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Ford shares fall 4% following the bell as it raises its projected tariff impact.
Ford Motors said that U.S. Tariffs on Imported Vehicles, as well As Materials Like Steel and Aluminum, Will Cost More Than Expected For The Year. Ford's Shares Slid About 4% In After-Market Trading. Ford said that its second-quarter earnings were hit by tariffs to the tune of $800 million. This was a smaller impact than other U.S. competitors due to Ford's strong manufacturing base in the United States. Ford increased the upper range of its projected impact on gross revenues due to tariffs for the entire year by $500 million to $3 billion. Sherry house, Ford's Chief Financial Officer, said that Ford increased the projection because tariffs on Mexico and Canada remained higher than expected for a longer period of time. She also cited increased levies on steel and aluminum. Dearborn, Michigan, automaker issued guidance on annual results Wednesday after suspending them in May for a month to assess the impact U.S. president Trump's tariffs. Ford has announced that it will now record full-year adjusted profits before interest and tax of $6.5 billion to $7 billion, down from the February 2025 projections of between $7.0 and $8.5 billion. The auto giant beat LSEG's expectation of 33 cents for the last quarter. Ford reported a $36 million net loss in the third quarter, primarily because of special charges related cancellation of a three row electric SUV and field service action from a $570,000,000 recall. Ford reported revenue of $50.2billion for the third quarter, an increase of 5% over the same period last year. Ford has gained market share by aggressively discounting its vehicles and offering a "zero zero zero" campaign that offers customers a $0 deposit, zero percent for 48 months and no payments for the initial 90 days. The CFRA Research analyst Garrett Nelson wrote in a report that "the substantial revenue outperformance shows Ford's pricing strength, but the margin compression indicates underlying cost pressures are still problematic." These deals led to a 15.5% rise in gasoline-powered cars during the quarter. In the third quarter, shoppers were also interested in hybrid offers. Ford reported that its results for the June quarter were $800m lower due to Washington's tariffs. General Motors' competitor reported a more severe tariff impact, with a $1.1billion hit to its quarter results, mostly from the imports of its entry-level Chevrolets and Buicks made in South Korea. GM estimates a tariff impact of $4 to $5 billion for the entire year. It plans to offset 30 percent of this expense. Ford said that it plans to offset $1 billion in gross tariff costs. Stellantis, a Jeep manufacturer, said that tariffs are expected to increase expenses by $1.7 billion for the entire year. The White House didn't respond to an email asking for comment on automakers' projected sales. Trump has in the past said that the levies would bring manufacturing and jobs to the U.S. Ford produces around 80% domestically of the cars it sells in America, which is about 25% more than the two Detroit rivals. This was revealed by a review of imports conducted by business analytics firm GlobalData. This foundation may have made the company more resistant to tariffs but it is still facing steep levies for aluminum, steel, and copper, which has rocked industry. Executives have also said that the shortage of rare earth magnets in China has caused production to be disrupted this quarter. Ford's EV investment and quality problems remained its biggest challenges. Ford had said earlier in the year that it anticipated a loss of up to $5.5billion on its EV business and software by 2025, before tariffs were imposed. The segment recorded an operating loss of $1.3 billion for the third quarter. The elimination of the $7,500 tax credit for consumers in September will likely further dampen sales growth. Automaker also faces costly quality problems and a record number of recalls. Jim Farley, Ford CEO since 2020, has made reducing these problems a top priority. (Reporting from Nora Eckert and Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru, Editing by David Gregorio.)
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Albemarle posts surprise second-quarter profit on lithium demand; shares surge
Albemarle is the largest lithium producer in the world. Its shares rose over 7% on Wednesday after the bell, thanks to the sustained demand for this metal. Fastmarkets, a consultancy, says that lithium's use for electric vehicles, large battery storage, and other electronic uses has increased rapidly. Demand was up by 24% in the past year, and is expected to increase by 12% per annum over the next decade. Albemarle reported that its April-June net sales were $1.33 billion. This is 7% less than the previous year, but still higher than analysts' expectations, which was $1.22 billion. Data compiled by LSEG. The company reported that its revenue decreased year-over-year due to lower prices, but was offset by growth in volume within its energy storage and specialty business segments. The price of lithium has fallen by more than 90 percent in the last two years, largely due to an oversupply from China. This is causing layoffs and corporate purchases, as well as project delays, around the world. Albemarle, to combat the price glut, has implemented measures like job cuts and cancellation of expansion projects. This includes a U.S. key lithium refinery. Albemarle began a "comprehensive" review of its costs and operating structure earlier this year. It is expected to complete the project by October. The lithium producer lowered Wednesday its capital expenditure plans for 2025 from $700 to $800 to $650 to $750. The company expects a positive cash flow for the entire year. The Charlotte-based company, which is headquartered in North Carolina, reported a quarterly adjusted profit per share of 11 cents, while analysts expected a loss per share of 82 cents. (Reporting from Vallari Srivastava, Bengaluru. Additional reporting by Ernest Scheyder, Houston. Editing by Alan Barona.)
