By Barani Krishnan
NEW YORK, May 6 (Reuters) - The bull run in U.S. energy
markets showed little signs of slowing on Tuesday, with crude,
gasoline and heating oil all hitting record highs before ending
off their peaks, fueling a rally in other commodities too.
U.S. corn futures hit new peaks as well, leading wheat to a
higher close. [GRA/] Precious metals such as gold and silver
rose but modestly. [GOL/] Copper bucked the trend with a lower
close after Monday's record high in New York. [MET/L]
"I think oil is just pulling everything higher and because
of that, all these commodities have turned around again," said
Edward Meir, energy and metals analyst at commodities brokerage
MF Global in New York.
Another positive factor was the dollar's weakening for a
second straight day after being up in two previous sessions on
speculation that the U.S. Federal Reserve may be ready to stop
interest rate cuts which began in September. [USD/]
"The dollar was giving the bears some hope last week when
it rallied. That seems to have stalled and we seem to be back
to the original kind of trading strategy, which is go short the
dollar and long the commodities," Meir said.
Crude <CLc1> on the New York Mercantile Exchange, or NYMEX,
settled up $1.87 at $121.84 a barrel after touching a record
$122.73, extending a rally that has doubled prices over the
past year. [O/R]
Analysts attributed the run-up mainly to Iran's refusal to
accept inspections of its nuclear program which the West fears
could be linked to weapons. Iran is also the world's fourth
largest oil exporter. [ID:nL05474341]
Nigerian disruptions from militant attacks and a strike
have also underpinned prices since late April, along with the
weaker dollar and growing demand from emerging markets like
China and India.
The mounting supply problems and strong demand prompted
Goldman Sachs to forecast oil could reach $200 a barrel within
the next two years.[ID:nL06914488]
NYMEX heating oil for June ended up 4.70 cents, or 1.42
percent, at $3.3535 after an intraday record of $3.3712.
RBOB gasoline for June, settled up 5.26 cents, or 1.72
percent, at $3.1055 on NYMEX, after an all-time high of
$3.1260.
U.S. corn surged 3 percent as the pace of seeding in the
United States, the world's top producer and exporter of the
grain used in feed and ethanol, was the slowest in a decade.
Spring rains across wide swaths of the Midwest grain belt,
which is home to the bulk of corn grown in the United States,
have delayed planting. As a rule of thumb, farmers need to seed
the crop by May 15 to avoid yield loss.
Benchmark corn for May delivery <CK8> on the Chicago Board
of Trade closed up 12-3/4 cents at $5.94-3/4 per bushel. The
July <CN9> 2009 contract reached a record high of $6.60-3/4 per
bushel during Tuesday's session before ending up 10 cents at
$6.49.
CBOT wheat for May <WK8> closed up 13-1/2 cents at $8.06
per bushel.
The Reuters-Jefferies CRB index <.CRB>, which tracks 19
commodity futures, was up 1.13 percent at 418.54.
(Editing by Marguerita Choy)
((barani.krishnan@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 223 6192; Reuters
Messaging: barani.krishnan.reuters.com@reuters.net))
For the latest news and prices, click on the codes in
brackets:
CBOT grains and oilseed futures
<0#W:> <0#C:> <0#S:> <0#SM:> <0#BO:>
COMEX gold futures <0#GC:>
COMEX copper futures <0#HG:>
CME livestock futures <0#LC:> <0#FC:>
CME lumber futures <0#LB:>
NYBOT softs, cotton and juice futures
<0#KC:> <0#SB:> <0#CC:> <0#CT:> <0#OJ:>
NYMEX crude oil <0#CL:>
Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index <.CRB>
NYBOT RJ/CRB futures <0#CR:> <0#CI:>
RELATED NEWS AND OTHER TOPICS All commodities news [C]
Energy markets news [O]
Precious metals news GOL All metals news [MTL]
All agriculture news GRO Grains news [GRA]
Livestock news LIV Softs news [SOF]
Foreign exchange rates [FX=S]
SNAPSHOTS of all commodity reports [SNAP/GOL] [SNAP/COF]
[SNAP/COT]
SPEED GUIDES COMMODS REUTERS
Keywords: MARKETS COMMODITIES
(Adds details, quotes)
By Leah Schnurr
TORONTO, May 6 (Reuters) - Oil and gas companies led the way higher for the Toronto Stock Exchange on Tuesday, helping the main index climb nearly 1 percent as crude oil prices notched another record high.
Suncor Energy <SU.TO> was among the biggest gainers, up C$4.62, or 4 percent, at C$121.12 as the price of oil flew up over $122 a barrel on a weaker U.S. dollar and concerns over supply.
