Adam Sarhan WSJ Media Quote: US Stocks Edge Lower As Growth Concerns Continue

By Brendan Conway
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
 JUNE 8, 2011, 11:32 A.M. ET

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)–U.S. stocks dropped slightly Wednesday morning as concerns over the outlook for the U.S. economy left the market in danger of a sixth straight loss.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 8 points, or 0.07%, to 12062 in late morning trade. Cisco Systems dropped 1.6% to lead decliners and Alcoa was also weak, shedding 1.3%.
Exxon Mobil helped keep the losses in check, rising 1.6% after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said members were unable to reach a consensus to boost oil production. Investors had been anticipating a deal that could have eased the last few months’ upward pressure on oil prices.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index lost two points, or 0.1%, to 1283, as materials and technology stocks dropped. Gains in the energy sector helped stem the losses. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 14 points, or 0.5%, to 2687.
A Tuesday market rally lost steam in the final minutes of the session as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the economy was growing more slowly than expected. The action threatens to send the Dow to its longest losing streak since last July.
Investors will get another read on the economy after the Fed releases its “beige book” of regional economic conditions at 2 p.m. EDT.
There’s concern about the global economic slowdown. The primary worry is [that this is] a lot like what we saw in the summer of 2010,” said Adam Sarhan, chief executive at Sarhan Capital in New York. That period saw a series of weak economic numbers and the end of the first round of the Federal Reserve’s bond-buying efforts, known as quantititative easing. The second round of bond buying is slated to conclude at the end of this month.
In corporate news, Ciena slumped 13% after the networking-equipment company reported a wider-than-expected fiscal second-quarter loss.
Meanwhile, Prudential Financial lost 0.1% despite the life-insurance and financial-services firm’s newly announced $1.5 billion stock buyback program.
Citigroup plans to sell a portfolio of assets to AXA’s private-equity arm for $1.7 billion. The bank’s shares edged up 0.4%.
Crude-oil futures rose near $101 a barrel in the wake of the OPEC meeting. Gold futures slid to $1,539 an ounce. The U.S. dollar fell against the yen but rose versus the euro.
-By Brendan Conway, Dow Jones Newswires; (212) 416-2670; brendan.conway@dowjones.com

URL: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110608-709258.html

New! Reuters Quote: Silver Rises To Record, Beats 1980 High

NEW YORK | Thu Apr 28, 2011 12:06pm EDT

(Reuters) – Silver surged nearly 4 percent on Thursday to an all time high at $49.51 an ounce, exceeding the previous record set in 1980 as a dollar drop and gold’s record rally unleashed a wave of speculative buying.

Silver climbed on the back of a tumbling dollar and surging gold prices to within a whisker of $50 an ounce, eclipsing the peak hit when Texan brothers William Hebert and Nelson Bunker Hunt sought to corner the silver market three decades ago.

 
TRADER/ANALYST COMMENTS:
ANDREW WILKINSON, SENIOR MARKET ANALYST AT INTERACTIVE BROKERS GROUP IN GREENWICH, CONNECTICUT
“Precious metals prices rebounded sharply on Thursday in light of the weak jobless data and a poor U.S. GDP report. The dollar is not seeing much of a reprieve from its earlier weakness, a signal to bearish investors to get long gold and silver.”
 
ADAM SARHAN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF SARHAN CAPITAL IN NEW YORK:
“What we’re seeing is a very strong and sustained bid for silver, an overwhelming desire for people to be involved in the silver trade. That strength begets more strength. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy as more and more people get involved.
“I’d say that it is premature to call it a bubble, but there’s a bubble-eqsue feel to the move. At this stage, you don’t want to fight the trend. How much higher could it go? No one knows, but there’s no overhead resistance.”
 
BART MELEK, VICE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR OF COMMODITIES, RATES RESEARCH & STRATEGY, TD BANK FINANCIAL GROUP:
“Ultimately, what we are seeing here is a market that has continued to be buoyed by yesterday’s Bernanke statements, which were interpreted to be quite dovish.
“The U.S. dollar continues to soften, and gold and silver continue to be used as hedges against this type of risk. The benefit that silver is getting is that it seems to be underpriced relative to historical highs in real terms. When you take real current dollars and adjust for inflation, the all-time silver high was about $140 plus.
“Gold is certainly much closer to its real high than silver, so if this market is to move, silver will perhaps be more aggressive and outperform gold, and that’s exactly what we are seeing.”
 
