boost government spending to tackle a widening wealth gap as he sought to reverse a slump in public support ahead of this month’s election. The former chief secretary said in an interview yesterday he will expand public housing by a further 60 percent in five years, spend HK$6 billion ($774 million) annually more on schools, and create 100,000 jobs for the middle class should he win election on March 25. “The middle class has been squeezed,” said Tang, 59. “Every government in the western world is reexamining its role in the market place. I would say government can be more proactive.”
The promises from Tang, who is backed by some of the city’s richest men, are an attempt to address growing public anger over surging property prices and a perception of collusion between government and business that have brought thousands onto the streets. Tang, who has been beset by personal scandals that have eroded his popularity, is battling to revive his candidacy as he trails his main rival by more than 30 percentage points.
China Hard Landing Concerns Vastly Overblown, Yale’s Roach Says (Source: Bloomberg)
Concerns that China will enter a so- called hard landing are “vastly overblown” even as economic growth becomes more unbalanced, according to Yale University Professor Stephen Roach. China’s government has done a terrific job in controlling inflation, Roach, former non-executive chairman for Morgan Stanley in Asia and chief economist, said at a conference in Shanghai yesterday. The greatest risk to economic growth is the increasing reliance on fixed-asset investment and the declining contribution of private consumption, he said. China, the world’s second-largest economy, pared the nation’s economic growth target to 7.5 percent from an 8 percent goal in place since 2005, according to a state-of-the-nation speech that Premier Wen Jiabao delivered to about 3,000 lawmakers at the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress that started on March 5 in Beijing. Officials will also aim for inflation of about 4 percent this year, unchanged from the 2011 goal, it said.
“I don’t think the banking system will collapse and the property bubble will burst,” Roach said in Shanghai. “These are all exaggerations.”
Canada Joins ECB Keeping Stimulus as Risks Ease (Source: Bloomberg)
The Bank of Canada today joined its peers in the euro region and U.K. in prolonging monetary stimulus and said the risks are edging toward quicker inflation and away from another global recession. The central bank kept its main interest rate at 1 percent, extending the longest pause since the 1950s, and said there is less slack in the economy amid easing global tensions and faster domestic spending that may lift prices. The Canadian dollar rose after the announcement, which came on the same day European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said inflation will probably breach the bank’s 2 percent limit this year “with upside risks prevailing.” Two Bank of England policy makers said last week that inflation may be firmer than the central bank has projected.
The Bank of Canada is “trying to bring a broader range of risks to the attention of financial markets, households and businesses,” including inflation, said Dawn Desjardins, assistant chief economist at Royal Bank of Canada in Toronto. “The economy still requires tender loving care of low interest rates.”
Draghi Lays Groundwork for ECB Stimulus Exit as Inflation Takes Spotlight (Source: Bloomberg)
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi signaled he’s done enough to battle the sovereign debt crisis, laying the groundwork for an eventual exit from record-low interest rates and emergency lending measures. Declaring that the environment “has improved enormously” and there are “many signs of returning confidence in the euro,” Draghi yesterday turned the spotlight on “upside risks” to inflation, which is now forecast to remain above the ECB’s 2 percent limit this year. That suggests policy makers don’t plan to cut rates further or add to their 1 trillion euros ($1.32 trillion) of long-term loans to banks, economists said. “The ECB adopted a significantly less dovish tone, dropping anything that could hint at any additional non-standard measure or a further rate cut to come,” said Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank in London. “Instead, the tone suggests that the ECB expects its eventual next move to be a reversal of some non-standard measures or even a rate hike.”
The ECB’s unprecedented crisis-fighting measures have swelled its balance sheet to more than 3 trillion euros, prompting Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann to write a letter to Draghi warning that the central bank may be taking on too much risk. While the ECB has repeatedly been forced to retreat from exit plans as the debt crisis spread, Draghi indicated he may share Weidmann’s desire for a return to more conventional policy settings.
Greece Debt-Swap Deadline Looms as Investors Signal Agreement (Source: Bloomberg)
The Greek government’s deadline for the biggest sovereign restructuring in history passed with a majority of investors signaling their readiness to participate in the debt swap. The euro and stocks gained before the offer’s close at 10 p.m. in Athens today as Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos told his Cabinet ministers that Greece had made “an appropriate framework with significant incentives” for bondholders. “For this reason I look forward to the maximum possible participation of the private sector,” Papademos said, according to an e-mailed transcript of his comments. Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos told Parliament that “a historic process will be completed tonight,” and the results announced tomorrow.
Holders of at least 60 percent of the Greek bonds eligible for the deal, including Greece’s largest banks, most of the country’s pension funds and more than 30 European banks and insurers including BNP Paribas SA and Commerzbank AG (CBK), have agreed to the offer. That brings the total to at least 125 billion euros ($166 billion), based on data compiled by Bloomberg from company reports and government statements.
Greece Readies Record Debt Swap (Source: Bloomberg)
Greece moved closer to sealing the biggest sovereign restructuring in history as investors indicated they’ll participate in the nation’s debt swap. Holders of about 60 percent of the Greek bonds eligible for the deal, including Greece’s largest banks, most of the country’s pension funds and more than 30 European banks and insurers including BNP Paribas (BNP) SA and Commerzbank AG (CBK), have agreed to the offer so far. That brings the total to about 124 billion euros ($163 billion), based on data compiled by Bloomberg from company reports and government statements. The euro and stocks gained on speculation Greece was on the verge of reaching its participation target by the deadline of 10 p.m. in Athens today. The goal of the exchange is to reduce the 206 billion euros of privately held Greek debt by 53.5 percent and turn the tide against the debt crisis that has roiled Europe for more than two years.
“A historic process will be completed tonight,” Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos told Parliament in Athens today. “If all goes well, tomorrow we can announce that we are relieving Greeks of 105 billion euros of debt.”
Draghi Says Inflation to Exceed 2% in 2012 (Source: Bloomberg)
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said inflation will probably breach the bank’s 2 percent limit this year and signaled the worst of the sovereign debt crisis may be over even as the economy stalls. “Inflation rates are now likely to stay above 2 percent in 2012, with upside risks prevailing,” Draghi said in Frankfurt today after the ECB kept its benchmark interest rate at a record-low 1 percent. While risks to the economic outlook remain on the downside, “the risk environment has improved enormously,” he said. “We see many signs of returning confidence in the euro.” Draghi’s comments are “certainly hawkish,” said James Nixon, an economist at Societe Generale SA in London. “Basically, the ECB is confident that the crisis has been averted and the focus is now back on inflation.”
