Cover More Than Half Of Europe's

(Reuters) - Brent crude oil rose above $106 a barrel on Thursday as reports of a hiccup in talks with Iran over its nuclear program balanced weak economic data from China and Europe. Iran accused world powers on Thursday of creating "a difficult atmosphere" that hindered negotiations on its atomic energy program, signaling a snag in diplomacy to defuse fears of an Iranian attempt to develop nuclear bombs. Brent futures rose 90 cents to trade at $106.46 by 1336 GMT after earlier touching a high of $106.90 before weak Chinese and European economic data sparked a bout of selling. U.S. crude for July rose $1.44 to a high of $91.34 after settling at $89.90 a barrel on Wednesday, its lowest close for front-month U.S. crude since October 21. Investors are worried that failure to agree a deal ...

(Reuters) - Brent crude oil steadied above $105 per barrel on Thursday as reports of a hiccup in talks with Iran over its nuclear program balanced weak economic data from China and Europe. Iran accused world powers on Thursday of creating "a difficult atmosphere" that hindered negotiations on its atomic energy program, signaling a snag in diplomacy to defuse fears of a covert Iranian bid to develop nuclear bombs. Brent crude oil fell 53 cents to a low of $105.03 per barrel, a five-month low, but then rebounded to trade around $105.71, up 15 cents, by 0945 GMT. It had earlier touched a high of $106.68 before the Chinese and European data sparked a bout of selling. U.S. crude advanced 55 cents to $90.45, after earlier reaching a high of $90.81 per barrel. It settled at $89.90 a barrel on ...

(Reuters) - Asian shares eased on Thursday as markets were vulnerable to faltering factory orders in China and lack of concrete measures shown by European leaders to tackle the risk of Greece leaving the currency bloc. European Union leaders, at an informal meeting on Wednesday, said they wanted Greece to stay in the euro zone while respecting commitments it had made in return for its bailout, but have been advised by senior officials to prepare contingency plans in case Greece exits. The murky outlook for the euro zone and fears that the crisis could derail the global economy have prompted investors to park money in safe-haven assets such as U.S. and German government bonds, the U.S. dollar or cash. Implications of a retreat in China's HSBC Flash Purchasing Managers Index, the earliest ...

Brent crude slipped below $112 on Monday on a worsening oil demand outlook after talks to form a new government in Greece failed, and as signs of a slowing Chinese economy outweighed the country's latest move to ease monetary conditions. Investor caution, evident from the weakness in other riskier assets as well, was heightened as Greece's radical leftist leader spurned an invitation from the president for a final round of coalition talks on Monday, pushing Athens to the brink of fresh polls. This added to the already mounting worries of a global economic slowdown triggered by last week's lackluster industrial output data from China, the world's second-largest economy and energy consumer. Brent crude slipped 86 cents to $111.40 a barrel by 03:26 a.m. EDT (0726 GMT), stretching its ...

(Reuters) - Gold slipped more than half a percent on Friday, tracking equities lower, as investors failed to shake off worries about Europe's debt crisis and its impact on global economic growth. Gold, though traditionally seen as a safe haven, bore the brunt of the sell-offs across risk assets such as equities, industrial metals and oil this week, forcing investors and speculators to sell bullion to cover losses in other markets. Gold eased $7.87 to $1,585.86 an ounce by 01:08 a.m. EDT (0508 GMT) after shares in Asia were hit by JPMorgan's (JPM.N) $2 billion loss from a failed hedging strategy and by political turmoil in the euro zone. It is poised to fall by more than 3 percent this week, its deepest drop since early March. "We are still uncertain about what's happening out of the ...

(Reuters) - Copper fell to its lowest in a week on Thursday after mixed U.S. economic data and a bond sale by Spain failed to ease investor concerns that the heavily indebted nation may hinder the bloc's recovery, denting growth and commodities demand. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down half a percent to $8,258.50 a metric ton (1.1023 tons) at 1023 GMT, down from a $8,305 close. Prices, which had rallied by more than 14 percent by early February have shed five percent since then, trimming the year's gains to around 9 pct. "There's a lot of people asking about Europe and how bad things are. Recent events in the Netherlands and France may have underlined people's concerns, but if you're really looking for something to worry about, Spain is top of the list," metals ...

(Reuters) - Brent crude edged lower towards $119 per barrel on Monday as economic woes in developed economies stoked fears of lower fuel demand, although the prospect of a third round of monetary easing by the United States limited its decline. Economic growth cooled in the first quarter, raising expectations that the Federal Reserve could start a third round of government bond buying, or quantitative easing known in markets as QE3, to support the economy. Such a move would increase market liquidity and heighten risk appetite for commodities. Brent June crude was down 22 cents to $119.61 per barrel by 12:37 a.m. EDT (0437) GMT after gaining nearly 1 percent last week. U.S. June crude was at $104.80 per barrel, down 13 cents. Trading in Asia is likely to be subdued, with Japan and China ...

Weekly Economic and Financial Commentary U.S. Review First-Quarter GDP Growth Slows The U.S. economy grew at a 2.2 percent annual rate in the first quarter, somewhat slower than the consensus had expected. Consumption remained the primary driver of growth as business spending slowed and the government sector continued to scale back spending. In our U.S. review section this week, we discuss the GDP report in the context of the big miss in durables and consider what it means for business spending going forward. We also look at a very small change in the Fed statement this week that reflects an improving view on the troubled housing sector. Business Spending Poised for a Slowdown? Durable goods orders for March were ugly. The 4.2 percent drop was the largest decline since the U.S. ...

(Reuters) - London copper futures dropped half a percent on Friday, snapping a three-day winning streak after Spain's credit rating downgrade renewed worries about the debt-laden euro zone, trimming appetite for riskier assets. Copper is heading for its second monthly loss as a shaky global economy, including slower growth in top copper user China, weighed on prices that have fallen more than 5 percent from this year's highs. FUNDAMENTALS Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange slipped $40 to $8,282 a metric tonne by 1033 p.m. EDT, after rising to a two-week high of $8,341 on Thursday. Copper is down nearly 2 percent so far this month, and has dropped 5.5 percent since hitting this year's peak of $8,765 in February. The most-active August copper contract on the Shanghai ...