DOUGLAS BORTHWICK, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF FAROS TRADING IN STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT:
“This is a dollar story. It’s not about the euro or the Aussie at $1.09 or gold at $1,534 or silver at a record. It’s not about the price of these things. It’s just about the dollar being worth less. But it has to be worth less for the U.S. to get out of the prolonged slump we are in.”
URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/28/us-silver-record-view-idUSTRE73R55620110428

Reuters Quote: METALS-Copper ends sharply lower amid commods sell-off

Tue Apr 12, 2011 2:55pm EDT
 

* Copper caught in cross-commodity liquidation

 * Goldman warning triggers commodity rout
 * Japan crisis spurs econ recovery concerns
 * Coming up: U.S. retail sales data on Wednesday
  (Recasts, adds New York dateline/byline, updates with New
York closing copper price, adds graphic and analyst comments)
 By Chris Kelly and Silvia Antonioli
 NEW YORK/LONDON, April 12 (Reuters) - Copper ended Tuesday
with its biggest one-day loss in about five weeks, caught in a
broad-based commodity rout led by a sharp drop in oil and fears
that Japan's nuclear crisis could stall a global recovery.
 Oil traded in New York has surrendered more than 7 percent
of its value in just two days after Goldman Sachs warned for a
second straight day prices in crude oil and other commodities
would fall. For details, see [ID:nN11117735]
 Without the support of a stronger oil price, the legs
holding up this latest commodity rally began to buckle.
 "All of these markets ... aluminum, oil, copper ... all had
big, big runs over the past few weeks. So what we are seeing is
just a sharp pullback," said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of
Sarhan Capital.
 The Reuters-Jefferies CRB index .CRB, a global
commodities benchmark, fell nearly 2 percent in its sharpest
one-day decline in a month.
 "They all took the stairs up, but are now taking the
elevator down. The question is how far down will this elevator
ride go?" Sarhan said.
 London Metal Exchange three-month copper CMCU3 shed $225,
or nearly 2.3 percent, to close at $9,630 a tonne, its largest
daily decline since March 9.
 On Monday, the metal rallied to a 5-week peak at $9,944.75,
just 2.4 percent away from its mid-February record at $10,190.
 COMEX May copper HGK1 fell 7.65 cents to settle at
$4.3835 per lb, near the lower end of its $4.3610 to $4.4750
session range.
 COMEX trading volumes grew to a hefty 65,800 lots by 2:01
p.m. EDT (1801 GMT), nearly two-thirds above the 30-day norm,
according to Thomson Reuters preliminary data.
 "Confidence has taken a hit now," said Alex Heath, head of
base metals at RBC Capital Markets.
 The confidence was also shaken after Japan's economic
minister warned damage wrought by last month's earthquake and
tsunami could be worse than initially thought for the world's
third largest economy. [ID:nL3E7FC092]
 "There is a lot of uncertainty, and whenever there is a lot
of uncertainty about the future and the risks of the unknown
are elevated, people, especially people sitting on gains,
become jittery, and they hit the sell button," Sarhan said.
 As a result, prices for U.S. government debt rallied, with
safe-haven demand boosting 10-year Treasuries by a full point.
[ID:nN12171148]
 Higher inventories of copper in LME warehouses also
pressured prices, fanning concerns about sluggish Chinese
demand in the first part of the new year.
 Stocks have risen since mid-December and last rose 1,000 to
446,700 tonnes, the highest level since July 1. <MCU-STOCKS
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  Graphic: link.reuters.com/qyd98r
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
 China's copper imports are unlikely to surge in April after
a 29.2 percent rise in March since importers are worried about
high stocks in Shanghai. [ID:nL3E7FB1K9]
 RISING ALUMINIUM COSTS
 Aluminium stocks fell 2,275 tonnes to 4,575,250 tonnes, but
held near a record 4,640,750 tonnes hit on Jan. 20 last year.
 Aluminium CMAL3 closed down $29 at $2,660 a tonne, under
pressure after Alcoa Inc (AA.N), the largest U.S. aluminum
producer, missed Wall Street's first-quarter revenue target.
[ID:nN1199754]
 "When a company like Alcoa misses revenues during a surge
in commodity prices ... if they can't make money during that
type of environment in the first quarter, what does that mean
for other industries and the rest of the market," Sarhan said.
 Nonetheless, soaring power costs, lucrative bank deals that
keep metal away from the market and strong demand growth are
likely to boost aluminium prices this year. [ID:nLDE72U13F]
 China is considering plans to either scrap or reduce export
tax rebates on some aluminium extrusion products.
 This comes after the metals-consuming giant decided to halt
plans to build new aluminium plants to tackle serious
overcapacity in the industry. [ID:nL3E7FC0WI] and
[ID:nL3E7FB0OR]
 Metal Prices at 1806 GMT
 COMEX copper in cents/lb, LME prices in $/T and SHFE prices in
yuan/T
 Metal         Last      Change  Pct Move   End 2010   Ytd Pct
move
 COMEX Cu      437.90    -8.10     -1.82     444.70     -1.53
 LME Alum      2659.00  -30.00     -1.12    2470.00      7.65
 LME Cu        9622.00  -233.00     -2.36    9600.00      0.23
 LME Lead      2725.00  -130.00     -4.55    2550.00      6.86
 LME Nickel   26700.00   -1005.0    -3.63   24750.00      7.88
 LME Tin      32500.00   -550.00    -1.66   26900.00     20.82
 LME Zinc      2469.00   -76.00     -2.99    2454.00      0.61
 SHFE Alu     16780.00   -100.00    -0.59   16840.00     -0.36
 SHFE Cu*     72310.00   -1060.00   -1.44   71850.00      0.64
 SHFE Zin     18590.00   -215.00    -1.14   19475.00     -4.54
** Benchmark month for COMEX copper
* 3rd contract month for SHFE AL, CU and ZN
SHFE ZN began trading on 26/3/07
  (Additional reporting by Rebekah Curtis in London; editing by
Keiron Henderson and Jeffrey Benkoe)