The debt crisis is damping growth across the euro region and making banks reluctant to lend. Having flooded the banking sector with more than 1 trillion euros ($1.31 trillion) to avert a credit crunch, the ECB is now confronted with an oil-price increase that’s propping up inflation at a time when at least six of the 17 euro nations are in recession.
Brazil Accelerates Interest Rate Cuts Amid Signs of Lackluster Growth (Source: Bloomberg)
Brazil’s central bank surprised analysts by accelerating the pace of interest rate cuts, bringing borrowing costs below 10 percent for only the second time amid signs of lackluster growth in Latin America’s biggest economy. In a split vote yesterday, policy makers led by bank President Alexandre Tombini cut the Selic (BZSTSETA) rate by 75 basis points to 9.75 percent. Two dissenting members voted to lower the rate by a half point for a fifth straight meeting. “They just lost patience,” said Nomura Securities’ Tony Volpon, one of just two economists who anticipated the move in a Bloomberg survey of 62 analysts. “The government clearly is afraid, given what they know up to now, that 2012 could be another weak growth year, and they want to buy insurance against that.” A report yesterday showing industrial production in January fell by the most in three years may have tipped the balance in favor of a deeper cut.
The government believes that “drastically” reducing real interest rates that are the second-highest in the Group of 20 richest nations after Russia will also help fight currency gains, said Volpon, the chief emerging markets economist for the Americas at Nomura, in a telephone interview. The real has gained 31 percent since 2008, the second-biggest gainer of the 25 most-traded emerging market currencies tracked by Bloomberg after the Chilean peso.
20120309 0951 Soy Oil & Palm Oil Related News.
Reuters Survey :
Malaysia Feb 2012 Crude Palm Oil
- Exports seen down 9.5% at 1.25 million tonnes from Jan 2012
- Stocks seen down 3% at 1.95 million tonnes from Jan 2012
- Output seen down 9.1% at 1.17 million tonnes from Jan 2012
Soybeans (Source: CME)
US soybean futures end higher, boosted by export demand, including from China, and expectations for a smaller South American crop due to drought. Analysts expect a USDA report due Friday to cut forecasts for the soy crops in Brazil and Argentina, adding to demand for U.S. exports and tightening inventories. Soy also supported by Brazilian federal crop-forecasting agency Conab on Thursday trimming its outlook for Brazil's 2011-12 soybean crop. CBOT May soybeans end up 11 3/4c at $13.38 1/2 a bushel.
Soybean Meal/Oil (Source: CME)
May soybean oil ends up 0.41c to 53.39c/lb., while May soybean meal ends up $2.70 to $367.20 a short ton.
Palm oil extends gains on Greece hopes, US data
KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures extended gains on Thursday as investor sentiment brightened on hopes Greece would secure a debt swap deal to avoid a messy default, while promising U.S. jobs data also supported prices.
"The bullish price forecast helps to lift futures, right now I don't think there are other major factors," said James Ratnam, an analyst with TA Securities in Malaysia.
Malaysia Feb 2012 Crude Palm Oil
- Exports seen down 9.5% at 1.25 million tonnes from Jan 2012
- Stocks seen down 3% at 1.95 million tonnes from Jan 2012
- Output seen down 9.1% at 1.17 million tonnes from Jan 2012
Soybeans (Source: CME)
US soybean futures end higher, boosted by export demand, including from China, and expectations for a smaller South American crop due to drought. Analysts expect a USDA report due Friday to cut forecasts for the soy crops in Brazil and Argentina, adding to demand for U.S. exports and tightening inventories. Soy also supported by Brazilian federal crop-forecasting agency Conab on Thursday trimming its outlook for Brazil's 2011-12 soybean crop. CBOT May soybeans end up 11 3/4c at $13.38 1/2 a bushel.
Soybean Meal/Oil (Source: CME)
May soybean oil ends up 0.41c to 53.39c/lb., while May soybean meal ends up $2.70 to $367.20 a short ton.
Palm oil extends gains on Greece hopes, US data
KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures extended gains on Thursday as investor sentiment brightened on hopes Greece would secure a debt swap deal to avoid a messy default, while promising U.S. jobs data also supported prices.
"The bullish price forecast helps to lift futures, right now I don't think there are other major factors," said James Ratnam, an analyst with TA Securities in Malaysia.
20120309 0952 Global Commodities Related News.
World Food Prices Rose Again In February, FAO Says (Source: CME)
World food prices increased for the second consecutive month in February, driven by higher prices for sugar, cereals and oils, although dairy prices fell slightly after a marked rise in January, the United Nation's food body said. The index's rise in January was its first since July 2011, and it now stands 10%, or 23 points, below its peak in February 2011. Food price inflation climbed toward the top of the international agenda after hitting successive record highs in the early part of last year amid global supply concerns for cereals, sugar and cocoa, before five straight months of decline--the longest slide in over two years. The Food and Agriculture Organization's food price index, which measures the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities, rose 2.4 points from January, to 215 points.
The FAO Sugar Price Index rose to 342 points in February, an increase of 2.4%, due to unfavorable weather conditions in Brazil, the world's largest producer and exporter of sugar, amid fears of delayed harvests and short-term tightness in the market. However, large production in India, the European Union, Thailand and Russia kept prices from increasing further, the FAO said. Meanwhile, the FAO Cereal Price Index increased to 227 points in February, up 2% from January, as wheat markets were supported by tightening supplies and concerns over the effects of severe cold on this year's crops in Europe and the former Soviet Union. Corn prices also rose due to stronger import demand in Asia, concerns about crop prospects in South America and support from a weaker dollar and lower freight rates, the FAO said.
The FAO Oils/Fats Price Index also rose 2% in February, to 239 points, as poor monthly production growth in palm oil combined with the prospect of a tight supply and demand balance for total vegetable oils in 2011-12. However, the FAO Dairy Price Index dropped marginally to 205 points in February, due to falling skim milk powder and casein quotations, and on easing supplies in major exporting countries. Prices of butter, cheese and whole milk powder remained relatively steady, the FAO said.
Corn (Source: CME)
US corn futures hit a 2-week low as traders continued to reduce risk exposure ahead of Friday's USDA supply-and-demand reports. "The momentum of corn prices has turned negative as the market lacks enough new export news to give bullish traders hope," says Prime Ag Consultant's Chad Henderson. Anticipation of the USDA to disclose smaller South American crops and stronger demand is priced into the market, says Henderson, and without a fresh demand source, corn struggled. Corn also drew pressure Thursday from a larger Brazilian crop estimates and bean/corn spreading. CBOT May corn falls 3 1/4c to $6.35 1/2 a bushel.
