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Exxon surpasses Wall Street's Q4 profit targets with the help of lower-cost oil production
Exxon Mobil's fourth-quarter earnings were reported on Friday. Lower-cost oil production from the Permian basin?and Guyana?helped to boost the number one U.S. oil producer. Results of the No. 1 U.S. Oil Producer. Exxon reported adjusted earnings of $1.71 per common share for the quarter October-December, exceeding LSEG's consensus estimate, which was $1.68. Brent oil futures fell 19% in the last year due to an oversupplied crude market. Exxon's 2025 full-year adjusted profit fell by 10% but a smaller margin as the company concentrated on cost cutting. Exxon CEO Darren Woods stated in a press release that "we're capturing a greater value from each?barrel or molecule produced and building growth platforms on a large scale - creating a runway of profitable growth up to 2030 and beyond". The company reported that annual upstream production had reached its highest level in over 40 years. Woods is likely to be asked about the company's re-entry plans into Venezuela during an earnings call on Friday. This follows the U.S. capture of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his removal earlier this month. U.S. president Donald Trump has encouraged American companies to invest billions of dollars in Venezuela?to revitalize the oil industry. Woods called the nation "uninvestable" in a meeting at the White House with Trump and other oil executives. He said the company required investment protections as its assets had already been expropriated two times. According to a source who is familiar with Exxon, the company is still open to sending a technical team into the country to explore their options. Exxon paid out $17.2 billion as dividends last year and purchased $20 billion worth shares. The company stated that it plans to buy back the exact same amount of shares through 2026. In a snapshot of earnings released earlier this month, the company indicated that higher margins in the refining industry could boost fourth-quarter profits by $300-$700 millions. The company also announced asset write-downs of $1.7 billion. Exxon capital expenditures amounted to $29 billion in the last year. According to the oil company, capex for this year will range between $27 billion to $29 billion. Sheila Dang, reporting from Houston; Nathan Crooks, Tom Hogue and Tom Hogue are editing.
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Muthoot Finance, India closes bond sale worth $600 Million
Muthoot Finance, India's largest gold finance company, announced in a Friday notice to stock exchanges that it had accepted bids totaling $600 million for bonds with maturities of four years and six months. Two merchant bankers have said that the company will offer investors a yield below its initial price guidance, which was 6.1250%. Muthoot Finance stated in a?notice that "the?net proceeds of each issue of notes shall be used by?the?issuer to the extent permitted by the ECB Guidelines" for onward lending. CreditSights, a financial research firm, rates the "market perform" rating at?5.75%. It cites the strong fundamentals of the company as the reason for this. Muthoot Finance will raise $600 million in August 2025 through a bond issue similar to this one, and $150 million more via a second reissue of the same bond in October. CreditSights stated in a report that we can expect a similar pattern for the current bond. $750 million is likely to be too much money for the issuer in one quarter. A benchmark new issue will therefore be expected the next quarter. Bankers say that the bonds will be rated 'Ba1' (by Moody's Investors Service) and 'BB+' (by S&P), in accordance with the issuer's rating. This is the third sale of dollar bonds from India in this year, after EXIM Bank raised $1.6 billion and an Indian subsidiary of ReNew Energy Global (a U.S. listed company) raised $1.6 billion. (Reporting and editing by Sonia Cheema, Dharamraj Dhutia).
