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Exxon asks for political support from the US to overturn EU climate law
Exxon Mobil has intensified its attacks on a European Union law on corporate sustainability and taken their concerns directly to U.S. president Donald Trump. They warned that the regulation would lead to more companies leaving Europe. Last year, the EU adopted its corporate sustainability due diligence (CSDD) directive. This mandates that companies fix any human rights or environmental issues in their supply chains or risk a base fine of 5% on global turnover. The European Commission, in response to the criticism of businesses and German and French leaders that the law will harm the competitiveness of the EU, proposed a series of changes to the law earlier this year. In an interview, Exxon CEO Darren Woods said that it would not be enough and called for the law to completely be revoked. Woods stated that he had spoken to Trump, and other members of Trump's administration who are involved in trade and EU policy. The administration also expressed concerns over CSDDD during trade negotiations. Washington and Brussels are still at odds over the simmering dispute, which has recently led to the US considering sanctions against EU officials for separate tech legislation. Woods noted that Woods' oil company has closed, sold or exited 19 of its operations because, according to him, red tape was impeding the business. This is yet another piece of legislation which would either accelerate this incentive or cause businesses to reduce their activities in Europe. The European Commission didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. Woods added that an exorbitant fine of 5% on global sales would "break the bones" of Exxon. Last year, the top U.S. oil producers' sales totaled $339 billion. U.S. legislators are also doing their part to help. In March, Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee introduced a bill to protect American companies against being forced to comply to CSDDD. Next month, EU legislators and countries will begin negotiations to change the policy. Environmental activists are appalled by the move to weaken corporate accountability. Exxon announced on Thursday that it will also be pausing its investment of 100 millions euros ($118) in European Plastic Recycling due to separate EU draft rules. Woods expressed his hope that U.S. legislators would make progress in addressing CSDDD. However, he has been disappointed with the response from EU regulators so far. He said, "There's some movement but we need resolution sooner than later." Sheila Dang reported from Houston, Kate Abnett contributed additional reporting and Nathan Crooks edited the story.
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Kuwait Oil Minister expects demand to increase after US rate reduction
Kuwait's oil minister Tariq al-Roumi stated on Thursday that he expected higher demand for oil following the U.S. rate cut this week, especially from Asian markets. On Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve lowered interest rates for the first since December. He also said that he expects new sanctions against Russia to have a positive effect on the oil price. Donald Trump announced on Saturday that the U.S. is prepared to impose new energy sanctions against Russia, provided all NATO countries stop purchasing Russian oil. Eight OPEC+ member countries agreed on September 7, to increase output by 137,000 bpd for October. This is a continuation of the policy of the group since April, which has been to increase production after years of cutting to support the oil markets. Al-Roumi stated that despite the agreement to increase output, "prices were more than satisfactory". He added, "We expected the worst, but everything is fine." The oil market is confusing and difficult to predict. The Minister made these remarks at an event marking the start of oil production at Kuwait Oil Company's Mutriba Field, which is targeting a light oil output between 80,000 to 120,000 bpd. At the event, KOC CEO Ahmad Al-Aidan said: "This step will help Kuwait achieve its strategy of reaching a production capacity for oil of 4 million barrels per day by 2035." The current production capacity is less than 3 million bpd. Reporting by Ahmed Hagagy, Writing by Tala RAMAdan and Ahmed Elimam, Editing by Bernadette BAUCH and Jan Harvey
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Dollar firms after Fed lowers rates and copper falls
The copper price fell on Thursday, as traders took profits after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut rates. Meanwhile, the dollar strengthened after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said that there would be no further aggressive easing. The benchmark three-month price of copper at the London Metal Exchange fell 0.4% to $9,960.50 a tonne as of 0940 GMT after hitting a low for a week on Wednesday, $9,925. Powell, in his press conference, reacted against the idea of larger cuts. Dollar index rose by 0.1%, to 96.98, on the back of Mr. Trump's remarks. However, it is still down 10.6% for this year. The dollar index is still down around 10.6% this year. Dan Smith, managing Director at Commodity Market Analytics said that the rate decision made on Wednesday was a key driver behind copper's drop. He also pointed out a technical charting pattern called a "triple-top". Smith stated that there has been a significant amount of resistance in the copper market around $10,160. Smith said that the price has turned three times at this point in recent months, which indicates the current momentum will be to the downside. The rest of the base-metals complex was mostly in the red. Aluminium fell as much as 0.6%, to $2,665.50 per ton. This is a new low for the week. It was also down 0.2% at 0940 GMT. The cash aluminum contract premium is added to the contract for three months On Thursday, the price of a ton had dropped to $4 from $16 on Tuesday. Lead was unchanged at $2,012 a ton. Nickel and tin also fell. (Reporting and editing by Rashmi, Harikrishnan Nair, Ed Osmond and Harikrishnan Nair; Additional reporting and editing by Amy Lv & Lewis Jackson)
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Central bank of UAE says that the UAE economy will grow by 4.9% in 2025 due to higher oil production.
