US natural gas futures on Thursday slid 2.5 percent to snap a three-session rally and drift away from over two-year highs touched the previous day, as forecasts for warmer than usual weather over the next few days offset bigger-than-expected storage drawd

Wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade edged higher on Thursday, supported by short-covering and a setback in the dollar, which tends to make US grains more attractive to those holding other currencies, traders said. CBOT March wheat settled up 3-1/4

Argentina will harvest 15 million tonnes of wheat in the 2016/17 crop year, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said on Thursday, up from a prior estimate of 12.5 million tonnes as farmers plant the grain in some areas previously dedicated to soybeans.

Asia's coffee export markets were dull this week in typical year-end trade with few orders clinched while Vietnamese farmers were reluctant to sell beans on fears of supply shortage. Heavy rains over the past few weeks in Vietnam's main coffee belt in Cen

Paris wheat futures rose on Thursday to a one-week high as an increase in US prices lent support to a European market otherwise lacking direction during a year-end lull. March milling wheat, the most active contract on the Paris-based Euronext exchange, s

Palm oil on the European vegetable oils market was little changed on Thursday in very thin trade as players were winding down business ahead of the new year. Palm oil was mostly offered unchanged from Wednesday after Malaysian palm oil futures closed betw

Chinese steel rebar prices fell more than 2 percent, reversing the previous day's gains, while coke and coking coal remained under pressure on Thursday as concerns about weakening demand returned in volatile end-of-year trading. "The pullback shows trader

China's net gold imports via main conduit Hong Kong in November dropped 17.84 percent from October to its lowest in 10 months, data showed on Thursday. Net-gold imports fell to 50.178 tonnes in November from 61.075 tonnes in October, marking its lowest si

US officials are urgently seeking an agreement with South Korea that would allow imports of American eggs so farmers can cash in on a shortage caused by the Asian country's worst-ever outbreak of bird flu. The two sides are negotiating over terms of poten

Iran and European planemaker ATR are due to sign a deal next week for the purchase of 20 short-haul passenger aircraft, an Iranian official said on Saturday, weeks after Tehran finalised deals with Boeing and Airbus. ATR, co-owned by Airbus and Italy's Le

Tanzania is in talks with banking giant Credit Suisse for a $300 million loan that would go towards financing infrastructure projects, the country's finance minister said on Saturday. Philip Mpango said Tanzania was also in separate talks with other lende

Lebanese daily newspaper As-Safir printed its final edition on Saturday, forced to close after 42 years because of financial problems as other news outlets in the country face similar difficulties. The front page led with an editorial entitled "The nation

Cuba welcomed a record four million tourists in 2016, up 13 percent over last year, with much of the increase thanks to a crush of visitors from the US and Europe, officials said on Saturday. Havana's Ministry of Tourism said in a statement published in t

A Shanghai court ordered two Chinese firms to pay Walt Disney Co and Pixar more than 1.35 million yuan ($194,440) compensation for copying parts of their hit movies "Cars" and "Cars 2", the official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday. The ruling is t

Mexicans are bracing to kickstart the New Year on a sour note, with protests planned against the government's huge hike in gasoline prices. President Enrique Pena Nieto has promised that fuel prices will fall thanks to his landmark 2014 energy reform, whi

Rail services in southern England were hit by a fresh strike on Saturday and fog caused the cancellation of dozens of flights at London's main airport. The RMT union launched a three-day strike on Southern Rail, which runs commuter services from the south

China's foreign exchange regulator said that, starting January 1, 2017, it will step up scrutiny on individual foreign currency purchases and strengthen punishment for illegal money outflows, but the $50,000 annual individual quota will remain unchanged.