 

Reuters Quote: Gold jumps to record over $1,450 as corn, crude surge

By Frank Tang
NEW YORK | Tue Apr 5, 2011 3:46pm EDT

(Reuters) – Gold jumped to an all-time high above $1,450 an ounce on Tuesday, as peak crude and corn prices fanned inflation fears and a downgrade of Portugal’s credit rating drew attention to euro zone problems.
Bullion rose more than 1 percent, its biggest gain in more than a month of range-bound trading. Silver soared to a 31-year peak. Both drew support from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s comments late on Monday suggesting he was committed to completing a $600 billion stimulus program as scheduled in June.
On technical charts, gold broke above a recent double-top technical formation around $1,440 an ounce. This added to a rush of buying triggered by news that Portugal’s leading banks threatened to stop buying government debt hours after a Moody’s downgrade.
“Bernanke’s comment makes inflation a more real event in the United States. He at least acknowledged the fact that the Fed needs to monitor inflation very closely, and that spooked investors into gold,” said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at broker-dealer Janney Montgomery Scott with $53 billion in assets under management.
Spot gold gained 1.1 percent to $1,452.31 an ounce at 3:16 a.m. EDT, off the session high, a record $1,455.06 an ounce.
U.S. gold futures for June delivery settled up 1.4 percent at $1,452.50, with trading volume approaching 160,000 lots, about one-fourth below the 30-day average but sharply higher than that of Monday’s.
Investor Dennis Gartman, publisher of the Gartman Letter, said gold was free from liquidation pressure once it breached $1,441 an ounce, a level which had triggered selling.
“It appears that gold is beginning a new up-trend after its recent consolidation,” said Adam Sarhan of Sarhan Capital. “If gold negates this breakout and falls back below $1,440 to $1,430, one would expect sideways action to continue.”
Silver gained 1.8 percent to $39.12 an ounce, after hitting a session high of $39.25. That was the highest since the Hunt Brothers cornered the market in the early 1980s, when silver briefly hit a record of just below $50 an ounce.
Silver outperformed gold in the first quarter, rising 22 percent while gold rose 0.7 percent. The gold:silver ratio, which shows how many silver ounces are needed to buy an ounce of gold, fell to a 28-year low at 37.3.
UBS said silver investors show no sign of being ready to sell, even though there is a “real danger that silver prices have traveled too fast, too soon.” Silver at $40 an ounce appears inevitable in the near term, UBS said.
Rising oil and grain prices boosted gold’s appeal as an inflation hedge. Brent crude rose to a 2-1/2-year highs on geopolitical risks to supply from the Middle East, while corn futures hit a record high on persistent worries over tight supplies.
FED MONETARY POLICIES EYED
On Monday, Bernanke said an increase in U.S. inflation has been driven primarily by rising commodity prices globally, and was unlikely to persist. He said the Fed would monitor inflation and inflation expectations very closely.
“What it shows is that big money continues to believe gold will go higher…because Bernanke wants to grow at any cost,” said Axel Merk, portfolio manager of the Merk Mutual Funds, which manages more than $600 million of fund assets.
Gold rose more after the Fed released minutes of its March 15 meeting, showing some Fed officials believed they would have to hold to an easy monetary policy course beyond this year, while a few said the central bank should move to tighter conditions before year-end.
Last November, the Fed initiated a $600 billion bond buying program. The program is scheduled to end in June. Gold has been a major beneficiary since the Fed has kept short-term rates near zero since December 2008.
Gold is also benefiting from concerns that some smaller euro zone economies such as Portugal and Ireland will keep struggling with sovereign debt, and from jitters over Western air strikes in Libya and unrest in the Middle East.
Earlier in the session, gold fell in tandem with other commodities afterChina raised interest rates for the second time this year.
Gold has largely ignored previous monetary tightening from China, which tends to weigh more heavily on industrial commodities like copper. In addition, official data from China shows that inflation appears to be tapering off after its series of rate hikes this year.
Investors will seek more clues from an interest rate decision from an European Central Bank policy meeting on Thursday. The ECB is widely expected to raise its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 1.25 percent.
Higher interest rates usually weigh on gold, but the metal could gain if rate differentials weaken the U.S. dollar.
For platinum group metals, platinum rose 0.4 percent to $1,786.99 an ounce, while palladium also gained 0.9 percent to $786.22. Prices at 3:16 p.m. EDT.
(Additional reporting by Jan Harvey and Silvia Antonioli in London; Editing by David Gregorio)
URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/05/us-markets-precious-idUSTRE72C3Z120110405?pageNumber=2
 