Central bank of the United Arab Emirates said that the economy will grow by 4.9% in 2025 compared to an earlier forecast. This is due to increased oil production and growth in non-hydrocarbon sectors. In a quarterly report, the bank stated that it expects hydrocarbon production to increase in accordance with OPEC+ quotas by 5.8% by 2025 and 6.5% by next year. The report stated that "this real adjustment in hydrocarbon production is expected to offset the negative impact on government revenue of the decline in crude oil prices, creating a ripple effect for non-hydrocarbon sector." The UAE is a major oil exporter and has intensified plans to diversify their economy. In the first quarter, the non-hydrocarbons sector accounted for 77.1% total GDP. The central bank projects that the non-hydrocarbon GNP will grow by 4.5% and 4.8% respectively in 2025, and 2026. This growth is likely to be boosted indirectly by the higher hydrocarbon growth through increased investment, government expenditure and confidence. The UAE economy grew by 3.9% in the first three months of the year, led by a non-hydrocarbon expansion of 5.3%. This was driven by manufacturing, financial services and construction sectors. Reporting by Rachna uppal; editing by Andrew Cawthorne
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Stocks and the dollar rise after Fed cuts, but now focus is on BoE
The dollar and stocks both rose on Thursday, after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut its interest rates for the first time this year. Meanwhile, French politics kept the markets in France jittery. And the pound remained steady ahead of the Bank of England's rate announcement. The Fed's steady-as-she-goes-message from what had been a politically charged meeting lifted both the pan-European STOXX 600 and Wall Street futures 0.5%, despite an initially mixed reaction from U.S. traders on Wednesday. Asia also rallied over night. Chinese stocks reached a decade-high as local chipmakers rejoiced at reports that U.S. giant Nvidia was banned in China. South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan's Nikkei ended all more than 1% higher. The dollar's rise to nearly 0.2% on the currency market may also have been a relief for firms that export to countries other than the United States after a recent plunge to its lowest level in three-and-a-half years. The Fed's "dot plot", which is closely monitored, had indicated that two additional rate reductions would be made over the remaining two meetings of this year but only one in 2026. Fed Chair Jerome Powell also moderated expectations by saying that the central bank didn't need to act quickly, though analysts admit this could change. Richard Cochinos, RBC Capital Markets, said: "We look beyond the volatility of one or two days to find underlying trends." In this case, we expect a weaker U.S. Dollar," Cochinos said. He pointed to the expectation of U.S. interest rates falling to 3% in 2013. The euro was largely unchanged at $1.1825, and the sterling was at $1.36. It is widely expected that the BoE will keep UK interest rates at 4% in the future. The main focus will be whether the British central banks slows down the pace of its 100 billion pounds a year reduction in government bond holdings in response to the recent volatility on UK bond markets. The BoE poll conducted in August showed that economists expected the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to reduce the pace of monetary policy to 67.5 billion pounds (92.2 billion dollars). This is a larger drop than the 72 billion pounds predicted by the BoE poll. In response to a 25 basis point rate reduction announced by its central bank earlier, the Norwegian crown softened just a little. The Norwegian crown was close to its three-year high against the dollar, and was at a two-month high when compared with the euro. New Zealand's Dollar fell after the data showed that the economy of the country shrank much more than expected. FRENCH FOCUS After the release of August's weaker than expected labour market data, the Australian dollar fell 0.4%. The bond markets are still on the rise, with the yield of the benchmark 10-year Treasury note dropping to 4.06%, and the two-year rate, which is rising with traders' expectation of higher Fed Funds rates, at 3.53 %. The benchmark yield for the Euro Zone, Germany's 10-year bond, fell by 0.5 basis points, to 2.67%. However, attention was again focused on France, as its bond yields moved above Italy's. Brent crude oil fell 0.2% to $67.87 a barrel. Gold, a safe haven, rose 0.2% to $3,665 an ounce.