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Lobby group says that oil shipments to the US from Brazil will resume following tariff exemption
The head of the Brazilian oil lobby IBP said on Wednesday that energy companies in Brazil will resume oil exports to the United States following the exemption from U.S. duties for several oil products. The top Brazilian export to the U.S. is oil. It was exempted from the 10% tariff on Brazilian exports in April, but the uncertainty about whether it would be exempted under the new tariffs announced on the 9th of July led to a stoppage in shipments throughout the month. Despite the fact that President Donald Trump's Wednesday decree increased tariffs on Brazil by 50%, several Brazilian exports were excluded from this measure, including orange juice, aircraft, pulp, and energy products. Roberto Ardenghy said, "We're out of the tariff." IBP represents oil and gas companies in Brazil, including Petrobras Shell TotalEnergies ExxonMobil Equinor. Ardenghy stated that due to uncertainty about tariffs in the past, companies stored oil on production vessels floating or cargo ships instead of shipping it to the United States. Oil shipments stopped when it became impossible for them to reach their destinations before August 1. According to data collected by StoneX, the consultancy group, Brazil will export 1.78 million barrels of oil per day in 2024. Of this, 243,000 barrels of oil per day will be exported to the United States. Ardenghy stated that if no oil exemption had been granted, Brazil would likely have diverted shipments towards Europe and India. Magda Chambriard is the CEO of Petrobras - Brazil's state oil company. She said that there would be no major impact on the company and it could divert flows to other areas. Ardenghy said, "Putting tariffs on our product is a lose-lose situation." (Reporting and writing by Marta Nogueira, Editing by Leslie Adler & Rosalba o'Brien; Fabio Teixeira)
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Trump claims that the US and Pakistan have reached a trade agreement
Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said that his administration had struck a deal on Wednesday with Pakistan under which Washington would work with Islamabad to develop South Asia's oil resources. Trump posted on Twitter: "We just concluded a Deal with the Country of Pakistan whereby Pakistan will work with the United States to develop their massive Oil Reserves." We are currently in the process to choose the Oil Company who will lead this Partnership. Trump's post on social media did not give any further details about the deal between Pakistan and the U.S. The Pakistani Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. After meeting with Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, Ishaq Dar, Pakistani foreign minister, said that a deal between the United States, Pakistan and could be reached within days. Trump has tried to renegotiate with many countries the trade agreements that he had threatened with tariffs due to what he called unfair trade relationships. Many economists disagree with Trump's description. Separate statements released by the U.S. State Department, and the Pakistani Foreign Ministry, after Rubio met with Dar last week, stated that the two diplomats discussed the importance of expanding the trade and ties between the two countries in the mining and minerals industries. Dar, speaking last week of U.S. and Pakistan talks, said that "our teams have been here discussing in Washington. We've had virtual meetings. And a committee was tasked by Prime Minister to fine-tune now."
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Grupo Mexico evaluates US investments following the reduction of copper tariff
A senior executive of Grupo Mexico, the world's largest copper producer, said in a Wednesday call that the company is planning to invest in projects within the United States over the next three to five year period. This comes as Washington prepares tariffs for some copper products. After an order by President Trump, the price of U.S. Copper plunged on Tuesday. The shortfall Copper input materials like ores, concentrates, and cathodes were not included in the expected sweeping restrictions. Grupo Mexico said earlier that it saw the proposed tariffs for Mexico as an Investing in the future is a great opportunity Asarco's local subsidiary in Arizona is investing $6 billion to expand copper projects, including the reopening of a closed smelting facility. Leonardo Contreras told analysts on a conference call that, "We're constantly evaluating whether or not we should restart our Hayden operations" in light of recent developments. Contreras said, "We will continue monitoring how these global shifts happen on a day-to-day basis." The tariff was meant to encourage domestic development, but the United States relies on imports to meet nearly half its refined copper requirements. Homegrown projects can take many years to be completed. Currently, the main suppliers are Chile, Canada, and Mexico, although China is their largest buyer. Grupo Mexico stated that while the trade war between China and the U.S. could have an impact on global economic growth, and therefore demand for copper in Asia, it still maintained a “very positive” outlook for the long-term growth of copper in Asia. (Reporting and editing by Natalia Siniawski; Sarah Morland)
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GRAINS-Soybean Futures extend losses due to favorable US weather and weak demand
Analysts said that Chicago Board of Trade soy futures declined for a fourth session in a row on Wednesday. The decline was attributed to favorable weather conditions across the U.S. Midwest, and weak export demand. Wheat futures also declined, while corn futures increased. Forecasts of cooler temperatures and regular rainfall in the Midwest have boosted expectations for large U.S. corn and soy harvests. According to Vaisala, rain over the last week has improved the conditions for crops. In a daily weather forecast, the U.S. Department of Agriculture stated that "most Midwestern crops are well-watered." The most-active soybean futures fell 13-3/4 cents to $9.95-3/4 per bushel, their lowest price since the 9th of April. Farmers will harvest a large crop, as President Donald Trump’s trade dispute against China, the top importer of U.S. goods, is putting pressure on export demand. On Tuesday, U.S. officials and Chinese officials reached an agreement to extend their 90-day trade truce. Trade sources say that China's appetite will likely weaken for soybeans during the peak U.S. season later this year. Record imports in 2025, and tepid animal feed demand have led to a rise in soymeal stocks at home. CBOT soymeal contracts set new contract lows while soyoil contract highs were retreated from. Dhaka official: In other news on demand, Bangladesh approved the purchasing of approximately 220,000 metric tonnes of U.S. Wheat as part of efforts made to reduce trade tensions. CBOT Wheat ended at $5.23-3/4 a bushel down 6 cents, while K.C. Wheat finished higher. CBOT Corn closed 1-1/2 cents higher, at $4.11-1/2 a bushel. Short covering and technical purchases helped support prices. The Asian corn market has also seen a strong demand. The USDA will release weekly U.S. grain export sales data on Thursday. Traders said that the USDA will likely increase its estimate of U.S. corn production in a crop report to be released on August 12. The traders have already cranked up a yield of 181 bushels per acres above the latest estimate by the agency.
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Trump imposes scaled-back copper tariff, US prices plunge
Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that the United States would impose a tariff of 50% on copper pipes, wires, and other copper products. However, the details of this levy were not as comprehensive as expected, and did not include copper input materials like ores, concentrates, and cathodes. U.S. Comex Copper Futures fell 19.5% following the announcement. This quickly unwinded a premium that had been growing over the London benchmark in recent weeks, as traders assumed U.S. mines would benefit financially from the tariff. Trump teased his tariff for the first time in early July. He implied that the tariff would be applied to all types red metals, from cathodes made by mines and factories to wire and other products. In a proclamation issued by the White House however, the administration stated that the tariff would only apply to semi-finished products of copper and other products for which copper is used heavily, beginning on Friday. Trump's proclamation stated that "Copper imports into the United States are being made in such quantities and in such conditions as to threaten the national security of the United States." Copper concentrates, mattes cathodes anodes will be excluded from the tariffs. These are some of the most important products produced by copper mines and smelters. This move will essentially boost Chile and Peru, the two largest copper-mining countries in the world. Gracelin Baskaran is the director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies' critical minerals security program. She said that the newly announced copper tariffs were far from the universal tariffs about which the markets were worried. It's not as punitive as the markets originally expected. Trump had ordered an investigation by the U.S. under Section 232 in February. According to the proclamation, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick delivered the report to the White House in June. Trump has said that he could still impose additional tariffs and asked Lutnick for an update of the domestic copper market before June 2026. Trump will then decide whether to impose an import duty of 15% on refined copper starting in 2027 and 30% starting 2028. The order also calls for measures to support the U.S. copper industry. This includes requiring that 25% of the high-quality scrap produced within the U.S. be sold in the U.S. Freeport-McMoRan is the biggest copper producer in the United States. It said that it would make a comment once it had thoroughly reviewed Trump's orders. Codelco in Chile, the largest copper producer in the world, has hailed the decision to exclude cathodes from the copper production process as a positive step for both the company and Chile, the country that is the leading supplier of refined copper for the U.S. BHP, the company that operates the largest copper mine in the world, and Antofagasta - which exports copper from Chile to America and wants to construct a U.S. mine - did not respond to comments immediately. (Reporting from Daina Beth Solon in Santiago, Ernest Scheyder, in Houston, Divyarajagopal, in Toronto, Pratima Deai, and Polina devitt in London, with additional reporting by Ismail Shakil, in Ottawa. Writing by Ernest Scheyder, editing by Veronica Brown and Marguerita Choy.
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Sources say Shell-led LNG Canada is facing problems when it ramps up its production.