China will ban all ivory trade and processing by the end of 2017, the government said, in a move hailed by conservationists as a "game changer" for African elephants. African ivory is highly sought after in China, where it is seen as a status symbol, with

China's economy is on a steady growth path as 2016 ends, supported by a housing boom and billions in government investment, but the mood of policymakers is more cautious than celebratory as they face "complexity" in the new year. Controlling risks has bee

The shock election of Donald Trump to the White House, Britain's vote to leave the European Union, attacks in Europe and the deaths of Mohammed Ali and David Bowie: 2016 has been a momentous news year. Here are some of the main events that marked the past

The shock election of Donald Trump to the White House, Britain's vote to leave the European Union, attacks in Europe and the deaths of Mohammed Ali and David Bowie: 2016 has been a momentous news year. Here are some of the main events that marked the past

Middle East fund managers have become more positive toward equities in the region as the new year begins because of higher oil prices and efforts by Gulf governments to cut their budget deficits, a monthly Reuters poll found. The poll of 13 leading fund m

Middle East fund managers have become more positive toward equities in the region as the new year begins because of higher oil prices and efforts by Gulf governments to cut their budget deficits, a monthly Reuters poll found. The poll of 13 leading fund m

The US Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the sale of $850 million in bonds issued by Mozambique by Credit Suisse, Russia's VTB Group and BNP Paribas, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The southern African nation in October s

The US Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the sale of $850 million in bonds issued by Mozambique by Credit Suisse, Russia's VTB Group and BNP Paribas, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The southern African nation in October s

Assets at the Exchange Fund, which is used to back the Hong Kong dollar, totalled HK$3,589.9 billion ($462.9 billion) at the end of November, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said on Friday. The figure was HK$3.5 billion lower than the total at the

Canada's main stock index fell broadly on the last trading day of the year on Friday, with volumes thin ahead of the New Year, but logged an overall robust annual gain. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index rose 17.4 percent for the year, a

Britain's top share index is set to rise around 4 percent by the end of 2017, lagging this year's gains, analysts polled by Reuters said, while warning politics could upset predictions. Britain's bluechip FTSE 100 index closed 2016 at a record high level

US Treasury debt yields closed lower on Friday in a shortened session, falling for the third straight day to end a weak fourth quarter with a modest consolidation and round out a year of surprises. Treasury bonds were the worst performing fixed-income ass

US Treasury debt yields closed lower on Friday in a shortened session, falling for the third straight day to end a weak fourth quarter with a modest consolidation and round out a year of surprises. Treasury bonds were the worst performing fixed-income ass

Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) is gauging demand for its first bond offering since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear calamity, with some market participants expecting a sale as early as February, people familiar with the plans said. Once-sceptical investors are no

India's National Stock Exchange said an independent agency had found potential instances that some brokers were given unfair access to its servers, as the country's largest bourse applied for its long-awaited initial public offering on Wednesday. The NSE

Japan's Nikkei is set to end slightly lower this year but rise in 2017 as expectations US President-elect Donald Trump's policies will ratchet up interest rates buoyed the dollar against the yen, giving Japan Inc's earnings a boost, a Reuters poll found.

China's Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday it will reopen an issue of 10-year bonds, when it auctions an additional 20 billion yuan ($2.88 billion) of paper on January 4. The bonds will be issued from January 4 to 5, and begin secondary market trading on

China's Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday it will reopen an issue of 10-year bonds, when it auctions an additional 20 billion yuan ($2.88 billion) of paper on January 4. The bonds will be issued from January 4 to 5, and begin secondary market trading on

Investors' enthusiasm for equities and corporate bonds showed little sign of waning during the latest week, with funds in both categories scooping up more money, data from the Investment Company Institute showed on Wednesday. Stock mutual funds and exchan

Investors' enthusiasm for equities and corporate bonds showed little sign of waning during the latest week, with funds in both categories scooping up more money, data from the Investment Company Institute showed on Wednesday. Stock mutual funds and exchan

US stocks slumped on the last trading day of the year on Friday, led down by Apple and other big tech stocks, but major indexes still posted solid gains in 2016. In subdued holiday trading, the S&P 500 declined for a third consecutive session. But the ben

Kenya's shilling and Zambia's kwacha are seen holding steady against the dollar in the next week to Thursday, while Nigeria's naira will likely weaken, traders said.