Wheat (Source: CME)
US wheat futures end lower on weak fundamentals and investor positioning ahead of Friday's USDA supply-and-demand report. World wheat supplies are already ample and the US winter-wheat crop has positive growing conditions. "You've already got large supplies and you're going to add to it the way things look," says Tom Leffler of Leffler Commodities. Weekly US export sales, reported at the high end of analysts' expectations, failed to hold off selling pressure. CBOT's most-heavily traded May wheat contract falls 4 1/2c to $6.34 3/4 a bushel while KCBT May drops 5 1/2c to $6.78 1/4 and MGEX May declines 5 1/4c to $8.03 1/2.
Rice (Source: CME)
US rice futures tumbled to five-week lows, driven by speculative selling amid poor export demand. Weakness in other grain futures attracted sellers with traders concerned about export demand dwindling at higher price levels, analysts say. USDA confirmed the poor export outlooks in its weekly export sales report. Rice sales totaled 26,700 metric tons, down 33% from the previous week and down 63% from the prior four week average. CBOT May rice ended down 30c or 2.1% to $13.93/hundredweight.
Wheat, corn rebound on softer dollar, US data
SINGAPORE, March 8 (Reuters) - U.S. wheat futures rose for the first time in four days on Thursday, recovering from their biggest daily fall in two months in the previous session along with corn, helped by a softer dollar and upbeat U.S. jobs data.
"I doubt we'll see any great surprises from the USDA to get the market too excited," said Paul Deane, agricultural economist at Australia and New Zealand Bank.
S.Africa GM crop area hit record in 2011/12 -report
JOHANNESBURG, March 8 (Reuters) - South Africa's genetically modified (GM) crop area increased 100,000 hectares to a record 2.3 million hectares in the 2011/12 season from 2.2 million hectares in the season before, an industry report showed on Thursday.
The land area cultivated under the staple maize was 1.9 million hectares, while genetically modified soya beans were produced on 450,000 ha and cotton on 15,000 ha, the report issued by the International
service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) showed.
Philippines 2011/12 wheat imports seen down-attache
March 7 (Reuters) - Following are selected highlights from a report issued by a U.S. Department of Agriculture attache in the Philippines:
"The Philippines is one of the world's largest rice importers, a top five market for U.S. wheat and a minor importer of corn. Total rice imports are expected to increase from 1.3 million tonnes in MY10/11 to 1.5 million tonnes in MY11/12, inclusive of unregistered imports.
Argentine dock strike slows 20 grains ships -union
BUENOS AIRES, March 7 (Reuters) - About 20 grains vessels were slowed in Argentina on Wednesday, according to dock workers on strike since last week to demand fuller staffing of their shifts, a protest that could bog down key soy exports.
Sources in the SOMU labor union in the country's main agricultural shipping hub Rosario said the delays will continue as long as port authorities resist demands to put more workers on the job during busy docking shifts.
Wheat plantings seen higher in England/Wales-HGCA
LONDON, March 7 (Reuters) - The area planted to wheat in England and Wales by December 1, 2011 is estimated to have risen by 3 percent to 1.86 million hectares, the Home-Grown Cereals Authority said on Wednesday issuing results of a planting survey.
Rapeseed area climbed 6 percent to 698,000 hectares and winter barley rose 9 percent to 345,000 hectares.
Morocco's cereals crop may fall by half - state body
RABAT, March 7 (Reuters) - Morocco's cereals harvest this year will not reach half of last year's level, the head of a state-run agricultural research institute said on Wednesday, which would ratchet up the burden of imports on the country's frail balance of payments.
"This year will be very difficult for farming in Morocco ... It is the worst year as far as rainfalls are concerned since 2007," Mohamed Badraoui, head of the National Institute for Agricultural Research, told Reuters.
Drought Tightens Corn Supply Before Biggest Harvest on Record: Commodities (Source: Bloomberg)
Droughts from Mexico to Argentina are shrinking corn stockpiles to a five-year low, raising the prospect of a bull market before U.S. farmers start reaping the biggest crop ever. Global reserves will drop 4.2 percent to 123.43 million metric tons by Oct. 1, according to the average of 21 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. That’s equal to 52 days of consumption, the fewest since 1974. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. expects prices to rise 10 percent to $7 a bushel before the U.S. harvest starts in September, 21 percent above the one-year closing low reached on the Chicago Board of Trade in December. Prices fell 16 percent in the last four months of 2011 as the USDA predicted Brazil and Argentina, accounting for almost 10 percent of global supply, would produce their biggest crops ever. Futures then rallied as drought spread across Central and South America, spurring the USDA to cut its forecasts twice in as many months.
While prices may keep rising for now, analysts anticipate declines by the end of the year as U.S. growers harvest the most acres planted since at least 1944. “There is no doubt that crops in South America were hurt by the hot, dry weather and that means more demand for U.S. supplies,” said Alberto Alvarez, the managing director of Chicago-based grains brokerage Fintec Group Inc. “There is an imminent explosion in corn prices.”
Argentina Exchange Cuts Corn Forecast To 20.8M Tons From 21.3M Tons (Source: CME)
Drought damage to Argentina's 2011-12 corn crop was slightly worse than expected and production prospects for the crop are now just 20.8 million metric tons, the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange said in its weekly crop report. Last week, the exchange had forecast 21.3 million tons. Early in the season, analysts had expected corn production of up to 30 million tons, but hot, dry weather in December and January baked many of the fields. The drought hit the early-planted corn hard, but relatively wet conditions since the end of January have given the late-planted corn a boost, according to the exchange. The corn harvest is just getting started and will continue through June. Argentina is the world's second largest corn exporter.
Soybeans Rise on Shrinking South America Crops; Corn Drops (Source: Bloomberg)
Soybeans rose for a second time this week on signs that drought-reduced crops in South America are boosting demand for supplies from the U.S. Corn fell. In the week ended March 1, U.S. exporters sold 1.015 million metric tons of soybeans for delivery before Aug. 31, up 85 percent from the previous week, the Department of Agriculture said today. A separate report showed China, the world’s biggest consumer, bought 165,000 tons from exporters. The country may boost imports 5.7 percent next year, the agency said yesterday. “Soybean export demand is improving, and that is the story going forward,” Jim Riley, a grain broker for the Linn Group in Chicago, said in a telephone interview. “China will continue to be a big buyer.”
Soybean futures for May delivery advanced 0.4 percent to $13.3225 a bushel at 10:37 a.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade. Yesterday, the oilseed touched $13.39, the highest for the most- active futures since Sept. 21.