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Russia announces changes to its budget aimed at decreasing oil revenue dependence
The Russian Finance Ministry announced on Thursday a new measure that it claimed was designed to shield the state budget against oil price fluctuations as well as Western sanctions targeted at Russian energy exports. The government is lowering the price cutoff for oil that oil revenues are deposited into the fiscal reserves fund. This will ensure the fund has enough money to replenish it. At a public meeting, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov stated that "to make our finances more robust, we propose a reduction of dependence on different constraints, whether they are price-related or volume related, in the budget’s reliance on revenues from oil and gas". Siluanov's new measure, which he sought to reinstate the budget rule, after it had been abandoned following the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, is a victory. However, Russian media claimed that he wanted a larger reduction. The budget is more vulnerable to a drop in oil prices if the rule isn't in place. Siluanov stated that the price cutoff would be reduced by $1 per year, bringing it down to $55 a barrel in 2030. Currently, the cut-off price for barrels is $60. The draft budget will be presented to the parliament on 29 September. Currently, the fiscal reserve fund has approximately 4 trillion roubles (48.25 billion dollars) available. The government plans to use 447 billion roubles (5.39 billion dollars) of the fund to cover a part of the deficit expected to exceed 1.7% GDP. Siluanov stated that the new measures will allow the state budget to reduce the share of revenues from energy to around 22% in the first eight month of 2025, down from 25%. ($1 = 82,9000 roubles). (Reporting and editing by Andrew Osborn. Darya Corsunskaya.
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Dollar gains after Fed Chair's remarks as gold falls further from records
Gold fell further from its previous session record, as the dollar rose after the U.S. Federal Reserve took a more measured approach to future easing in response to a widely anticipated 25 basis point interest rate reduction. As of 0801 GMT, spot gold was down by 0.1% to $3,657.21 an ounce. Prices reached a record-high of $3,707,40 on Wednesday before falling 0.8%. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery fell 0.7% to $3691.0. The Fed cut rates by 25 basis point on Wednesday, and said it would continue to lower borrowing costs throughout the remainder of this year. Fed Chair Jerome Powell described the action as risk-management in response to a weakening labour market. He said that the Fed was in a situation where it is "meeting by meeting" in regards to interest rate outlook. Peter Fertig, an analyst at Quantitative Commodity Analysis, said that there was a "bit of disappointment" in the gold market, as the market had expected the Fed to reduce the opportunity costs for gold holdings (more than they did). Gold became more expensive for holders of other currencies due to the 0.2% increase in the dollar. On Wednesday, it fell to its lowest level in more than three-and-a half years. In a low-interest rate environment, non-yielding gold bullion is a good investment. It's a safe haven during times of geopolitical or economic uncertainty. According to CME Group’s FedWatch tool, traders are pricing in a 90 percent chance that the Fed will cut rates again by 25 bp at its next meeting in October. ANZ said that it expects gold will outperform the early stages of the easing cycle. The bank said that the demand for safe haven assets in a geopolitical environment of uncertainty is likely to increase investor demand. The SPDR Gold Trust is the largest gold-backed ETF in the world. Its holdings dropped 0.44% on Wednesday to 975.66 tons from 979.95 on Tuesday. The price of spot silver increased by 0.1%, to $41.70 an ounce. Platinum rose 2%, to $1,389.57, and palladium remained unchanged at $1,154.0/oz. (Reporting by Ishaan Arora in Bengaluru; Editing by Jan Harvey)
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Octopus Energy, UK spins off Kraken Technology arm