The Canadian dollar strengthened against a weaker greenback on Friday in thin pre-holiday market trading, and capped off an overall gain for 2016. The loonie saw an annual gain for the first time since 2012, firming nearly 3 percent for this year. The dol

The US dollar's share of currency reserves reported to the International Monetary Fund slipped in the third quarter of 2016 to its lowest level in two years, data from the IMF showed on Friday. The July-September period was the third consecutive decline i

The US dollar slipped on Friday but notched its fourth straight year of gains against a basket of major currencies. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, gained about 3.7 percent for the year. The index rose

Norway's central bank will increase its daily sale of foreign currency in January, it said on Friday. The bank will sell foreign exchange equivalent to 1.0 billion Norwegian crowns per day, an increase from a level of 900 million crowns per day since Febr

US bank Citi has invested in blockchain venture Cobalt DL ahead of what the company expects will be a second round of funding next year, Cobalt said on Thursday. Citi's support is the latest step forward for Cobalt, seen by industry players as one of seve

Speculators raised net long bets on the US dollar to $24.17 billion this week, increasing their positions from $22.45 billion last week, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and calculations by Reuters. Net long bets on the doll

A South Korean government official in charge of foreign exchange markets cautioned traders against pushing the won too low, highlighting the government's concerns about any excessive fall in a thinned out currency market ahead of the New Year.

Nigeria's central bank sold about $1 billion on the forward market last week to clear a backlog of dollar obligations in selected sectors, traders said on Thursday, its largest special auction since a currency peg was removed in June. Outstanding dollar d

Central Europe's economic growth is expected to strengthen its currencies next year, led by the zloty and the Czech crown, after they reached multi-month lows in November, according to a November 28-December 1 Reuters poll of 45 analysts. At around 3 perc

Donald Trump is promising more US government spending. The coming year will also most likely see tightening Federal Reserve policy, too. That contrasts with continued weak growth and loose monetary conditions in the euro zone and Japan. This divergence be

Former women's tennis world number one Ana Ivanovic admitted Saturday she retired this week because she felt both physically and mentally unfit to carry on after years of battling injuries. The 29-year-old Serbian - whose sole Grand Slam success came in t

Chelsea were given a stiff examination by Stoke City at Stamford Bridge on Saturday before extending their lead at the top of the Premier League to nine points ahead of the late game between Liverpool and Manchester City. Willian scored twice as a spirite

Pakistan cricket chiefs have said they will sue India for failing to honour a 2014 deal to play a bilateral Test series. The Pakistan Cricket Board and the Board of Control for Cricket in India signed an agreement under which the South Asian rivals were d

ZTBL and Pebble Breakers fashioned thrilling victories to qualify for the Suzuki Vitara Polo Cup 2016 main final here at the Lahore Polo Club (LPC) ground on Friday. In the first match of the day match, ZTBL played well against Army Colts and defeated the

Former Test cricketer Imtiaz Ahmed, a member of Pakistan's first-ever Test team, died in a Lahore hospital on Saturday due to protracted illness. He was 88 years old. His Namaz-e-Janaza was offered in Lahore which was attended by people hailing from diffe

The Indian Olympic Association's (IOA) move to honour two controversial administrators has infuriated the government with the sports ministry cutting off funding and the use of other facilities extended to the body. The IOA named its former presidents Sur

Wimbledon champion Andy Murray and Olympic gold medallist Mo Farah will each receive a knighthood in the New Year Honours. Murray's knighthood caps a dream season for the Scot, who finished as the year-end world number one for the first time after ending

Rafael Nadal ended an injury-plagued 2016 on a high by lifting the Mubadala World Tennis Championship title for a fourth time on Saturday. The 30-year-old Spaniard defeated 11th-ranked Belgian David Goffin 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) after world number one Andy Murray

Shot put queen Valerie Adams received one of New Zealand's highest awards on Saturday, being made a dame in the New Year honours list. The four-time World champion, double Olympic gold medallist and one of New Zealand's most popular sports stars, has been

Fill-in batsman Neil Broom and skipper Kane Williamson produced a match-winning 179-run stand for New Zealand to crush Bangladesh in their final one-day match in Nelson on Saturday. Williamson was left unbeaten on 95 while Broom fell just before the close