Dry Weather Hampers Brazil's Sugarcane Replanting -Datagro (Source: CME)
Old, less productive sugarcane across fields in Brazil will take years to replace, dashing growers' chances of dramatically improving output in the approaching season, forecaster Datagro said. "Aged cane fields produce lower yields," Datagro President Plinio Nastari said in a telephone interview. "Last year, the average age of cane fields was 3.8 years, when the considered normal levels would be 2.7 years." Growers usually replace the plants on a rotating basis, replanting part of their fields one year and the rest at a later date. But the process in Brazil has been delayed for several seasons, first due to tight credit in the economic crisis starting in 2008, and then by dry weather since 2010. Nastari said he expects the 2012-13 crop to be "not very different from last year," when sugar production in the main growing region totaled 31.2 million metric tons, down 6.9% from the previous record season.
"I think recovery will happen over time and it will a slow, painful process," he said, estimating that it could take three to four years to reach that level again. What Brazil needs now is rain. "The ability of producers to replant depends on adequate humidity in the soil and February has been particularly dry," he said. In addition, the cane currently in the ground produces less sugar if starved of moisture. A smaller Brazilian crop could push up sugar prices, since the nation produces more than one-fifth of the world's sugar, even though some major forecasters including the International Sugar Organization and U.K.-trade house Czarnikow expect a global sugar surplus this season. "It puts the surplus into doubt," said Newedge Senior Vice President Michael McDougall. He said raw futures could reach 28 cents a pound. In midday trade, raw sugar for May delivery was up 0.7% at 24.08 cents a pound.
Rabobank Seeks To Expand Lending In China's Agricultural Sector - Exec (Source: CME)
Rabobank Groep NV, the Dutch bank known as a bank for farmers, plans to expand lending -- both in the yuan and foreign currencies -- to Chinese food producers and processors, making it the latest foreign bank to embrace the country's vast agricultural sector. The Netherlands-based bank will focus on providing financing to Chinese food and agricultural companies to make purchases or acquisitions abroad, said Sipko Schat, a member of Rabobank's executive board and chairman of its international wholesale division, ahead of the Friday opening of the bank's first branch in Beijing. Rabobank already has a branch in Shanghai, its first in China. Schat said the bank intends to make loans both in the Chinese and foreign currencies. "It's our expectation that the use of the yuan will increase in global trade and investment over time," Schat said in an interview Thursday.
Rabobank's planned expansion in China's food and agricultural markets comes as foreign banks -- including HSBC Holdings PLC, Citigroup Inc., Standard Chartered PLC, and the Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. -- have flocked to China to set up rural operations, aiming to capitalize on Beijing's drive to boost incomes in rural areas. Chinese regulators also have made the rural-banking sector one of the few areas in the country's financial-services industry open to foreign competition. They have been encouraging foreign banks to invest in rural and agricultural finance as part of an effort to channel credit to the sectors that have been poorly served by China's state-owned banks. "It's a heavily regulated market, but it is opening up," Schat said, referring to China's banking sector.
But unlike some of its foreign rivals, Rabobank doesn't plan to set up banks in China's rural areas to provide financing to individual farmers, Mr. Schat said. Rather, it will focus on lending to food- and agriculture-related businesses through its branches in Beijing and Shanghai. With branches in nearly 38 countries, Rabobank has become a major lender for the food and agricultural sectors in the past decades. Currently, profits generated in Asia represent 10% of the bank's wholesale banking income. Rabobank executives plan to bump up that level to 25% in the next five years. "We certainly hope China will be a big part" of the increase, said Johnson Fu, the head of Rabobank in China, in the same interview.
China to add to squeeze on world corn supply
BEIJING/SINGAPORE, March 8 (Reuters) - Beijing and the influential U.S. agriculture department may have overstated China's corn crop by as much as 14 percent, pointing to higher imports from the world's second-largest consumer of the grain that could squeeze already tightening global supplies.
If China plugs the gap between projected and actual domestic supply with additional corn imports, it would drive up international prices already near four-month highs. Wheat markets could feel the impact too if Beijing snaps up the grain as a substitute to corn for animal feed.
Sucden to source up to 200,000T world cocoa in '12/13
ABIDJAN, March 7 (Reuters) - France-based commodities firm Sucden plans rapidly to grow its global cocoa operations to source up to 200,000 tonnes of world cocoa in 2012/13, after officially re-entering the market in July last year, its head of cocoa said on Wednesday.
Sucden (Groupe Sucres et Denrees) will consolidate its presence in the world's top cocoa grower Ivory Coast, opening an office in San Pedro in addition to the new office in Abidjan, Derek Chambers told Reuters.
India may give limited nod for cotton exports-sources
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI, March 7 (Reuters) - India could allow limited exports of cotton to cover existing sales commitments when ministers meet on the issue on Friday, government sources said, as exporters sought permission for 2.5 million bales to be released.
The world's second-largest cotton producer banned exports unexpectedly on Monday as domestic demand threatened to outstrip availability, boosting global prices on hopes the move would tighten a market beset by weak demand.
ICE coffee higher early as commodities advance
LONDON, March 8 (Reuters) - Arabica coffee futures on ICE rose in early trade on Thursday, rebounding from the prior session's 16-month low, supported by a weaker dollar and broad-based gains in commodity and equity markets.
Cocoa futures on ICE also edged higher while raw sugar was little changed after hitting a two-week low.
Brazil Feb green coffee exports lowest since 2008
BRASILIA, March 7 (Reuters) - Brazil's shipments of green coffee fell to 1.91 million 60-kg bags in February compared with 2.47 million bags in the same month last year, coffee exporter association Cecafe said on Wednesday.
Brazil's 2011/12 coffee harvest was a smaller off-year in the biennial cycle which causes output to rise and fall from one year to the next. February's total exports were the lowest for that month since 2008, Cecafe data showed.
Brazil '12/13 CS sugar output seen up at 33 mln tonnes
SAO PAULO, March 7 (Reuters) - Brazil's 2012/13 center-south sugar cane crop that will begin crushing in weeks was forecast at 33 million tonnes of sugar, up 5.3 percent from 31.3 million tonnes this season, crop analysts Agroconsult said Wednesday in its first forecast.
Brazil's main cane crop will recover from its first drop in output in 11 years to reach 540 million tonnes, up 9 percent from 494 million this season that ended crushing in December.
Philippines annual sugar exports to non-U.S. buyers seen at 21-yr high
MANILA, March 7 (Reuters) - The Philippines' exports of raw sugar to non-U.S. buyers for the current crop year are likely to increase at least eightfold to a 21-year high of 300,000 tonnes amid high global prices.
The projected export volume includes approved raw sugar exports of 55,590 tonnes for March delivery, the Philippines' Sugar Regulatory Administration said.
Uganda Feb coffee exports up 26 pct on good weather
KAMPALA, March 7 (Reuters) - Uganda's coffee exports in February jumped 26 percent from the same month last year, helped by better weather that yielded a bigger crop, a source at the state-run Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) told Reuters on Wednesday.
Uganda, which is east Africa's third-biggest economy, was Africa's leading exporter of the beans last year according to statistics from the International Coffee Organisation (ICO).
Rubber Snaps Worst Streak This Year as Data Shows Strengthening Economies (Source: Bloomberg)
Rubber snapped the worst losing run this year, gaining for the first time in four days, on speculation that demand for the raw material used in tires will improve as economies strengthen. August-delivery gained as much as 1.5 percent to 329.5 yen a kilogram ($4,057 a metric ton) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, and settled at 327.4 yen. Futures reached 320.4 yen yesterday, the lowest level since Feb. 20. U.S. employers boosted hiring, according to data, while more investors joined a Greek debt swap, increasing prospects for the country’s second bailout. Oil and Asian stocks climbed after data showed that Japan’s economy shrank less than the government initially estimated. Concerns that Greece’s sovereign-debt crisis may worsen have eased, while the yen weakened against the dollar, improving investors’ appetite for yen-denominated contracts, said Gu Jiong, an analyst at commodity broker Yutaka Shoji Co.
Solar Panel Sales Seen Dropping First Time in Decade Feeding Glut: Energy (Source: Bloomberg)
Fewer solar panels will be installed this year as the first drop in more than a decade worsens a glut of the unsold devices that’s already slashed margins at the top five manufacturers, an analyst survey showed. Homes and businesses will put up 24.8 gigawatts of solar panels worldwide, according to the average of six forecasts compiled by Bloomberg News. That’s equal to the power of about 20 nuclear reactors and down 10 percent from the 27.7 gigawatts added last year. Installations have grown 61 percent a year on average since 1999, Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimates. The decline would be the first since Germany began offering premium rates for solar power in 2004, opening the way for mass, utility-scale installations. It will exacerbate price-cutting and a surge in inventories that last year forced Solyndra LLC into bankruptcy, prompted SunPower Corp. to seek a buyout and gutted margins at top manufacturers led by Suntech Power Holdings Co. and First Solar Inc.
“Overcapacity has been an overhang for this industry, and with Germany tightening it doesn’t seem like it will ease,” said Amir Rozwadowski, an analyst at Barclays Capital Inc. in New York. “It’s difficult to assess where there’s a significant push-out that would lead to accelerating demand, given the anticipated decline in Europe.”
Europe-U.S. Gasoline Cargoes Poised to Reach Eight-Week Low (Source: Bloomberg)
Gasoline shipments to the U.S. from Europe are set to fall to an eight-week low as consumption of the auto fuel weakens in the world’s biggest economy, a Bloomberg News survey showed. Traders and oil companies booked 10 tankers for the two weeks to March 22 and eight more are likely to be hired, according to the median estimate in a survey yesterday of seven shipbrokers, traders and owners who specialize in transporting gasoline. That’s the fewest since the two weeks begun Jan. 12. U.S. purchases of the fuel held below 60 million barrels for a 10th week in a row, MasterCard Inc.’s SpendingPulse report showed March 6. Refineries in the country are using stocks of winter-grade gasoline, lifting the amount available, according to Ehsan Ul-Haq, a senior consultant at KBC Energy Economics. Gasoline specifications can change as temperatures fluctuate because of government efforts to curb air pollution.
“U.S. refiners will also be drawing down their stocks of winter-specification gasoline before blending the European material into summer specs, so more domestically produced gasoline should be available,” Ul-Haq said by e-mail.
Oil Gains a Third Day on Demand Outlook After German Output, Greek Debt (Source: Bloomberg)
Oil climbed for a third day in New York as investors speculated that fuel demand may increase after German industrial output rose more than forecast and Greece moved closer to completing its debt swap. Futures advanced as much as 0.4 percent, heading for a weekly gain. German production increased 1.6 percent in January, according to the Economy Ministry in Berlin, compared with a median estimate of 1.1 percent in a Bloomberg News survey. Private investors agreed to swap about 85 percent of their Greek government bonds for new securities, said a banker briefed on the results who declined to be identified. Oil for April delivery rose as much as 37 cents to $106.95 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $106.79 at 11:03 a.m. Sydney time. The contract yesterday climbed 0.4 percent to $106.58, the highest close since March 5. Prices are up 9 cents this week and have gained 8.1 percent this year.
Brent oil for April settlement advanced $1.32, or 1.1 percent, to $125.44 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange yesterday. The European benchmark contract’s premium to New York-traded West Texas Intermediate closed at $18.86, the widest gap since Feb. 6. It reached a record $27.88 on Oct. 14.
Gold Bulls Strengthening as Bullion Wagers Reach $131 Billion: Commodities (Source: Bloomberg)
Gold traders are the most bullish in four months after investors accumulated more metal than ever and hedge funds raised bets on gains to a five-month high. Sixteen of 23 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect prices to gain next week and one was neutral, the highest proportion since Nov. 11. Investors increased their holdings in exchange- traded products backed by bullion for seven consecutive weeks and now hold 2,407 metric tons valued at $131 billion, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Demand for gold is strengthening as European leaders seek to contain the region’s debt crisis and governments from the U.S. to the U.K. keep interest rates at all-time lows to shore up growth. The Federal Reserve and Bank of England have bought debt and the European Central Bank offered unlimited three-year loans to the region’s lenders, actions that spurred some investors to buy gold as protection against inflation.
World food prices increased for the second consecutive month in February, driven by higher prices for sugar, cereals and oils, although dairy prices fell slightly after a marked rise in January, the United Nation's food body said. The index's rise in January was its first since July 2011, and it now stands 10%, or 23 points, below its peak in February 2011. Food price inflation climbed toward the top of the international agenda after hitting successive record highs in the early part of last year amid global supply concerns for cereals, sugar and cocoa, before five straight months of decline--the longest slide in over two years. The Food and Agriculture Organization's food price index, which measures the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities, rose 2.4 points from January, to 215 points.
The FAO Sugar Price Index rose to 342 points in February, an increase of 2.4%, due to unfavorable weather conditions in Brazil, the world's largest producer and exporter of sugar, amid fears of delayed harvests and short-term tightness in the market. However, large production in India, the European Union, Thailand and Russia kept prices from increasing further, the FAO said. Meanwhile, the FAO Cereal Price Index increased to 227 points in February, up 2% from January, as wheat markets were supported by tightening supplies and concerns over the effects of severe cold on this year's crops in Europe and the former Soviet Union. Corn prices also rose due to stronger import demand in Asia, concerns about crop prospects in South America and support from a weaker dollar and lower freight rates, the FAO said.