Reuters Quote: Q1 2011 Global Macro Recap

Thu Mar 31, 2011 2:58pm EDT
* Oil, grains jump, seen feeding inflation down the road
* Crude up 24 pct for quarter — best performing asset
* Euro rises as ECB sticks to rate hike plan  (Recasts with surge in commodities; updates quotes andprices)
By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK, March 31
(Reuters) – Stocks on major worldmarkets headed for their third straight quarter of gains on Thursday and commodities surged, feeding inflationary pressure that could boost equities further.
Stocks:
Global stocks, as measured by the MSCI All-Country WorldIndex .MIWD00000P US, hit three-week highs and were poised to close the first quarter up 4.0 percent. The index rose 0.2 percent and was up a total of 22 percent in the two previous quarters. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was flat but still 7 percent higher for the quarter after gaining 18 percent in the previous six months.
Commodities:
In commodities, prices of wheat Wc1, corn Cc1 andsoybeans Sc1 — raw materials for bread, syrup and animal feed — rose by as much as 5 percent. U.S. crude oil CLc1 jumped 2 percent to 2-1/2 year highs. Brent crude oil was poised to finish the quarter up 24 percent as the best performing major asset. Oil prices rose as Middle East protests and Libya’sconflict kept threats to supply in focus. Grains shot up as strong demand ate into stockpiles. Analysts said they expected price pressures from commodities to channel into other markets, pushing up shares of natural resource producers.
“To see another couple of percent moves in stocks goinginto the end of the second quarter will not surprise us at all,” said Oliver Pursche, president of Gary Goldberg Financial Services, which manages over $500 million, in Suffern, NewYork. “We think commodity-related stocks such as Mosaic (MOS.N), Cliss Natural Resources and Deere (DE.N) will particularly dowell, although we could see more market volatility as the QE 2nears its June expiry,” Pursche said, referring to the Federal Reserve’s $600 billion stimulus effort, which proved to be the life blood of capital markets. Despite strong quarterly gains, Wall Street has recorded some of the year’s lightest trading over the last week asinvestors played safe by riding on winning stocks.
Prices on Thursday were little changed, with investors reluctant to make big bets before Friday’s monthly employmentreport. For more see [.N] By 2:00 p.m. (1800 GMT), the Dow .DJI was up 2.04 points,or 0.02 percent, at 12,352.65. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.SPX was up 0.36 point, or 0.03 percent, at 1,328.62. For the quarter, it was up 5.6 percent as of Wednesday’s close. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up 1.23 points, or 0.04 percent, at 2,778.02 and has risen 4.7 percent in the quarter.
“I think at this point, the market deserves the bullish benefit of the doubt,” said Adam Sarhan at New York-based financial advisory Sarhan Capital. You have a nuclear threat in Japan, instability in oil-producing countries, debt panic in Ireland and other periphery countries in Europe, and yet the market doesn’t come down.”
ECB MULLS RATE HIKE
The euro rose on expectations the European Central Bank will raise interest rates in April despite the euro zone debt crisis, which intensified on Thursday. [ID:nLDE72U17E][ID:nWLA6919] [USD/] Portugal’s budget deficit reached 8.6 percent of gross domestic product in 2010, above a target of 7.3 percent agreed with the EU. The yield premium investors demand to hold Portuguese bonds rather than benchmark German bonds rose to 508 basis points, 12 bps wider on the day, as the country’s 10-year yields PT10YT=TWEB hit 8.476 percent. Despite the financial mess faced by some nations, the ECB has signalled it could raise rates next week to curb inflation, a message that has kept the euro strong against other currencies. The yen fell to a 10-month low of 117.90 versus the euroand hit a three-week trough of 83.21 against the U.S. dollar as expectations grew that Japan would lag the euro zone and U.S.central banks in raising rates. So far this year, the euro hasrisen nearly 8.0 percent against the yen.
[USD/] In the bond market, U.S. Treasuries prices rose after U.S.data showed weekly jobless claims fell a bit less thanexpected. There was some flight-to-safety bid as Portuguesegovernment bond yields rose. [US/]
URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/31/markets-global-idUSN3114251620110331

Reuters Quote: Q1 Gold Recap

15:55 31Mar11 -TECHNICALS-Gold gaining momentum for breakout toward $1,500
 
* Gold posts smallest rise in 10 quarters
* Bullion gaining momentum; breakout above $1,450 eyed
* Breach of double-top resistance could see record $1,500
 
By Frank Tang
NEW YORK, March 31 (Reuters) – Even as gold notches one of
the smallest quarterly gains in 10 quarters, the metal is
expected to break out of its recent base.
 