The Toronto market's heavily weighted energy sector jumped 3.3 percent. Canadian Natural Resources <CNQ.TO> was up C$4.05, or 4.6 percent, at C$92.00, and Canadian Oil Sands Trust <COS_u.TO> added C$3.68, or 8.3 percent, to C$48.18.
Crude settled up $1.87 at $121.84 a barrel, easing back from a record $122.73 reached earlier in the day. However, Goldman Sachs forecast oil could hit $200 a barrel within the next two years.
"How high can it go? Who knows," said Andrew Martyn, portfolio manager at Davis-Rea.
The S&P/TSX composite index <.GSPTSE> closed up 139.96 points, or 0.98 percent, at 14,414.30 with half its 10 main sectors higher.
The materials sector, home to resource issues, rallied 1.2 percent, while the base metals mining subindex gained 2.4 percent, pulled up by oil's momentum. Teck Cominco <TCKb.TO> rose C$1.48, or 3.2 percent, to C$48.18.
"The mining sector, the gold sector also got boosted, meaning that the whole commodities game seems to be back for who knows how long," said Ian Nakamoto, director of research at MacDougall, MacDougall & MacTier.
"We keep saying it's a fad, but (the oil price) comes down and starts to move back up," said Nakamoto, noting that ultimately it's underlying supply and demand that will make a price level sustainable.
Methanex <MX.TO> shares jumped C$3.02, or 12.4 percent, to C$27.40 after the methanol supplier upped its quarterly dividend by 11 percent and said it will buy back up to 10 percent of its common stock.
Fertilizer company Potash Corp of Saskatchewan <POT.TO> was up C$3.03, or 1.5 percent, at C$199.39, and competitor Agrium <AGU.TO> rose C$2.52, or 3 percent, to C$86.75.
Sun Life Financial <SLF.TO> weighed on the index after the insurer warned of a difficult year ahead as it reported that credit market troubles and a strong Canadian dollar stung its operating earnings.
Sun Life finished down C$1.76, or 3.6 percent, at C$47.44, while the financial sector overall gave up 0.5 percent.
Also on the downside, BlackBerry maker Research In Motion <RIM.TO> slid C$2.37, or 1.8 percent, to C$132.25.
Market volume was 393 million shares worth C$7.6 billion. Advancers outpaced decliners 890 to 693. The blue chip S&P/TSX 60 index <.TSE60> closed up 8.71 points, or 1.03 percent, at 855.12.
On Wall Street, stocks rallied after U.S. home finance company Fannie Mae <FNM.N> sought to reassure investors over the outlook for the credit and housing markets.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 51.29 points, or 0.4 percent, to 13,020.83, while the Nasdaq composite index <.IXIC> was up 19.19 points, or 0.78 percent, at 2,483.31. ($1=$1.00 Canadian) (Editing by Rob Wilson) ((leah.schnurr@thomsonreuters.com; +1 416 941 8056; Reuters Messaging: leah.schnurr.reuters.net@reuters.com))
Keywords: MARKETS CANADA STOCKS
Keywords: MARKETS CANADA STOCKS
(Updates closing numbers, adds details)
TORONTO, May 6 (Reuters) - Oil and gas companies led the way up for the Toronto Stock Exchange on Tuesday, helping the main index climb nearly 1 percent as crude oil prices notched another record high.
Suncor Energy <SU.TO> was among the biggest gainers, up C$4.62, or 4 percent, at C$121.12 as the price of oil flew up over $122 a barrel due to a weaker U.S. dollar and concerns over supply.
The Toronto market's heavily weighted energy sector jumped 3.3 percent. Canadian Natural Resources <CNQ.TO> was up C$4.05, or 4.6 percent, at C$92.00, and Canadian Oil Sands Trust <COS_u.TO> added C$3.68, or 8.3 percent, to C$48.18.
Crude settled up $1.87 at $121.84 a barrel, easing back from the record $122.73 it reached earlier in the day.
The S&P/TSX composite index <.GSPTSE> closed up 139.96 points, or 0.98 percent, at 14,414.30 with half of its 10 main sectors higher.
The materials sector, which houses resource shares, rallied 1.2 percent, while the base metals mining subindex gained 2.4 percent, pulled up by oil's momentum. Teck Cominco <TCKb.TO> rose C$1.48, or 3.2 percent, to C$48.18.
Methanex <MX.TO> shares jumped C$3.02, or 12.4 percent, to C$27.40 after the Methanol supplier upped its quarterly dividend by 11 percent and said it will buy back up to 10 percent of its common stock.