The FAO Oils/Fats Price Index also rose 2% in February, to 239 points, as poor monthly production growth in palm oil combined with the prospect of a tight supply and demand balance for total vegetable oils in 2011-12. However, the FAO Dairy Price Index dropped marginally to 205 points in February, due to falling skim milk powder and casein quotations, and on easing supplies in major exporting countries. Prices of butter, cheese and whole milk powder remained relatively steady, the FAO said.
Corn (Source: CME)
US corn futures hit a 2-week low as traders continued to reduce risk exposure ahead of Friday's USDA supply-and-demand reports. "The momentum of corn prices has turned negative as the market lacks enough new export news to give bullish traders hope," says Prime Ag Consultant's Chad Henderson. Anticipation of the USDA to disclose smaller South American crops and stronger demand is priced into the market, says Henderson, and without a fresh demand source, corn struggled. Corn also drew pressure Thursday from a larger Brazilian crop estimates and bean/corn spreading. CBOT May corn falls 3 1/4c to $6.35 1/2 a bushel.
Wheat (Source: CME)
US wheat futures end lower on weak fundamentals and investor positioning ahead of Friday's USDA supply-and-demand report. World wheat supplies are already ample and the US winter-wheat crop has positive growing conditions. "You've already got large supplies and you're going to add to it the way things look," says Tom Leffler of Leffler Commodities. Weekly US export sales, reported at the high end of analysts' expectations, failed to hold off selling pressure. CBOT's most-heavily traded May wheat contract falls 4 1/2c to $6.34 3/4 a bushel while KCBT May drops 5 1/2c to $6.78 1/4 and MGEX May declines 5 1/4c to $8.03 1/2.
Rice (Source: CME)
US rice futures tumbled to five-week lows, driven by speculative selling amid poor export demand. Weakness in other grain futures attracted sellers with traders concerned about export demand dwindling at higher price levels, analysts say. USDA confirmed the poor export outlooks in its weekly export sales report. Rice sales totaled 26,700 metric tons, down 33% from the previous week and down 63% from the prior four week average. CBOT May rice ended down 30c or 2.1% to $13.93/hundredweight.
Wheat, corn rebound on softer dollar, US data
SINGAPORE, March 8 (Reuters) - U.S. wheat futures rose for the first time in four days on Thursday, recovering from their biggest daily fall in two months in the previous session along with corn, helped by a softer dollar and upbeat U.S. jobs data.
"I doubt we'll see any great surprises from the USDA to get the market too excited," said Paul Deane, agricultural economist at Australia and New Zealand Bank.
S.Africa GM crop area hit record in 2011/12 -report
JOHANNESBURG, March 8 (Reuters) - South Africa's genetically modified (GM) crop area increased 100,000 hectares to a record 2.3 million hectares in the 2011/12 season from 2.2 million hectares in the season before, an industry report showed on Thursday.
The land area cultivated under the staple maize was 1.9 million hectares, while genetically modified soya beans were produced on 450,000 ha and cotton on 15,000 ha, the report issued by the International
service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) showed.
Philippines 2011/12 wheat imports seen down-attache
March 7 (Reuters) - Following are selected highlights from a report issued by a U.S. Department of Agriculture attache in the Philippines:
"The Philippines is one of the world's largest rice importers, a top five market for U.S. wheat and a minor importer of corn. Total rice imports are expected to increase from 1.3 million tonnes in MY10/11 to 1.5 million tonnes in MY11/12, inclusive of unregistered imports.
Argentine dock strike slows 20 grains ships -union
BUENOS AIRES, March 7 (Reuters) - About 20 grains vessels were slowed in Argentina on Wednesday, according to dock workers on strike since last week to demand fuller staffing of their shifts, a protest that could bog down key soy exports.
Sources in the SOMU labor union in the country's main agricultural shipping hub Rosario said the delays will continue as long as port authorities resist demands to put more workers on the job during busy docking shifts.
Wheat plantings seen higher in England/Wales-HGCA
LONDON, March 7 (Reuters) - The area planted to wheat in England and Wales by December 1, 2011 is estimated to have risen by 3 percent to 1.86 million hectares, the Home-Grown Cereals Authority said on Wednesday issuing results of a planting survey.
Rapeseed area climbed 6 percent to 698,000 hectares and winter barley rose 9 percent to 345,000 hectares.
Morocco's cereals crop may fall by half - state body
RABAT, March 7 (Reuters) - Morocco's cereals harvest this year will not reach half of last year's level, the head of a state-run agricultural research institute said on Wednesday, which would ratchet up the burden of imports on the country's frail balance of payments.
"This year will be very difficult for farming in Morocco ... It is the worst year as far as rainfalls are concerned since 2007," Mohamed Badraoui, head of the National Institute for Agricultural Research, told Reuters.
Drought Tightens Corn Supply Before Biggest Harvest on Record: Commodities (Source: Bloomberg)
Droughts from Mexico to Argentina are shrinking corn stockpiles to a five-year low, raising the prospect of a bull market before U.S. farmers start reaping the biggest crop ever. Global reserves will drop 4.2 percent to 123.43 million metric tons by Oct. 1, according to the average of 21 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. That’s equal to 52 days of consumption, the fewest since 1974. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. expects prices to rise 10 percent to $7 a bushel before the U.S. harvest starts in September, 21 percent above the one-year closing low reached on the Chicago Board of Trade in December. Prices fell 16 percent in the last four months of 2011 as the USDA predicted Brazil and Argentina, accounting for almost 10 percent of global supply, would produce their biggest crops ever. Futures then rallied as drought spread across Central and South America, spurring the USDA to cut its forecasts twice in as many months.
While prices may keep rising for now, analysts anticipate declines by the end of the year as U.S. growers harvest the most acres planted since at least 1944. “There is no doubt that crops in South America were hurt by the hot, dry weather and that means more demand for U.S. supplies,” said Alberto Alvarez, the managing director of Chicago-based grains brokerage Fintec Group Inc. “There is an imminent explosion in corn prices.”
Argentina Exchange Cuts Corn Forecast To 20.8M Tons From 21.3M Tons (Source: CME)
Drought damage to Argentina's 2011-12 corn crop was slightly worse than expected and production prospects for the crop are now just 20.8 million metric tons, the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange said in its weekly crop report. Last week, the exchange had forecast 21.3 million tons. Early in the season, analysts had expected corn production of up to 30 million tons, but hot, dry weather in December and January baked many of the fields. The drought hit the early-planted corn hard, but relatively wet conditions since the end of January have given the late-planted corn a boost, according to the exchange. The corn harvest is just getting started and will continue through June. Argentina is the world's second largest corn exporter.