Gold <XAU=> prices ended the first quarter up just over 1
percent at around $1,440 an ounce, underpinned by a combination
of loose monetary policies, euro zone debt fears and political
unrest across the Middle East.
 
(Graphic: http://link.reuters.com/cax78r)
However, it was also one of bullion’s smallest gains since
the third quarter of 2008, before the financial crisis took
hold. A relatively smooth global economic recovery has prompted
the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve to mull over
liquidity tightening .
 
The price of gold has been largely range-bound in the past
six months between $1,440 and $1,320 an ounce, as the metal
showed signs of plateauing after a 30 percent gain last year.
Bullion hit a record $1,447.40 an ounce on March 24.
(Graphic: http://link.reuters.com/hax78r)
 
“Gold has been building up a large space to consolidate
recent gains from the latter half of 2010,” said Adam Sarhan,
CEO of New York-based Sarhan Capital.


“The market is acting like a coil. As more and more
pressure is building up, gold will most likely break out and
close above its current base at $1,450 an ounce,” he said.
Sarhan said higher prices would follow as long as gold held
above $1,400 an ounce and above the key 50-day and 200-day
moving averages.
 
“On the downside though, if the 50-day moving average is
broken, and you see gold start falling hard, then all bullish
bets are off,” he said.
 
Rick Bensignor, chief market analyst of Dahlman Rose, said
that spot gold’s short-term outlook had improved after prices
held support in the $1,417 to $1,414 area in each of the past
four days.
Multiple higher closes above a double-top resistance at
$1,445 an ounce should help propel prices above a record $1,500
an ounce, Bensignor said.
(Graphic: http://link.reuters.com/hus78r)
 
(Editing by Walter Bagley)
((frank.tang@thomsonreuters.com+1 646 223 6126;
Reuters Messaging: frank.tang.reuters.com@reuters.net))
((For help:  Click “Contact Us” in your desk top, click here
[HELP] or call 1-800-738-8377 for Reuters Products and
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Keywords: GOLD QUARTER END/OUTLOOK
 
 

Adam Sarhan Reuters Quote: METALS-Copper crumbles amid Chinese demand doubts

Wed Mar 30, 2011 3:20pm EDT
* Copper sinks as Chinese demand worries mount
* Copper stocks in China, LME warehouses in the spotlight
* U.S. copper runs into technical support at 100-day MA
* Coming up; Chinese manufacturing data Friday
(Recasts, updates with U.S. copper closing, adds graphic,
analyst comments and NEW YORK dateline/byline)
 
By Chris Kelly and Rebekah Curtis
NEW YORK/LONDON, March 30 (Reuters) – Copper prices ended
sharply lower on Wednesday, on pace for their biggest monthly
decline since June 2010, as weaker demand cues from China and
fears about a moderation in the global economic recovery kept
many bulls sidelined.
 
Chinese monetary tightening measures, coupled with unrest
in the Middle East, rising oil prices, euro zone debt problems
and Japan’s nuclear crisis have all combined to throw the
magnitude of the global economic recovery into question, and
with it, demand for raw materials.
 
As a result, copper prices have responded, falling more
than 12 percent from their mid-February peaks at $10,190 per
tonne in London and $4.6575 per lb in New York, before
recovering to stand in aimless ranges at quarter’s end.
“From a fundamental standpoint, it’s leading a lot of
people to question whether or not they want to remain long
copper going into a new quarter,” said Adam Sarhan, chief
executive of Sarhan Capital in New York.
 
London Metal Exchange copper for three-month delivery
CMCU3 dropped $209 to close at $9,381 a tonne, on track for a
5 percent fall in March, its first monthly decline since June
2010.
U.S. copper HGK1 followed suit, extending a downtrend in
place since mid-February before running into some technical
support near its 100-day simple moving average.
 
It settled down 7.25 cents at $4.2740 per lb.
Trading volumes began to perk up, with more than 47,000
lots traded by 2:24 p.m. EDT (1924 GMT). This was the first
time volume topped 47,000 lots since March 17, according to
preliminary Thomson Reuters data.
 
“All the bets were put on China,” said Eugen Weinberg, an
analyst at Commerzbank. “Sentiment in China is not as rosy and
not as upbeat as sentiment in Europe or the U.S.”
That being said, attention will now turn to Chinese
manufacturing data on Friday, where market participants will
see if the country’s vast manufacturing sector will recover
from the six-month low hit in February. [ID:nL3E7ET1H8]
“Are they going to maintain the growth, given that the auto
sector is in doubt and imports are trending lower,” asked Bart
Melek, vice president and director of commodities, rates
research & strategy with TD Bank Financial Group. “It’s
expected to move up by consensus a bit, but, if it’s a
disappointment, watch out.”
 
