To download the full report (PDF document) please click here 
SPECIAL PDF REPORT - WANG TAO TECH ANALYSIS Q1 PDF: Reuters' technical analyst Wang Tao expects spot gold's medium-trend downtrend that started at the Sept. 6, 2011 high of $1,920.30 to continue through the first quarter of the year, pushing prices down to $1,417 per ounce over the period. Falls also lie in store for base metals, Wang Tao added.
For a PDF of his first-quarter technical analyses on commodities and energy prices, please click here COLUMN:
America's hidden 60 million barrel a day industry: Kemp
-- John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own --
LONDON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - The biggest output of the U.S. oil and gas industry is not oil or gas but dirty water.
Every day, U.S. oil and gas producers bring to the surface 60 million barrels of waste water, with a salt content up to 20 times higher than sea water and laced with hazardous chemicals.
ENERGY:
Brent crude up, near $112 on China demand
SINGAPORE, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Brent crude futures rose to stand close to $112 on expectations of steady demand growth after the world's second-largest oil consumer, China, posted an economic expansion that beat forecasts.
"China's data is encouraging, the numbers have been good across the board and that is supportive of oil," said Ben Le Brun, market analyst at OptionsXpress. "It shows that the fallout from the European crisis has not been as bad as expected."
China's December refinery runs hit record
BEIJING, Jan 17 (Reuters) - China's daily refinery crude throughput hit a record of 9.24 milllion barrels in December, up 4 percent on year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed, as new refining facilities came on line.
China processed 39.23 million tonnes of crude oil last month, or equivalent to about 9.24 million bpd, exceeding the previous record posted in November at 9.22 million bpd.
ConocoPhillips seeks partner for oil sands assets
CALGARY, Alberta, Jan 16 (Reuters) - ConocoPhillips is seeking a buyer for 50 percent of a large portion of its Canadian oil sands holdings, assets that could eventually produce more than half a million barrels a day, the U.S. oil major said on Monday.
ConocoPhillips has retained Scotia Waterous to run the offering of a share in six Alberta properties that currently produce 12,000 barrels a day from an estimated 30 billion barrels of bitumen in place. It is doing so as interest in Canadian energy assets booms, especially from Asian buyers.
Venezuela stops exports from upgrader after crash
CARACAS, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Venezuela stopped exports from one of its heavy oil upgraders after a tanker collided with a floating monobuoy platform used for loading and unloading at the Petroanzoategui facility, a maritime source said Monday.
The accident on Saturday damaged a naphtha pipe that was apparently hit by the propeller of the tanker Proteo, which is operated by a division of state oil company PDVSA. That caused a small fuel spill, the source said.
Angolan crude oil exports to fall in March -trade
LONDON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Angola will export 1.61 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil in March, trade sources said on Monday, down from 1.82 million bpd scheduled to load in February.
A total of 52 cargoes of Angolan crude oil are due to load in March, compared with 55 cargoes in February, the sources said, citing provisional loading programmes.
Italy cuts Iran oil import, ups Saudi import in Oct
MILAN, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Italy cut crude oil imports from Iran in October while increasing imports from Saudi Arabia ahead of tightening of international sanctions against Tehran, data from oil industry body Unione Petrolifera (UP) showed on Monday.
October's drop in Italian imports of crude oil from Iran came before the latest U.S. sanctions on Tehran were signed into law on Dec. 31 targeting Iran's crude oil sales.
AGRICULTURE:
US corn, soy rebound as Argentine drought worsens
SINGAPORE, Jan 17 (Reuters) - U.S. corn and soybeans bounced back, rising around 1 percent from multi-week lows with support from renewed concerns over forecasts of dry weather in Argentina and Brazil in coming days.
"On the fundamental front, we believe there is more upside as we are likely to see some bargain-hunting after last week's selloff," said Lynette Tan, an analyst with Phillip Futures in Singapore.
China 2011 cotton output up 10.7 pct on year -stats bureau
BEIJING, Jan 17 (Reuters) - China, the world's top cotton consumer, harvested 6.6 million tonnes of cotton in 2011, up 10.7 percent on the year, according to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics.
The bureau's figure was lower than that issued earlier by the National Development and Reform Commission, which put last year's output at 7.2 million tonnes.
Colombia 2011 coffee output lowest in over 30 yrs
BOGOTA, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Colombia's coffee output dropped to 7.8 million 60-kg bags in 2011, down 12 percent versus 2010 and the worst year in more than three decades, the growers' federation said on Monday.
The world's top producer of high-quality Arabica beans posted a third consecutive year of lower-than-expected coffee production in 2011 as bad weather, fungus and a tree renovation program keep output below historic averages of 11 million 60-kg bags.
ICO raises estimate for 2011/12 global coffee crop
LONDON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - The International Coffee Organization on Monday raised its estimate of the global coffee crop in 2011/12 to 132.4 million 60 kg bags as Ethiopia overtook Colombia as the world's number three producer.
The crop was revised up from a previous forecast of 128.6 million, largely reflecting an improved outlook in Ethiopia. It remained, however, shy of the prior season's 134.2 million bags.
Little rain this week for parched Argentine corn
BUENOS AIRES, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Argentina's drought will worsen this week, local meteorologists said Monday, dashing hopes that rain in the days ahead might be strong enough to revive parched corn and soy fields.
Weeks of unforgiving Southern Hemisphere summer sun have toasted grains fields in the world's No. 2 corn-exporting country, killing expectations that Argentina might replenish global corn supplies depleted by a lackluster U.S. harvest.
BASE METALS:
London copper up on better than expected China GDP data
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17 (Reuters) - London copper rose for a second day after China's GDP expanded faster than expected, easing concern that demand for industrial metals from the world's second-largest economy will falter as the euro zone teeters on a recession.
"This is good news as it shows the economy hasn't slowed as much as feared by some," said Yiping Huang, chief economist for emerging Asia at Barclays Capital in Hong Kong. China refined copper output up 14.2 percent in 2011
HONG KONG, Jan 17 (Reuters) - China's refined copper production rose 14.2 percent on the year in 2011, with December output up 8 percent from a year earlier as smelters rushed to meet annual output targets.
In 2011, refined copper production in the world's top copper consumer reached 5.179 million tonnes while December output increased 2 percent from November to 457,000 tonnes, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Tuesday.
Australia's Fortescue Dec qtr iron ore shipments up 19%
SYDNEY, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Fortescue Metals Group December-quarter iron ore shipments rose 19 percent from the previous quarter to 14.8 million tonnes as it continued to expand in Australia, beating its own guidance, the company said on Tuesday.
Fortescue also said it plans to maintain a 55-million-tonnes-per-year run rate over the current quarter, noting that the period covers the traditional northern Australian wet season when cyclonic conditions can disrupt production.
Lundin Mining Q4 copper output rises 10 pct
Jan 16 (Reuters) - Lundin Mining said copper production rose 10 percent in the fourth quarter, helped partly by strong results at its Neves-Corvo mine in Portugal.
The company produced 27,488 tonnes of copper in the quarter, up from the 24,908 tonnes a year ago. Zinc production rose 15 percent to 27,053 tonnes.
Inmet Mining sees 2012 copper output up 18 pct
Jan 16 (Reuters) - Inmet Mining Corp said it expects to produce at least 18 percent more copper in 2012, while lower grades are seen to drive zinc production down by about 19 to 27 percent.
In 2012, Inmet expects to produce about 100,000 to 111,200 tonne copper from its three mines in Turkey, Spain and Finland, up from the 84,800 tonnes produced last year.
PRECIOUS METALS:
Gold climbs with riskier assets on China data
SINGAPORE, Jan 17(Reuters) - Spot gold rose more than half a percent, encouraged by revived risk appetite that lifted markets across the board, after China announced better than expected economic growth in the last quarter of 2011.
"The data showed that China's economic growth was not as bad as feared and there was too much panic in the market," said Bonnie Liu, an analyst at Macquarie in Shanghai.
STEEL NEWS:
China Dec daily steel output rises 1.2 pct on month
BEIJING, Jan 17 (Reuters) - China's daily crude steel production reached 1.6826 million tonnes in December, up 1.2 percent compared with the previous month, according to data released on Tuesday by China's National Bureau of Statistics.