Fertilizer company Potash Corp of Saskatchewan <POT.TO> was up C$3.03, or 1.5 percent, at C$199.39, and competitor Agrium <AGU.TO> rose C$2.52, or 3 percent, to C$86.75.
Sun Life Financial <SLF.TO> dragged on the index after the insurer warned of a challenging year ahead as it reported credit market troubles and a strong Canadian dollar stung its operating earnings. Sun Life finished down C$1.76, or 3.6 percent, at C$47.44, while the financial sector overall gave up 0.5 percent. ($1=$1.00 Canadian) (Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by Peter Galloway) ((leah.schnurr@thomsonreuters.com; +1 416 941 8056; Reuters Messaging: leah.schnurr.reuters.net@reuters.com))
Keywords: MARKETS CANADA STOCKS
. Keywords: MARKETS CANADA STOCKS
TORONTO, May 6 (Reuters) - Oil and gas companies led the way up for the Toronto Stock Exchange on Tuesday, helping the main index climb more than 100 points as crude spiked to another record high.
The S&P/TSX composite index <.GSPTSE> unofficially closed up 142.75 points, or 1 percent, at 14,417.09. (Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by Peter Galloway) ((leah.schnurr@thomsonreuters.com; +1 416 941 8056; Reuters Messaging: leah.schnurr.reuters.net@reuters.com))
Keywords: MARKETS CANADA STOCKS
(Adds Codelco chief executive comment, updates copper price)
By Simon Gardner and Manuel Farias
SANTIAGO, May 6 (Reuters) - Subcontracted miners started to resume operations at divisions of Chilean copper giant Codelco they disrupted during a sometimes violent 20-day strike, a top union leader said Tuesday.
The subcontractors announced late Monday they would lift their strike after agreeing to a government proposal that included them and Codelco agreeing to fulfill a series of agreements reached last year.
"It is a process of normalizing operations between shifts A and B today, so it's not completely normal (yet), but the strike is no longer on," union leader Cristian Cuevas told Reuters.
The subcontractors agreed to a proposal that includes a pledge by the state-owned giant to absorb many of them into its full-time ranks, as well as the payment of a 500,000 peso (US$1,067) bonus agreed in 2007.
The strike, which started on April 16, repeatedly disrupted Codelco's Teniente division, home to the world's largest underground copper mine, and helped drive U.S. copper futures to an all-time high on Monday.
Two of Codelco's smaller divisions, Andina and Salvador, were shut almost entirely throughout, while its giant Codelco Norte and Ventanas divisions were unaffected.
Despite the strike's end, London copper futures continued to rise on Tuesday, gaining more than 1 percent as the market focused on longer-term supply problems given low inventories.
Copper for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange <MCU3>, an increasingly popular alternative investment and a key gauge of real economic activity, traded up to $8,565 per tonne, its highest since April 30. It ended the official open outcry session at $8,520, up $110 from Friday.
Codelco, the world's biggest copper miner, said last Tuesday it had lost about 19,000 tonnes of production, valued at about $100 million.
It said it was implementing a contingency plan at its Teniente division, home to the world's largest underground copper mine, allowing it to continue work at the deposit.
Workers were still checking installations at Salvador division.
"Now the violence we have suffered in recent days is over, we are in the process of normalizing interrupted production activities," Chief Executive Jose Pablo Arellano told a news conference.
"We will not recover lost production," he said. "What we are going to do is to reach maximum production capacity where we have faced interruptions in the shortest time possible."
He gave no update on output losses.
The strike is expected to weigh heavily on April and May copper output and growth data.
Even before the latest in a series of sometimes violent strikes by subcontractors demanding a bigger share of windfall copper revenues, Chile's copper output fell 8.4 percent in March from a year earlier due to lower ore grades at some of the nation's biggest mines.
The slump in mining activity also dragged on economic growth in March, with Chile's economic activity index (IMACEC) rising a modest 0.7 percent in March compared to a year earlier, down sharply from a 5.6 percent rise in February.
Teniente, 50 miles (80 km) south of Santiago, produced 405,000 tonnes of copper last year.
Andina, about 50 miles (80 km) northeast of the Chilean capital, produced 218,000 tonnes of copper in 2007. Salvador, 685 miles (1,100 km) north of Santiago, produced 64,000 tonnes of copper last year. (With reporting by Daniel Magnowski in London, Writing by Simon Gardner; Editing by Marguerita Choy) ((simon.gardner@thomsonreuters.com; +562 370 4250; Reuters Messaging: simon.gardner.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: CHILE CODELCO/SUBCONTRACTORS
Next: US copper ends down as market consolidates records