Despite the more cautious Chinese outlook, Jiangxi Copper
Co Ltd (0358.HK)(600362.SS), the country’s largest copper
producer, expects China’s consumption to rise by 10 percent to
12 percent this year and plans a 60 percent rise in its own
production capacity by 2015. [ID:nL3E7EU1D3]
Even data showing strong hiring by U.S. private employers
failed to give the market a boost, as investors awaited
Friday’s closely watched government report on non-farm
payrolls. [ID:nN30275708]
 
TRADITIONALLY STRONG QUARTER
Traders and analysts are waiting to see what will happen in
the second quarter, traditionally the strongest in terms of
demand, when China normally buys ahead of a pick-up in
construction activity in the third quarter.
 
“Anecdotally, something in the region of 600,000 tonnes of
refined copper currently (sits) in bonded warehouses in
Shanghai, with perhaps another 100,000 tonnes in the southern
ports,” Standard Bank said in a note.
 
Also in the spotlight are LME stocks of copper, which added
225 tonnes on Wednesday, bringing total warehouse levels to
439,725 tonnes, their highest since last July. <0#LME-STOCKS>
In other metals, aluminium CMAL3 came within $2 of
Tuesday’s session peak at $2,656 per tonne, its highest since
September 2008, before ending down $19 at $2,629.
Metal Prices at 3:48 p.m. EDT (1948 GMT)
COMEX copper in cents/lb, LME prices in $/T and SHFE prices in
yuan/T
Metal Last Change Pct Move End 2010 YTD Pct
move
COMEX Cu 426.85 -7.80 -1.79 444.70 -4.01
LME Alum 2629.00 -19.00 -0.72 2470.00 6.44
LME Cu 9380.00 -210.00 -2.19 9600.00 -2.29
LME Lead 2655.00 -30.00 -1.12 2550.00 4.12
LME Nickel 26025.00 -575.00 -2.16 24750.00 5.15
LME Tin 31225.00 -525.00 -1.65 26900.00 16.08
LME Zinc 2335.00 -40.00 -1.68 2454.00 -4.85
SHFE Alu 16835.00 5.00 +0.03 16840.00 -0.03
SHFE Cu* 71300.00 470.00 +0.66 71850.00 -0.77
SHFE Zin 18375.00 95.00 +0.52 19475.00 -5.65
** Benchmark month for COMEX copper
* 3rd contract month for SHFE AL, CU and ZN
SHFE ZN began trading on 26/3/07
(Additional reporting by Pratima Desai in London; Editing by
Walter Bagley)