Allan Williams, the first manager of The Beatles who drove the band on their formative trip to Hamburg in 1960, has died at the age of 86, his old club announced. The Jacaranda Club in Liverpool, northwest England, posted the news late Friday on its Faceb

Fresh problems held up efforts by the Catholic Church to forge a deal on Saturday for ending the political crisis in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). "The agreement is ready, but this morning all the groups came with new demands for details to be inclu

More than half a million South Koreans marked New Year's Eve with a massive protest Saturday calling for the immediate arrest and ouster of impeached President Park Geun-Hye. Candle-carrying and banner-waving protestors marched towards key buildings in Se

An Iranian passenger plane was forced to return to Tehran's Mehrabad airport on Saturday after one of its two engines failed, Tasnim news agency reported on Saturday, adding that all passengers were safe. Taban Airlines' public relations manager was quote

A Boeing 707 operated by a Polish charter airline on Friday made an emergency landing in Prague after a bomb threat by a passenger who was then detained by police, Czech officials said. "A man who threatened to detonate a booby trap... is in the hands of

The Pentagon said Friday it believes that Islamic State chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is indeed alive, despite repeated efforts by the US-led coalition to take out the jihadist group leader. Baghdadi has kept a low profile, despite having declared himself th

Turkey detained a staff journalist for The Wall Street Journal for almost three days without access to a lawyer, the newspaper reported Saturday, adding to growing concerns over press freedom in the country. Dion Nissenbaum was taken into custody on Tuesd

Taiwan will not bend to pressure despite China returning to its "old ways" of intimidation, President Tsai Ing-wen said Saturday, following Beijing's protests over her call to US President-elect Donald Trump. China has stepped up military drills near Taiw

Saudi Arabia carried out 153 executions in 2016, according to an AFP tally based on official announcements, slightly down from the year before. The ultra-conservative kingdom is one of the world's most prolific executioners and has a strict Islamic legal

There is no space for Hong Kong independence in the "one country, two systems" agreement under which Beijing governs the former British colony, but there can be tolerance for differences in their systems, a senior Chinese official said. Chinese leaders ar

Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Germans Saturday to hold firm to democratic values in the face of jihadist terror, urging them to counter "murderers who are full of hate" with compassion and cohesion. In her New Year's address delivered less than two w

Iceland is ending an eventful year in a political quagmire, left without a government for two months after the Panama Papers scandal and a snap election reflecting deep divisions in the island nation. "In recent years we thought we were seeing the crazies

Japan has approached China and South Korea about holding a trilateral summit in Tokyo in February aimed at deepening cooperation on such issues as a free trade deal, the environment and counter-terrorism, Kyodo news agency reported on Saturday. Disagreeme

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday released six dissidents, among them former presidential candidate Manuel Rosales, who had been under house arrest for more than two months, opposition leaders said. "I have been freed, along with other polit

Two elite Iraqi units linked up in Mosul on Saturday and will form a joint front to advance westward against the Islamic State group, officers said. The Rapid Response Division reached the northern edge of Al-Intisar neighbourhood, while the Counter-Terro

An Egyptian appeals court on Saturday upheld an agreement to give control of two islands in the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia, providing a boost for the government in a case that has prompted rare street protests. The territorial deal, announced in April, cause

William Salice, who helped create the hugely popular Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs for children, died in Italy on Thursday aged 83, his foundation said. Salice had been undergoing treatment for a stroke in a hospital in the northern Italian town of Pavia

Egyptian authorities on Saturday started handing the remains of those killed in the crash of EgyptAir flight 804 to their families, the airline said. The Airbus A320 had been flying from Paris to Cairo on May 19 when it crashed into the southeast Mediterr

Four people were injured when a car ploughed into pedestrians amid heightened security in Helsinki on Saturday, but Finnish police said it was apparently an accident.

