Couple of interesting...

Couple of interesting snippets:

http://seekingalpha.com/currents/all


7:39 AM Apparently trying to do its part to keep oil prices in check, Saudi Arabia has hired 11 large tankers to send to U.S.-based refiners this month. Typically the country sends just one tanker every two months.

8:14 AM Straw that stirs the drink department: A chart of the growth in Chinese steel production plotted alongside the Australian dollar shows the correlation has gotten especially tight in recent years. Another chart shows the tight correlation between the aussie and the S&P 500. Does this mean Chinese steel production is driving the whole shebang?

Tuesday, March 20, 7:09 AM Miners are leading declines in Europe following a BHP executive's comments that Chinese demand for iron ore is flattening out. Competitor Rio Tinto (RIO) quickly trotted out one of its execs to say solid growth continues in China, but the damage was done. BHP -2.9%, RIO -3.3% premarket. Aussie dollar -1.1%.

8:33 AM The slides from the BHP presentation that's got markets spooked this morning. Slide 7 highlights the company's expectation that Chinese iron ore consumption - after more than quintupling between 2000 and 2012 - is not expected to be much higher in 2020 than it is today.

http://www.bhpbilliton.com/home/investors/reports/Documents/2012/120320_AJMConference.pdf