Reuters Quote: GLOBAL MARKETS-Euro falls, bunds up on fears over Portugal debt

Wed Mar 23, 2011 4:03pm GMT
* Euro slips as Portugal vote looms

 * Sterling falls on UK growth projections
 * Europe debt concern weighs on U.S. stocks
 * Gold, bunds up on safety bid
 (Updates with Portuguese parliament debate, updates prices,
adds copper)
 By Rodrigo Campos
 NEW YORK, March 23 (Reuters) - Worries that a political
crisis in Portugal could force the debt-laden country to seek a
bailout sent the euro lower on Wednesday and triggered
safe-haven demand for German government bonds.
 The renewed fears of a euro zone debt crisis drove down
European banking shares and weighed on stocks in New York. U.S.
Treasury debt prices, which had risen earlier on safe-haven
demand, slipped following a Federal Reserve purchase.
 Uncertainty over the longer-term impact of Japan's
earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis fueled a safety bid for
precious metals, driving up the price of gold and sending
silver to the highest price since 1980.
 The cost of insuring Portugal's five-year debt against
default hit two-month highs, reflecting the growing belief that
Lisbon will follow Greece and Ireland in seeking emergency
funding if parliament rejects a new series of austerity
measures. The yield on Irish government bonds also soared to
new euro-lifetime highs.
 Portugal's parliament started a plenary session to debate
the government's austerity measures, setting the stage for the
likely collapse of the minority Socialist administration. Prime
Minister Jose Socrates has threatened to resign if the package
is rejected in a vote expected later on Wednesday.
 "There's currently a lot of concern on the Portuguese
budget vote and the potential political implication for it. The
fear is that if Portugal failed to agree on austerity measures,
we can potentially see the country forced into the EFSF" rescue
fund, said Mary Nicola, currency strategist at BNP Paribas in
New York.
 Hopes that this week's European summit would yield a
decision on how to increase the effective capacity of the euro
zone bailout fund were dashed after the release of a draft
document prepared for the meeting. The decision will likely
come in June. [ID:nBRU011391].
 Portugal's political crisis has knocked the euro from its
recent 4-1/2-month highs against the U.S. dollar, although the
slide is expected to be temporary, given the expectation for
the European Central Bank to raise interest rates next month.
 The euro EUR=EBS was last down 0.4 percent at $1.4138,
having hit a low for the session of $1.4105, according to
trading platform EBS.
 The renewed concerns over European debt kept European
stocks near break even and took a toll on Wall Street.
 A plunge in sales of new U.S. single-family homes in
February to the lowest level since 1963 also weighed on Wall
Street, as the data from the U.S. Commerce Department suggested
the housing market slide was deepening. [ID:nCAT005396]
 "If the data continues to implode the way it has been,
we'll see new lows in the stocks. And if that happens, we'll
have to expect a protracted downtrend in the market. When the
market gets better --it will happen-- you'll see it first in
housing stocks," said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of Sarhan
Capital in New York.
 An objection by the Federal Reserve to Bank of America's
(BAC.N) plans to boost its dividend weighed on U.S. bank
shares. Bank of America shares fell 2.6 percent.
 The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI edged up 2.15
points, or 0.02 percent, to 12,020.78. The Standard & Poor's
500 .SPX dropped 3.77 points, or 0.29 percent, to 1,290.00.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC fell 4.62 points, or 0.17 percent,
to 2,679.25.
 The FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 edged up less than 0.1
percent as a rise in mining shares helped offset weaker bank
stocks. The MSCI All-Country World index .MIWD00000PUS fell
0.3 percent, down for the first session in five.
 <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  U.S. trading volume slowdown    r.reuters.com/gyp68r
  Japan earthquake in graphics    r.reuters.com/fyh58r
  U.S. crude futures chart:    link.reuters.com/maq68r
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
 YEN LITTLE CHANGED
 The yen stayed in a tight range close to 81 per dollar,
though traders were wary the Bank of Japan might step in again
if the dollar fell below 80.50, following Friday's rare market
intervention by major central banks to curb Japan's currency.
 Underlining the continuing risks in Japan, authorities
advised against allowing infants to drink tap water in Tokyo
due to raised radiation levels, and the United States blocked
some food imports from Japan. [ID:nL3E7EM3EM]
 Sterling fell 0.7 percent to $1.6253 GBP=D4, hitting the
day's low as UK Chancellor George Osborne released a lower
growth projection for the coming year and increased borrowing
targets from 2011/12 to 2014/15. See [ID:nWLA6167]
 U.S. Treasuries pared early gains to trade slightly
negative in price in the wake of the Federal Reserve's purchase
of $7.56 billion of Treasuries. Benchmark 10-year Treasury
notes US10YT=RR were trading 4/32 lower to yield 3.34
percent, up from 3.33 percent late Tuesday.
 The Bund future FGBLc1 was 29 ticks higher at 122.31.
Germany sold 3.4 billion euros of 10-year bonds, attracting
greater demand than at a previous sale thanks to the
risk-averse mood in markets. [ID:nLDE72M11L]
 U.S. oil prices CLc1 edged higher while Brent LCOc1
traded flat, with prices expected to remain underpinned by
violence in Libya and unrest in Yemen, which neighbors top
producer Saudi Arabia.
 "Yemen is a very hot topic now. It is not that important to
the oil market but unrest in the region gives enough
psychological support to prices," Andy Sommer, energy market
analyst with EGL, said.
 Spot gold XAU= was up 0.7 percent at $1,438.94 an ounce.
Silver XAG= was at $36.86 an ounce at 1547 GMT, just below
the session high of $36.93 an ounce, from $36.34 late in New
York on Tuesday.
 Copper rose over 2 percent to a two-week high on
expectations of a supply deficit this year, but the price
recovery may be hindered by unrest in Libya and concerns about
Japan.
 Egyptian stocks .EGX100 closed 9 percent lower in the
first day of trading on the Cairo exchange since Jan. 27, after
closing due to the political turmoil that ousted Hosni Mubarak
last month.
 (Additional reporting by Ryan Vlastelica, Wanfeng Zhou,
Richard Leong and Ikuko Kurahone; Editing by Leslie Adler)

 
URL: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/03/23/markets-global-idUKN2323976720110323

Reuters Quote: US STOCKS…

Wed Mar 23, 2011 2:37pm GMT

* U.S. home sales hit a record low in February
* Fed tells Bank of America to rein in dividend plan
* Portugal set to vote on austerity measures
* Indexes down: Dow 0.4 pct, S&P 0.7 pct, Nasdaq 0.7 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US] (Updates to early morning trade)
By Angela Moon
NEW YORK, March 23 (Reuters) – Wall Street stocks fell on Wednesday after disappointing new home sales data and a Federal Reserve rejection of a dividend plan by Bank of America weighed on banks and home building shares.
U.S. new home sales fell in February to a record low and prices were the lowest since December 2003, suggesting the housing market slide was deepening. For details, see STORY: [ID:nCAT005396] TABLE [ID:nCLANEE7CK]
Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) shares were down 2.2 percent at $13.59, weighing the most on the Dow index, after the Fed objected to the bank’s plans to boost dividends in the second half of 2011 and told the bank to revise its proposal. For details, see [ID:nN23228260]
The KBW bank index .BKX fell 1.4 percent. Citigroup Inc (C.N) shares dropped 1.4 percent at $4.36 and JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) fell 1.1 percent to $44.96.
Among home builders, Toll Brothers Inc (TOL.N) fell 1.6 percent to $20.16 and D.R. Horton Inc (DHI.N) lost 1.4 percent to $11.68.
“What’s been happening now for the past 18 months or so is we’ve seen a relative low in a lot of housing stocks, meaning they’re bouncing along the bottom. That’s typically a good sign since they tend to lead the housing market by three to nine months,” said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of Sarhan Capital in New York. “As long as the recent lows aren’t taken out, we’d expect some sort of stabilization to occur.”
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was down 41.74 points, or 0.35 percent, at 11,976.89. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index .SPX was down 9.03 points, or 0.70 percent, at 1,284.74. The Nasdaq Composite Index.IXIC was down 17.46 points, or 0.65 percent, at 2,666.41. (Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)
 