Soybeans Rise on Shrinking South America Crops; Corn Drops (Source: Bloomberg)
Soybeans rose for a second time this week on signs that drought-reduced crops in South America are boosting demand for supplies from the U.S. Corn fell. In the week ended March 1, U.S. exporters sold 1.015 million metric tons of soybeans for delivery before Aug. 31, up 85 percent from the previous week, the Department of Agriculture said today. A separate report showed China, the world’s biggest consumer, bought 165,000 tons from exporters. The country may boost imports 5.7 percent next year, the agency said yesterday. “Soybean export demand is improving, and that is the story going forward,” Jim Riley, a grain broker for the Linn Group in Chicago, said in a telephone interview. “China will continue to be a big buyer.”
Soybean futures for May delivery advanced 0.4 percent to $13.3225 a bushel at 10:37 a.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade. Yesterday, the oilseed touched $13.39, the highest for the most- active futures since Sept. 21.
Dry Weather Hampers Brazil's Sugarcane Replanting -Datagro (Source: CME)
Old, less productive sugarcane across fields in Brazil will take years to replace, dashing growers' chances of dramatically improving output in the approaching season, forecaster Datagro said. "Aged cane fields produce lower yields," Datagro President Plinio Nastari said in a telephone interview. "Last year, the average age of cane fields was 3.8 years, when the considered normal levels would be 2.7 years." Growers usually replace the plants on a rotating basis, replanting part of their fields one year and the rest at a later date. But the process in Brazil has been delayed for several seasons, first due to tight credit in the economic crisis starting in 2008, and then by dry weather since 2010. Nastari said he expects the 2012-13 crop to be "not very different from last year," when sugar production in the main growing region totaled 31.2 million metric tons, down 6.9% from the previous record season.
"I think recovery will happen over time and it will a slow, painful process," he said, estimating that it could take three to four years to reach that level again. What Brazil needs now is rain. "The ability of producers to replant depends on adequate humidity in the soil and February has been particularly dry," he said. In addition, the cane currently in the ground produces less sugar if starved of moisture. A smaller Brazilian crop could push up sugar prices, since the nation produces more than one-fifth of the world's sugar, even though some major forecasters including the International Sugar Organization and U.K.-trade house Czarnikow expect a global sugar surplus this season. "It puts the surplus into doubt," said Newedge Senior Vice President Michael McDougall. He said raw futures could reach 28 cents a pound. In midday trade, raw sugar for May delivery was up 0.7% at 24.08 cents a pound.
Rabobank Seeks To Expand Lending In China's Agricultural Sector - Exec (Source: CME)
Rabobank Groep NV, the Dutch bank known as a bank for farmers, plans to expand lending -- both in the yuan and foreign currencies -- to Chinese food producers and processors, making it the latest foreign bank to embrace the country's vast agricultural sector. The Netherlands-based bank will focus on providing financing to Chinese food and agricultural companies to make purchases or acquisitions abroad, said Sipko Schat, a member of Rabobank's executive board and chairman of its international wholesale division, ahead of the Friday opening of the bank's first branch in Beijing. Rabobank already has a branch in Shanghai, its first in China. Schat said the bank intends to make loans both in the Chinese and foreign currencies. "It's our expectation that the use of the yuan will increase in global trade and investment over time," Schat said in an interview Thursday.
Rabobank's planned expansion in China's food and agricultural markets comes as foreign banks -- including HSBC Holdings PLC, Citigroup Inc., Standard Chartered PLC, and the Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. -- have flocked to China to set up rural operations, aiming to capitalize on Beijing's drive to boost incomes in rural areas. Chinese regulators also have made the rural-banking sector one of the few areas in the country's financial-services industry open to foreign competition. They have been encouraging foreign banks to invest in rural and agricultural finance as part of an effort to channel credit to the sectors that have been poorly served by China's state-owned banks. "It's a heavily regulated market, but it is opening up," Schat said, referring to China's banking sector.
But unlike some of its foreign rivals, Rabobank doesn't plan to set up banks in China's rural areas to provide financing to individual farmers, Mr. Schat said. Rather, it will focus on lending to food- and agriculture-related businesses through its branches in Beijing and Shanghai. With branches in nearly 38 countries, Rabobank has become a major lender for the food and agricultural sectors in the past decades. Currently, profits generated in Asia represent 10% of the bank's wholesale banking income. Rabobank executives plan to bump up that level to 25% in the next five years. "We certainly hope China will be a big part" of the increase, said Johnson Fu, the head of Rabobank in China, in the same interview.
China to add to squeeze on world corn supply
BEIJING/SINGAPORE, March 8 (Reuters) - Beijing and the influential U.S. agriculture department may have overstated China's corn crop by as much as 14 percent, pointing to higher imports from the world's second-largest consumer of the grain that could squeeze already tightening global supplies.
If China plugs the gap between projected and actual domestic supply with additional corn imports, it would drive up international prices already near four-month highs. Wheat markets could feel the impact too if Beijing snaps up the grain as a substitute to corn for animal feed.
Sucden to source up to 200,000T world cocoa in '12/13
ABIDJAN, March 7 (Reuters) - France-based commodities firm Sucden plans rapidly to grow its global cocoa operations to source up to 200,000 tonnes of world cocoa in 2012/13, after officially re-entering the market in July last year, its head of cocoa said on Wednesday.
Sucden (Groupe Sucres et Denrees) will consolidate its presence in the world's top cocoa grower Ivory Coast, opening an office in San Pedro in addition to the new office in Abidjan, Derek Chambers told Reuters.
India may give limited nod for cotton exports-sources
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI, March 7 (Reuters) - India could allow limited exports of cotton to cover existing sales commitments when ministers meet on the issue on Friday, government sources said, as exporters sought permission for 2.5 million bales to be released.
The world's second-largest cotton producer banned exports unexpectedly on Monday as domestic demand threatened to outstrip availability, boosting global prices on hopes the move would tighten a market beset by weak demand.
ICE coffee higher early as commodities advance
LONDON, March 8 (Reuters) - Arabica coffee futures on ICE rose in early trade on Thursday, rebounding from the prior session's 16-month low, supported by a weaker dollar and broad-based gains in commodity and equity markets.
Cocoa futures on ICE also edged higher while raw sugar was little changed after hitting a two-week low.
Brazil Feb green coffee exports lowest since 2008
BRASILIA, March 7 (Reuters) - Brazil's shipments of green coffee fell to 1.91 million 60-kg bags in February compared with 2.47 million bags in the same month last year, coffee exporter association Cecafe said on Wednesday.