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Palestinian officials: Israeli strikes on Gaza have killed more than 30 Palestinians
Palestinian health officials reported that Israel had pounded Gaza with its most intense airstrikes on Saturday, including the deaths of more than 30 people, including three girls, from a single family. The attacks were on tents, houses and a police station. The Israeli military responded to a breach in the ceasefire that occurred the day before, when its troops identified eight gunmen emerging out of a tunnel at Rafah in southern Gaza, an area controlled by Israeli forces as part of the truce. The military claimed that it had targeted Hamas militants, their weapons caches, and manufacturing facilities. Hamas, who controls just under half Gaza, where more than 2,000,000 people live in tents or damaged buildings and are largely displaced, claimed that Israel violated the ceasefire. It didn't say if any of its members or sites had been hit in the Saturday attacks. Under the plan of U.S. President Donald Trump to end the conflict, Israel will reopen Rafah's border crossing between Gaza Strip and Egypt on Sunday. The war started after Hamas-led gunmen invaded southern Israel on 7 October 2023. Israeli officials said that the war may resume if Hamas doesn't lay down its weapons. FIGHTERS STILL IN THE TUNNELS Police in Gaza reported that Israeli warplanes had bombed Sheikh Radwan, a police station located west of Gaza City. The attack killed 13 people, five of whom were?officers. Hamas police said that rescue teams were searching for additional casualties on the site. Local officials reported that other airstrikes targeted at least two homes in Gaza City in the northern-central Gaza and a tent camp sheltering Palestinian refugees in Khan Younis, further south. In Gaza City, video footage showed blackened, charred and destroyed walls in an apartment of a multi-storey structure, with debris inside and on the streets. Samer al-Atbash reported that the bodies of three nieces, aged between 3 and 5, had been discovered in the street. They say "ceasefire" and all. What did the children do? What did we do? He said. Gaza's civil defence rescue service has put the death toll on Saturday at 32. Israel claimed that its soldiers had killed three fighters and arrested another, who was described as a Hamas leader. Hamas did not make any comment about the incident. Since the ceasefire, dozens of fighters from Hamas are trapped in tunnels beneath Rafah. Some have died since then in clashes between Israeli forces and Hamas. Since the ceasefire of fire, hundreds of people have been killed. The ceasefire has been repeatedly shook by violence. Gaza's health officials report that Israeli fire has killed more than 500 people, mostly civilians, while Palestinian militants are alleged to have killed four Israeli soldiers. Both sides have blamed each other for violating the truce, even as Washington presses both to move on to the next phases in the ceasefire agreement, which is meant to end this conflict. Trump's Gaza Plan calls for the next phase to resolve complex issues such as Hamas de-armament which the group has rejected long ago, a further Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and the deployment an international peacekeeping force. Reports on Monday indicated that Hamas was seeking to integrate its 10,000 police officers in the new U.S. backed Palestinian administration for Gaza. This demand is likely to be rejected by Israel.
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Patagonia wildfires spark criticism of Milei austerity measures
The Patagonia forest fires destroyed an area twice as large as Buenos Aires. This has sparked criticism about the austerity measures taken by President Javier Milei, which have reduced aid resources significantly. On Thursday, the government announced that it would declare an 'emergency' in the southern provinces? of Chubut, Rio Negro and La Pampa. Wildfires are common in Patagonia during the summer months, but the current fires have breached Los Alerces National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site famed for its alerce trees, which can live more than 3,600 years, ?making them the world's second-longest-living tree species. Forest fires are currently centered in the province Chubut. Firefighters are fighting against strong winds and high temperatures. Chubut's government has stated that over?than 110.000 acres (44,515 ha) of land have been destroyed. In December, the first forest fires began. Environmental groups have criticised the budget cuts that have reduced funding for 'wildfire prevention and response. According to FARN, an Argentine non-profit, the budget for 2026 slashed the funding for the National Fire Management Service in real terms by 71% compared to the previous year. Ariel Slipak is an economist with FARN. He said that Milei’s government prioritized a budget balance over emergency funds "at any cost." The Ministry of Security in Argentina announced on Thursday that it will allocate approximately $69 million for firefighting efforts. Milei previously called climate change a "socialist Lie", provoking criticism from environmentalists. His government said that it was also "considering" withdrawing from Paris Agreement, which is the main climate agreement in the world, after the example of U.S. president Donald Trump who, as a close ally?of Milei's, left the accord earlier this year. Hernan G. Giardini, Greenpeace Argentina, said in a press release that "continuing to deny or undervalue the effects of climate changes, which science has long warned of, is a form of political irresponsibility, for which forests and homes will pay." According to Greenpeace, the burned area is already larger than the approximately 80,000 acres (32 374 hectares), of Patagonian forests scorched last summer during fire season. (Reporting and editing by Cassandra Garrison, Michael Perry and Leila Miller)
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Oil prices will hover around $60 per barrel as geopolitical risk outweighs oversupply
A poll conducted on Friday showed that oil?prices will likely remain near $60 per barrel this year as the 'prospect of an oversupply' in the market counteracts the impact of geopolitical tensions which could disrupt cargoes. Brent crude is expected to average $62.02 a barrel by 2026 according to a survey conducted by 31 economists and analyst in January. This forecast is slightly higher than the $61.27 forecast made in December. Brent crude was trading at around $70 per barrel on January 30, and it averaged $68.20 in the previous year. The average price of U.S. crude oil is expected to be $58.72 per barrel in 2025, up from the estimate for December at $58.15. In 2025, prices averaged $64.73. After Donald Trump's threats against Iran, the expanded sanctions against Russia and the unrest in the Middle East, geopolitics is at the forefront. All of these pose supply risks. Analysts say that the next steps of OPEC+, China's trajectory in demand, and U.S. policy changes will also influence prices this year. "Geopolitics makes a lot of noise, but neither Venezuelan nor Iranian events should change the overall picture." Norbert Ruecker is the head of Economics & Next Generation Research at Julius Baer. He said that there appears to be a 'permanent surplus' on the oil market. Analysts predict that the surplus will range between 0.75 and 3.5 million barrels of oil per day. VENEZUELA SUPPLY ADITIONS WILL TAKE TIMES Analysts expect that it will take many years before Venezuelan production increases significantly after the capture by the United States of President Nicolas Maduro in early this month. Kpler predicts that Venezuelan'supply will drop through April due to the U.S. crackdown against tankers under sanction, but will rebound in second half of year as existing infrastructure is reactivated. Kpler said that any increase in oil production above this level will require sustained investments, political stability and the replacement of aging infrastructure. OPEC+ POLICY ALSO IN FOCUS Three delegates from OPEC+ told? that OPEC+ is unlikely to make any decisions after March during the Sunday meeting. Eight members increased oil production targets by around 2.9 millions barrels per day in the last year. However, they paused these increases for the first quarter of 2026. "OPEC+ is committed to maintaining a floor price while simultaneously monitoring its market share. The coalition can increase production if the demand increases enough without flooding the market, if the consumption rises.