Latest Reuters Quote: METALS-Copper ends down as recovery doubts weigh

MARKETS-METALS (UPDATE 7)
Monday 3.21.11

* Copper hit by global economic recovery doubts
* China copper imports fall to 27-month low in Feb
* Three-day top eyed in COMEX copper
* Coming up: U.S. FHFA home price report Tuesday (Recasts, changes to New York dateline/byline, adds closing copper price, adds graphic and analyst comments)
By Chris Kelly and Rebekah Curtis
NEW YORK/LONDON, March 21 (Reuters) – Copper fell more than one-percent on Monday, failing to join in a broad-based equities rally as concerns about the sustainability of the global economic recovery began to bite.
A sharp reduction in China’s imports of the metal last month and an unexpected plunge in U.S. existing home sales added to the bearish tone, reflecting a worrisome short-term demand outlook from the red metal’s two-biggest customers.
“The reason why copper is not participating to the upside right now is there are too many unanswered questions,” said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of Sarhan Capital.
He cited the rise in crude oil prices and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, monetary tightening measures in top-consumer China, and the uncertain outcome from Japan’s nuclear crisis as being the most troublesome issues facing the global recovery.
“Investors simply do not know if these events are going to derail the global economic recovery,” Sarhan said.
London Metal Exchange (LME) three-month copper shed $105 to close at $9,405 a tonne.
COMEX May copper closed down 5.30 cents, that is 1.2 percent, at $4.2860 per lb, near the bottom of its $4.2665 to $4.3685 range.
Prices are down about 8 percent from last month’s record highs at $10,190 per tonne and $4.6575 per lb.
“It’s technical in nature. You have a three-day top that has held,” said Scott Meyers, senior trading analyst with Pioneer Futures in New York, citing $4.36-$4.37 as chart resistance.
“From my standpoint, you’d want to see the 50-day moving average be repaired as the first sign of the chance to go higher,” Sarhan said.
Overnight, data showed China’s February imports of refined copper hit a 27-month low due to high stockpiles of the metal and holidays in the year’s shortest month.
Despite slack Chinese consumption, supply worries and buoyant copper demand projections were expected to boost prices longer term, Lars Steffensen, managing partner at Ebullio told the Reuters Global Mining and Steel summit on Monday.
“I think we’re going to have another stab at $10,000 if we break it. I think we could see $11,000, $11,500 this year,” he said. “I think there is a floor around $9,000 in the market.”
Investors also remained focused on Japan where the government, which has been juggling relief work with a race to avert catastrophe at a crippled nuclear plant, has yet to estimate the damage or say how much it may spend on reconstruction.
Economists are certain the cost will exceed that of a 1995 quake in Kobe, estimated at $100 billion, and base metals will be crucial to rebuilding efforts.
In other metals, aluminium rose to a session high of $2,604 a tonne before trimming gains to close up $10 at $2,570.
Pressuring prices, International Aluminium Institute data showed China bumped up its production of primary aluminium to a record high daily average of about 116,200 tonnes in February, from a revised 110,300 tonnes in January.
INVENTORIES
The bearish trend in LME copper warehouse stocks — up more than 23 percent since last December — continued Monday, with an 850-tonne build to 430,500 tonnes. Most of the deliveries were seen flowing into Singapore and Gwangyang warehouses, underlining physical market weakness in the Asian region.
Apparent demand for refined copper in China fell 12.5 percent in February as imports slowed and stockpiles held at the Shanghai Futures exchange grew, Reuters calculations based on the official Chinese data showed on Monday.
“There is a bit of a bullish and bearish struggle going on,” Christin Tuxen, an analyst at Danske Bank, said.
“Chinese import data coming out overnight showed copper imports declined quite significantly last month, and that is something that is holding base metals back, although you have a bullish factor on the other side with reconstruction in Japan.” (Additional reporting by Sue Thomas in London; editing by Alden Bentley)
 
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/21/markets-metals-idUSLDE72K0UF20110321