Brazil's 2011/12 coffee harvest was a smaller off-year in the biennial cycle which causes output to rise and fall from one year to the next. February's total exports were the lowest for that month since 2008, Cecafe data showed.
Brazil '12/13 CS sugar output seen up at 33 mln tonnes
SAO PAULO, March 7 (Reuters) - Brazil's 2012/13 center-south sugar cane crop that will begin crushing in weeks was forecast at 33 million tonnes of sugar, up 5.3 percent from 31.3 million tonnes this season, crop analysts Agroconsult said Wednesday in its first forecast.
Brazil's main cane crop will recover from its first drop in output in 11 years to reach 540 million tonnes, up 9 percent from 494 million this season that ended crushing in December.
Philippines annual sugar exports to non-U.S. buyers seen at 21-yr high
MANILA, March 7 (Reuters) - The Philippines' exports of raw sugar to non-U.S. buyers for the current crop year are likely to increase at least eightfold to a 21-year high of 300,000 tonnes amid high global prices.
The projected export volume includes approved raw sugar exports of 55,590 tonnes for March delivery, the Philippines' Sugar Regulatory Administration said.
Uganda Feb coffee exports up 26 pct on good weather
KAMPALA, March 7 (Reuters) - Uganda's coffee exports in February jumped 26 percent from the same month last year, helped by better weather that yielded a bigger crop, a source at the state-run Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) told Reuters on Wednesday.
Uganda, which is east Africa's third-biggest economy, was Africa's leading exporter of the beans last year according to statistics from the International Coffee Organisation (ICO).
Rubber Snaps Worst Streak This Year as Data Shows Strengthening Economies (Source: Bloomberg)
Rubber snapped the worst losing run this year, gaining for the first time in four days, on speculation that demand for the raw material used in tires will improve as economies strengthen. August-delivery gained as much as 1.5 percent to 329.5 yen a kilogram ($4,057 a metric ton) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, and settled at 327.4 yen. Futures reached 320.4 yen yesterday, the lowest level since Feb. 20. U.S. employers boosted hiring, according to data, while more investors joined a Greek debt swap, increasing prospects for the country’s second bailout. Oil and Asian stocks climbed after data showed that Japan’s economy shrank less than the government initially estimated. Concerns that Greece’s sovereign-debt crisis may worsen have eased, while the yen weakened against the dollar, improving investors’ appetite for yen-denominated contracts, said Gu Jiong, an analyst at commodity broker Yutaka Shoji Co.
Solar Panel Sales Seen Dropping First Time in Decade Feeding Glut: Energy (Source: Bloomberg)
Fewer solar panels will be installed this year as the first drop in more than a decade worsens a glut of the unsold devices that’s already slashed margins at the top five manufacturers, an analyst survey showed. Homes and businesses will put up 24.8 gigawatts of solar panels worldwide, according to the average of six forecasts compiled by Bloomberg News. That’s equal to the power of about 20 nuclear reactors and down 10 percent from the 27.7 gigawatts added last year. Installations have grown 61 percent a year on average since 1999, Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimates. The decline would be the first since Germany began offering premium rates for solar power in 2004, opening the way for mass, utility-scale installations. It will exacerbate price-cutting and a surge in inventories that last year forced Solyndra LLC into bankruptcy, prompted SunPower Corp. to seek a buyout and gutted margins at top manufacturers led by Suntech Power Holdings Co. and First Solar Inc.
“Overcapacity has been an overhang for this industry, and with Germany tightening it doesn’t seem like it will ease,” said Amir Rozwadowski, an analyst at Barclays Capital Inc. in New York. “It’s difficult to assess where there’s a significant push-out that would lead to accelerating demand, given the anticipated decline in Europe.”
Europe-U.S. Gasoline Cargoes Poised to Reach Eight-Week Low (Source: Bloomberg)
Gasoline shipments to the U.S. from Europe are set to fall to an eight-week low as consumption of the auto fuel weakens in the world’s biggest economy, a Bloomberg News survey showed. Traders and oil companies booked 10 tankers for the two weeks to March 22 and eight more are likely to be hired, according to the median estimate in a survey yesterday of seven shipbrokers, traders and owners who specialize in transporting gasoline. That’s the fewest since the two weeks begun Jan. 12. U.S. purchases of the fuel held below 60 million barrels for a 10th week in a row, MasterCard Inc.’s SpendingPulse report showed March 6. Refineries in the country are using stocks of winter-grade gasoline, lifting the amount available, according to Ehsan Ul-Haq, a senior consultant at KBC Energy Economics. Gasoline specifications can change as temperatures fluctuate because of government efforts to curb air pollution.
“U.S. refiners will also be drawing down their stocks of winter-specification gasoline before blending the European material into summer specs, so more domestically produced gasoline should be available,” Ul-Haq said by e-mail.
Oil Gains a Third Day on Demand Outlook After German Output, Greek Debt (Source: Bloomberg)
Oil climbed for a third day in New York as investors speculated that fuel demand may increase after German industrial output rose more than forecast and Greece moved closer to completing its debt swap. Futures advanced as much as 0.4 percent, heading for a weekly gain. German production increased 1.6 percent in January, according to the Economy Ministry in Berlin, compared with a median estimate of 1.1 percent in a Bloomberg News survey. Private investors agreed to swap about 85 percent of their Greek government bonds for new securities, said a banker briefed on the results who declined to be identified. Oil for April delivery rose as much as 37 cents to $106.95 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $106.79 at 11:03 a.m. Sydney time. The contract yesterday climbed 0.4 percent to $106.58, the highest close since March 5. Prices are up 9 cents this week and have gained 8.1 percent this year.
Brent oil for April settlement advanced $1.32, or 1.1 percent, to $125.44 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange yesterday. The European benchmark contract’s premium to New York-traded West Texas Intermediate closed at $18.86, the widest gap since Feb. 6. It reached a record $27.88 on Oct. 14.
Gold Bulls Strengthening as Bullion Wagers Reach $131 Billion: Commodities (Source: Bloomberg)
Gold traders are the most bullish in four months after investors accumulated more metal than ever and hedge funds raised bets on gains to a five-month high. Sixteen of 23 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect prices to gain next week and one was neutral, the highest proportion since Nov. 11. Investors increased their holdings in exchange- traded products backed by bullion for seven consecutive weeks and now hold 2,407 metric tons valued at $131 billion, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Demand for gold is strengthening as European leaders seek to contain the region’s debt crisis and governments from the U.S. to the U.K. keep interest rates at all-time lows to shore up growth. The Federal Reserve and Bank of England have bought debt and the European Central Bank offered unlimited three-year loans to the region’s lenders, actions that spurred some investors to buy gold as protection against inflation.
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