Greece's ambassador to Brazil was murdered in a plot hatched by his Brazilian wife and her police officer lover, who confessed to the crime, officials said Friday. The envoy, Kyriakos Amiridis, 59, was killed on Monday by the officer, Sergio Gomez Moreira

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that the year 2016 was "difficult" but congratulated his country on its accomplishments and on believing in itself. The past year "was difficult, but the difficulties we came across united us," Putin said in

Ex-Spice Girl turned fashion designer Victoria Beckham and Oscar-winning actor Mark Rylance were among the public figures to receive Britain's traditional New Year Honours on Friday but two recipients turned theirs down. Beckham, who rose to fame in the 1

Wall Street heavyweight Goldman Sachs has been banging the bear drum on the copper price since the middle of last year. Its July 2015 research note was titled "Copper - lower for longer", which pretty much said it all. Copper, which was then trading in Lo

Cambodia is moving fast to provide millions of land titles to farmers in an effort to reduce conflicts over territory in the Southeast Asian nation, a senior government official said. About 770,000 Cambodians - more than five percent of the population - h

The average prices of zinc, tin and nickel, the three top-performing base metals this year after speculators piled into the market, are expected to hover around current levels in 2017, a Reuters poll showed. All three metals are due to have persistent mar

Cuba sees its sugar industry as being the fastest-growing sector of the economy next year, expanding about 30 percent, Economy Minister Ricardo Cabrisas said in comments published on Wednesday. Cabrisas told the National Assembly on Tuesday that governmen

ICE cotton futures edged higher on Friday, helped by robust weekly US export sales data amid a weaker dollar, and ended 2016 by marking their best year since 2013. "I think it (export sales data) caused some short covering. .. Shipments picked up, which p

A rush to invest in new and expanded mines for lithium, a key ingredient in batteries used in electric cars, means material will flood the market just as fresh demand kicks in, potentially curbing price gains. While demand for lithium batteries is due to

Oil prices will gradually rise towards $60 per barrel by the end of 2017, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday, with further upside capped by a strong dollar, a likely recovery in US oil output and possible non-compliance by Opec with agreed cuts. Brent crud

The global diamond industry is facing disruption that could stretch through the first few months of next year, including Valentine's Day in February, as a result of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's radical move to abolish most of the nation's cash ov

Its lower cost has made it popular in commercial food production, but after being blamed for deforestation in Asia, palm oil plantations are now getting a similar rap in Africa. The sheer scale of land required is having an impact in Gabon, Cameroon and t

Three bombs killed 29 people in Baghdad on Saturday as fighting intensified in the northern city of Mosul, where Iraqi government forces are trying to rout Islamic State militants from their last major stronghold in the country. Blasts, including one suic

A woman among three people died in separate incidents of violence here on Saturday. According to police, body of a woman was recovered in jurisdiction of Shabqadar police station jurisdiction in Ucchanwala stop, Charsadda. In Karkani Road area of Charsadd

Prices of essential kitchen items witnessed a mixed trend during the past week as compared to the preceding week, reveals a survey carried out by Business Recorder here on Saturday. According to the survey, the price of tomatoes in the wholesale ma

With the inauguration of CHASNUP III, the third unit of Chashma Nuclear Power Plant in Mianwali district, the total nuclear technology based power generation has reached the mark of 1040 megawatt, still much below 8000 Megawatt, the target set by Pakistan

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has allowed asset management companies (AMCs) intending to increase their outreach beyond big cities to charge marketing and selling expenses. The objective of this initiative is to increase the re

The business community of Southern Punjab has felicitated the United Business Group (UBG) on its landslide victory in FPCCI elections 2016-17 describing it an acknowledgement of its services for the cause of business community. President of Multan Chamber

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has taken a number of steps to ensure free, fair and transparent elections in the country. According to official sources, Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms has finalized the draft Election Act 2016. It

Adviser to Prime Minister for National history and literary heritage Irfan Siddiqui on Saturday said welfare of writers besides establishing of a scholarly society in the country is top priority of the government. "Our goal is to encourage creativity and

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Saturday released names of 22 members of the national and provincial assemblies whose membership has been suspended upon their failure to file annual asset statements for the year 2015-16. The only member of Natio

Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) on Saturday congratulated S M Munir Patron-in-Chief, Iftikhar Ali Malik, Chairman, and all members of United Business Group (UBG) for sweeping the elections of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce a