Bearish Gap Of Sunday

(Reuters) - A damaging global dry spell is wilting wheat crops in Kansas, threatening exports from Russia and slowing sowing in Australia, serving a timely reminder to hedge funds that a new era of surplus grain is far from assured. In their biggest surge since 1996, Chicago wheat prices jumped by more than 17 percent last week and reached a nearly 9-month high of more than $7 a bushel on Monday, a rally stoked by short-covering among big speculators -- a group that had amassed a near-record short position betting on falling prices. By Tuesday, six days of buying subsided as analysts said the immediate weather-induced panic yielded to a more considered view: conditions are not as dire - at least not yet - as they were in 2010, when world trade in wheat was sharply curtailed as growing ...

(Reuters) - Oil prices rose back towards $108 per barrel on Monday, after last week's falls, supported by tension between Western countries and Iran as talks were resuming this week and further lifted by the possibility of growth stimulus in China. Fears of a Greek exit from the euro continued to weigh, however. A summit of the Group of Eight major economies at the weekend failed to deliver any signal Europe would act quickly to address the risk of a chaotic Greek exit from the euro, leaving investors on alert and curb an upturn in oil prices. "Gains may be short-lived as EU politicians as usual are having a hard time agreeing on anything. However (there is) an interesting week ahead with the European debt crisis posing a risk on the downside and the potential for nuclear talks with ...

(Reuters) - Oil prices edged higher on Monday, nearing $108 per barrel as worries about Greece's possible exit from the euro dominated the agenda, despite the prospect of an economic stimulus in China and concerns about Iran as talks with world leaders start this week. A summit of the G8 at the weekend failed to deliver any signal that Europe would act quickly to address the risk of a chaotic Greek exit from the euro, leaving investors in a state of alert, curbing an upturn in oil prices. "Gains may be short-lived as EU politicians as usual are having a hard time agreeing on anything. However an interesting week ahead with the European debt crisis posing a risk on the downside and the potential for nuclear talks with Iran to fail on the upside," said Thorbjoern Bak Jensen, oil analyst at ...

The political havoc in Greece remains the predominant concern across markets as investors see the inability to form a government is the tick to new elections and a political vacuum that might cost Greece its euro membership. Haven demand is heading towards low yielding currencies and keeping greenback afloat while pressuring precious metals as investors liquidate gold to keep the cash amid the high uncertainty! It is surely a new bearish start for metals this Monday with gold extending the losses below $1579.00 support and eying next areas of $1552.00. The metal is unable to regain its appeal as a precious haven despite the appropriate environment now amid the high uncertainty over the global growth outlook and stability in Europe, as the need now remains for liquidity amid the pressure ...

Forex News and Events: As anticipated in Friday’s newsletter, China cut its Reserve Requirement Ratio for the second time this year. Shielded by easing inflation, Chinese authorities relaxed their grip on banks’ cash reserves parked at the PBoC through a 50 basis point cut effective starting May 18. This measure will allow the RRR to drop to 20% for the main national financial institutions and will release an estimated CNY 400bn in capital into the market. The move came after the publication of a weaker-than-expected Chinese Trade balance on Thursday, indicating exports and imports grew by 4.9% and 0.3% y-o-y respectively, a far cry from the 10 and 11 percent goals for the year. The near-zero import growth could be explained by the piling up of metal domestic inventories and might affect ...

The euro fell to a near four-month low on Monday as political uncertainty in Greece deepened, keeping alive the risk of the country exiting the euro zone while worries about slowing Chinese and global growth drove down higher-yielding currencies. Safe-haven currencies like the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen advanced as coalition talks in Greece hit an impasse on Sunday and Greece's radical leftist leader spurned an invitation from the president for a final round of talks on Monday, all but ensuring another election next month. Adding to the bearish tone, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives suffered a crushing defeat on Sunday in an election in Germany's most populous state, a result which could embolden the left opposition to step up attacks on her European austerity ...

The euro hit its lowest level in nearly four months on Monday after Greek political leaders failed in their latest efforts to form a ruling coalition, keeping investors on edge over the risk of the country exiting the euro zone. Coalition talks in Greece hit an impasse on Sunday and Greece's radical leftist leader spurned an invitation from the president for a final round of talks on Monday, all but ensuring a new election. Adding to the negative tone, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives suffered a crushing defeat on Sunday in an election in Germany's most populous state, a result which could embolden the left opposition to step up attacks on her European austerity policies. The euro seems likely to head lower in coming weeks, especially since the European Central Bank may ...

(Reuters) - Shares, precious metals and oil fell and the euro remained pressured on Wednesday as Greece struggled to form a government after an election that saw incumbent parties punished, heightening the risk that a hard-won bailout deal could be scrapped. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS shed 1.4 percent to its lowest in more than three months, with energy .MIAPJEN00PUS, materials .MIAPJMT00PUS and growth sensitive industrials .MIAPJIN00PUS leading the declines. Resources-heavy Australian shares .AXJO plunged 1 percent to a three-week low as oil, precious metals and copper slid. European shares will likely edge up after a mauling on Tuesday, with financial spreadbetters predicting that major European markets .FTSE .FCHI .GDAXI would open 0.6 ...

(Reuters) - The euro eased on Tuesday but stayed above the previous day's three-month low, with the potential for short covering seen offering the currency some support even as political uncertainty in Greece clouded its outlook. The single currency dipped 0.1 percent from late U.S. trade on Monday to $1.3035, but stayed well above Monday's trough near $1.2955, its lowest level since late January. The euro came under pressure on Monday after elections in Greece and France cast doubt on the ability to push through austerity plans regarded as key to tackling the euro zone debt crisis. "This seems to me like a pretty serious situation," said Satoshi Okagawa, senior global markets analyst at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. in Singapore, referring to the election results and political ...