Octopus Energy announced on Thursday that it will spin off its technology arm Kraken Technologies and name Tim Wan the newly-separated company's Chief Financial Officer. Britain's largest electricity provider is focusing on its core business. Kraken, a company that provides energy software to major energy companies such as EDF, National Grid US, and Tokyo Gas has reached $500 million in annual revenue committed through licensing agreements. Separation will allow Kraken to expand and invest as required, while also reassuring Kraken's customers about potential conflicts of interests from being owned by another company. Kraken is a global success business that has been operating independently for a while. Completing our journey towards full independence is the next strategic and inevitable step, said Kraken CEO Amir Orad in a press release. Wan, the incoming CFO, was finance chief of the U.S. listed software platform Asana between 2017 and 2024. He oversaw the market listing. Octopus Energy has not provided specifics about Kraken's spin-off. Sky News A report from July stated that the technology group's value could reach up to 10 billion pounds ($13.63billion) if it were separated. The spin-off is expected to also boost Australian electricity and Gas retailer Origin Energy Octopus is owned by, who owns approximately 23%. Origin did not respond immediately to a comment request.
OPEC+ will consider another accelerated increase in oil production for June
Three sources with knowledge of OPEC+ discussions have said that several OPEC+ members are likely to suggest that the group increase oil production in June, for a second month running. This is because a dispute between members about compliance with production quotas has worsened.
Oil prices fell to a four-year-low in April. This was due to a U.S. - China trade war, and a surprise decision by OPEC+ in May that they would increase their output by 411,000 barrels of oil per day - three times what the group had originally planned.
Three sources, without naming specific countries, said that some countries wanted to increase production by the same volume as the increase in May.
On May 5, eight OPEC+ member countries will gather to discuss the output plan for June.
Requests for comments from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the Saudi Arabian Authorities were not immediately responded to.
The oil prices that were positive in the early trading on Wednesday turned negative later. Brent crude, a global benchmark, traded down by more than 2%, to less than $66.50 a barrel.
OPEC+ sources claim that Saudi Arabia pushed to increase output faster in May, after Kazakhstan and Iraq upset the kingdom with their production levels. OPEC+ senior ministers met on April 5, and said that compliance must improve.
Kazakhstan said, however, that it would put national interests ahead of those of OPEC+ in deciding output levels.
The Kazakh Energy Minister said on Wednesday that the country would not be able to reduce the production of independent oil companies on its land and would also not close its own oil fields, as this would harm their future production.
Amrita Sen is the co-founder and CEO of Energy Aspects. She said, "Kazakhstan’s statement confirms our belief that OPEC+ will implement another accelerated unwind for three months again at the May meeting. It may also continue in July or through the summer."
Overproducers
Kazakh oil production fell by 3% in the first two months of April compared to the average of March, but it was still higher than the OPEC+ quota that the country had promised to meet following months of overproduction.
Iraq, the largest producer in the group, has also announced it will reduce output. However, Kpler data shows that exports have increased month-over-month for April.
Not all eight OPEC+ members who are increasing production in response to earlier voluntary cuts do not support a faster increase.
Two separate OPEC+ source said that some countries, such as Russia, prefer to stick with the slower monthly production increases of 135,000 bpd, which were approved earlier, to avoid a crash in prices.
The OPEC+ production increase follows calls by U.S. president Donald Trump to lower oil prices. He also returned to his "maximum-pressure" policy on Iran, whose oil exports Washington wishes to reduce to zero.
Trump will visit Saudi Arabia next May, and calls the country one of America's most important Middle East allies.
The potential increases in May and June are part of an overall plan by Russia and Saudi Arabia to slowly unwind the most recent production cut of 2.2 millions bpd.
OPEC+ has also agreed to cut 3.65 million bpd in other production until the end next year. This will support the market. Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar and Olesya Astakhova. Editing by Simon Webb and David Goodman.
(source: Reuters)