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Drone strikes in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region kill one and injure another
A drone strike in Ethiopia's Tigray region killed one person and injured another on Saturday. This is a sign that the conflict between regional and national forces has re-emerged. Researchers say that Ethiopia's National Army fought against fighters of the Tigray People's Liberation Front from late 2012 for two years. This war resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people through violence, collapse of healthcare, and famine. According to diplomatic and government officials, fighting broke out between regional and national troops in the disputed territory west of?Tigray this week. Senior Tigrayan officials said that 'the drone strikes struck two Isuzu truck near Enticho, and Gendebta. Two places in Tigray approximately?20 kilometers apart. Humanitarian worker confirms the strikes?took place. Both requested not to be named. The Tigrayan official claimed that the Ethiopian National Defence Force was responsible for the attacks, but he did not give any evidence. The ENDF spokesperson did not reply to a comment request. The trucks' contents was not immediately apparent. Dimtsi Weyane, a news outlet affiliated with the TPLF, posted photos on Facebook of trucks that were damaged during the?strikes. The trucks, it said, were carrying food and cooking supplies. Social media posts by pro-government activists claimed that the trucks carried weapons. Ethiopian Airlines, the national carrier, cancelled flights to Tigray earlier this week. Residents rushed to withdraw money from banks. The Tigray War ended in November 2022, with a peace agreement. However, disagreements continue over various issues including the disputed territories in western Tigray as well as the delayed disarmament by Tigray forces. Reporting by Giulia Paraavicini, Nairobi newsroom. Writing by Isaac Anyaogu. Editing by Alexander Winning & Hugh Lawson.
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Gold falls below $5,000, pulling other metals down
Gold prices fell by over 7% on Friday, breaking?below $5,000. The dollar was strengthening on the news of the imminent appointment of a new U.S. Federal Reserve chair. However, the safe-haven material remained on track for its largest monthly gain since 1999. As profit-taking took hold, other precious metals have also fallen sharply. By 0947 GMT, spot gold had fallen 7.5% to $4.992.05 per ounce. U.S. Gold Futures for February Delivery fell 6.4% to $ 4,985. Gold reached a record high of $5,594.82 in the US on Thursday. It is on course to gain more than 15% this month. This will be its sixth consecutive monthly gain, and biggest since 1999. "I believe that several gold-supportive factors remain in place but after the strong rally of recent weeks, a consolidation is good," said UBS Analyst Giovanni Staunovo. He added that the probable nomination of a?new Fed chair is putting immediate pressure on prices. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said Thursday that he would reveal his choice for a new Fed chair on Friday. Former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh is seen as the frontrunner. Warsh is a proponent of a smaller Fed's balance sheet. This contrasts with Trump's preference for looser monetary policies. The U.S. Dollar rose on Friday. It reversed some of the slide this week to a 4-year low. The dollar price of gold is more expensive to overseas buyers due to a stronger U.S. dollar. The physical?gold premiums have risen to the highest level in over a decade in India due to strong investment demand in anticipation of an upcoming duty increase. China's premiums jumped after a surge in jewellery and investment demand. Ross Norman, an independent analyst, said: "We expect gold to dip much lower than it is today, but we also see a recovery and an average price of $5375 by 2026. It will reach a high of $6400 in the fourth quarter." Silver spot was down 14.1% to $99.77 per ounce, after reaching a record high of $121.64 an ounce on Thursday. The metal has risen by 42% in the last month and is on course to have its best performance ever. Norman said: "Although the rise in silver was largely based on sound fundamentals, I believe there is a clear speculative overstretch in the market. After hitting a record-high of $2,918.80 an ounce on Monday, spot platinum fell 15.7% to $2216.55 per ounce. Palladium fell 13.4% to $1737.50. (Reporting from Pablo Sinha, Bengaluru Additional reporting and editing by Swati verma)