Aggregate output over December reached 52.16 million tonnes, up 0.7 percent year on year and up 4.6 percent from November.
GLOBAL MARKETS: Shares, euro up on China data; Europe worry persists
TOKYO, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Asian shares and the euro rose as slightly better-than-expected Chinese economic growth data soothed investor worries that the euro zone debt crisis was slowing global activity.
"The slowdown is quite modest, and the overall situation of the Chinese economy is stable," said Hua Zhongwei, analyst with Huachuang Securities in Beijing. "According to our field studies, demand for heavy equipment and machinery is recovering, and that is a very good sign for the economy."
CHART OF THE DAY: SHANGHAI COPPER - 24 HRS TECHNICAL OUTLOOK 
BEYOND THE HEADLINES: Rio, BHP mine more iron ore, bet on China steel
SYDNEY, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton are set to report solid iron ore output growth in the December quarter as they continue to expand mining in Australia, betting any loss in China's appetite for the steelmaking material is only temporary.
Both companies maintain that sales orders to China, the world's top buyer, are showing no signs of weakening despite a slowdown in Chinese steel production.
Ukraine holds few strong cards in Russia gas talks
KIEV, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Ukraine appears to have few good cards to play to secure a significant reduction in the price of its Russian gas imports as it readies for a resumption of crucial talks with Russia, experts said on Monday.
The ex-Soviet republic, which depends hugely on Russian gas supplies to power its heavy industries and heat homes, has sought for more than a year to renegotiate a 2009 deal with Moscow, which it says sets an exorbitant price for the fuel.
S.Arabia doubts Iran oil blockade claim
TEHRAN, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia on Monday expressed doubts over Iran's claim it could block the main oil shipping route out of the Gulf and made clear it was ready to pump more oil after sanctions threatened to cut Iranian sales of crude.
Brent crude rose above $111 on concerns about global oil supplies if sanctions freeze OPEC's second biggest producer out of the market or push it towards military conflict, while Saudi Arabia said it would work to stabilise the price at $100.
Chinese metal merchant sees profit in supply chain
SHANGHAI, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Metals traders in China had a tough time last year as shrinking bank credit choked up their cash flow, but one successful merchant trader managed to circumvent the restrictions through a paper trade it now wants to expand into copper imports.
Ocean Resources, part of a conglomerate based in the southeastern Shaanxi province, is a metals trader with few downstream customers. Instead, it boosts its cash flow by trading commercial invoices with other traders in the country.
Iran warns of consequences if Arabs back oil sanctions
TEHRAN, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Iran warned Gulf Arab neighbours they would suffer consequences if they raised oil output to replace Iranian crude facing an international ban.
In signs of Tehran's deepening isolation over its refusal to halt nuclear activity that could yield atomic bombs, China's premier was in Saudi Arabia on Sunday probing for greater access to its huge oil and gas reserves and Britain voiced confidence a once hesitant EU would soon ban oil imports from Iran.
Indian gold jewellery demand seen up 10-15 pct in 2012
VICENZA,Italy, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Gold jewellery demand in India, a major global market, is estimated to have risen 5 to 7 percent in 2011 and is set to grow a further 10 to 15 percent this year with bullion prices falling back after recent gains, the head of India's biggest jewellery retailer said on Sunday.
India's jewellery demand dropped 26 percent in the third quarter of 2011 to 125.3 tonnes, hit by strong price swings and a weaker rupee, the industry-funded World Gold Council has said.
Italian 2011 jewellery sales down, 2012 view clouded
VICENZA, Italy, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Jewellery sales in Italy fell sharply in 2011 and are expected to remain depressed in 2012 as the debt crisis and the government's austerity measures hit consumer demand, senior industry officials said on Sunday.
"There was a strong fall in sales in September. October and November were a disaster and in December the government measures have stopped any will to spend money, to make any gift," Gianfranco Malagoli, deputy chairman of the Italian federation of jewellery wholesale buyers and distributors Fedora, told Reuters. | |
No comments:
Post a Comment