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NALCO, India's aluminium company, posts a rise in its quarterly profit due to higher aluminum prices
The National Aluminium Company of India (NALCO), helped by the?firm aluminum prices, reported on Friday a marginal rise in its third-quarter profits. The NALCO, owned by the state, reported a consolidated profit of 15.95 billion rupees (US$173.49m) in October-December. This is?up 1.8% from a similar period last year. In a recent research note, Elara Capital analysts said that aluminium prices were stable in October-December as Chinese producers had to face higher costs due to winter power cuts and stricter environmental regulations across the supply chain. China, the world's largest producer of aluminium and consumer of aluminium, often reduces industrial?power in winter to protect heating. This forces aluminium smelters into running below their?capacity, which increases their costs. During the quarter, the benchmark three-month aluminum rose 11.8% year-on-year. Metals tend to be more expensive when commodity prices are higher. The impact of lower alumina price was partially offset by higher aluminium prices. China's alumina price dropped by nearly 46% in the quarter October-December due to a weak demand in the region, which is the world's biggest consumer. Bhubaneswar-based Odisha company is India's biggest producer of alumina or aluminium oxide, which is used to produce aluminium as well as a catalyst in petrochemical refinement. The revenue from operations increased by 1.5%, to 47.31 billion Rupees (514.59 million dollars). NALCO's aluminum business, which contributes 73% to overall revenue, increased by 33%. Chemical, the second-largest segment, which produces caustic, hydrochloric acid, and sodium hypochlorite fell 34%. The increase in expenses was primarily due to the higher cost of raw materials. Vedanta, a rival company, reported a 60% increase in profit earlier in the week on Thursday. Hindalco Industries has yet to release their quarterly results.
Bangladesh's Petrobangla cancels LNG spot cargo shipments, sources say
Bangladesh's Petrobangla has cancelled some spot melted gas imports after among the nation's two import terminals was harmed during a cyclone, leaving it unable to get shipments, 2 industry sources stated on Tuesday.
The state-owned group is entrusted with importing LNG for Bangladesh, which depends on the fuel to fulfill power demand for its population of more than 170 million people.
Top LNG, the operator of the damaged terminal, told Petrobangla that it had actually stated force majeure on LNG shipments after its terminal was damaged, among the sources included.
In late May, Summit LNG paused operations at its drifting storage and regasification system (FSRU) in Moheshkhali after it was considerably damaged during a cyclone.
The business later on stated the FSRU, which serves as a floating terminal, would proceed to Singapore or the Middle East for repair work, and that it hoped it could return to Bangladesh within 3 weeks of those being finished.
Due to Summit's terminal failure, Petrobangla cancelled 4 area cargoes arranged for delivery from late May to around mid-June, a senior Petrobangla authorities stated on Tuesday.
3 of the spot freights were set to be provided by Gunvor in late May and between June 7 and 11, and the fourth by QatarEnergy between June 19 and June 21, included the official.
Summit LNG and QatarEnergy did not immediately respond to a. ask for talk about a public vacation in Bangladesh and Qatar. Gunvor declined to comment.
Summit's FSRU is among Bangladesh's 2 floating LNG import. terminals, with a regasification capacity of 500 million cubic. feet each day, that supplies gas to the nationwide grid. It started. industrial operations in April 2019.
Summit had gotten in a 15-year charter arrangement with. U.S.-based Excelerate Energy in 2017 for the FSRU. Excelerate. Energy stated in a declaration on Tuesday night that the FSRU started. its journey to a Southeast Asian shipyard center for repairs. on June 12, and is committed to returning it to service in. Bangladesh by end-July.
LSEG information revealed the FSRU is estimated to get here in. Singapore on June 19.
Bangladesh has actually seen yearly LNG imports increase, and last. year delivered in 5.2 million metric tons of the fuel, according. to data from analytics firm Kpler.
It has imported 2.6 million metric lots of LNG up until now this. year, with May delivery volumes reaching an all-time monthly. record of 600,000 metric tons.
(source: Reuters)