Shell-led LNG Canada has been experiencing technical difficulties as it ramps production up at its liquefied gas plant in Kitimat. One LNG tanker was diverted away from the plant without superchilled fuel, according to data provided by LSEG and four sources. The facility is the first major LNG-export facility on the West Coast of North America and Canada, providing access to Asia, which is the largest LNG market in the world. When fully operational, the facility will convert approximately 2 billion cubic foot of gas each day (bcfd), which is what market participants hoped would boost Canadian natural gas pricing. Western Canadian natural gas remains depressed due to a persistent glut of supply that hasn't yet been reduced by new demand from LNG Canada, which started on July 1. According to LSEG, the daily spot price for the Alberta Energy Company storage hub was $0.22 per mmBtu, compared with the U.S. Henry Hub reference price of $3.12. Two of the sources stated that LNG Canada's first plant (also called a train) is operating at less half its capacity. According to two industry sources, the facility's Train 1 experienced technical problems with a gas-turbine and a Refrigerant Production Unit. All sources spoke under condition of anonymity as the information was not publicly available. A spokesperson for LNG Canada responded that a facility of the size and scope of the joint venture may experience operational setbacks while it ramps production up and stabilizes. Shell diverted an empty LNG tanker to Peru while other tanks remained close to the facility. This was shown by LSEG ship tracker data. According to LSEG data, Ferrol Knutsen is a 170.520 cubic meters LNG vessel that was heading to Kitimat but changed direction and now is off the coasts of California, on its way towards Peru. LNG Canada is a joint-venture between Shell, Malaysian Petronas and PetroChina as well as Japan's Mitsubishi Corp. According to statements from the company, when fully operational LNG Canada will be able to export 14,000,000 metric tons per year (mtpa). The facility has so far exported four cargoes. Its first shipment was on July 1. A spokesperson for LNG Canada said that another shipment will be expected in the next few days. As the plant moves from its early stages of operation to a regular shipping schedule, the pace of exports will increase. The spokesperson said that "in regular operations, we expect to load one export cargo every two days from our facility." Tom Purdie is a senior LNG analyst with Energy Aspects. He said that any decrease in JKM-TTF prices above two cargoes a month would be bullish. This refers to the Asian and European benchmarks. Purdie stated that "further Canadian supply losss would tighten up the Pacific market and compound the impact of ongoing Australian shortages and robust Asian demand".
Nvidia helps Asia shares to a high, as investors are unfazed with Trump's tariff moves
Asian stocks rose on Thursday on the back of optimism following Nvidia's rise to a record $4 trillion valuation. Investors also shrugged off President Donald Trump's recent tariffs.
U.S. Copper Futures increased their premium over the London benchmark overnight, after Trump announced his plans to impose 50% tariffs on copper. Later, on Wednesday, he said that the tariffs would be in effect from August 1.
Trump's trade anger also erupted against Brazil on Wednesday, as he issued notices of tariffs and threatened to impose a 50% penalty on Brazilian exports.
The recent moves have not caused much of a stir in the markets. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan is up 0.2%.
The Nikkei Index fell 0.56%. China's blue-chip CSI300 index increased 0.2%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.1%.
Futures on the EUROSTOXX50 index gained 0.18%, while those of the FTSE Index advanced 0.33%.
Nvidia, a designer of artificial intelligence chips, became the first company in history to reach a market capitalization of $4 trillion on Wednesday. It also cemented its place as one Wall Street's favourite stocks.
U.S. Stock Futures Weakened in Asia on Thursday. Nasdaq and S&P 500 Futures each fell about 0.2% after both indexes had closed higher overnight.
Jeff Ng of SMBC, Asia macro strategy head, said that investors are "numb" about the constantly changing situation.
"They know there is still room to negotiate." Many of these announcements start with impressive numbers but are not final and are subject to change. "Even if implemented, these changes could be reversed within the next few months or even a year," said he.
Expectations of Federal Reserve rate reductions later in the year also kept stocks supported.
The minutes of the Fed meeting held last month showed that "most participants" expected rate cuts to occur later this year. Any price shocks from tariffs are expected to be "temporary and modest".
Ng stated that markets do not currently price in a large chance of a full blown recession, as the labour market is still quite resilient. However, they are aware that there is a lot pressure on policy rates to drop, which could reduce the opportunity costs of holding stocks.
DOLLAR EASES
The dollar fell 0.4% to 145.79 yen on Thursday after Trump's 25% tariffs on Japan earlier in the week.
The euro rose 0.17%, to $1.1742. Sterling gained 0.11%, to $1.3605.
The Brazilian real was an exception, as it sank to a low of 5.5826 dollars per Brazilian real in response to Trump's threat of tariffs on Latin America's biggest economy.
Julia Wang, Global Market Strategist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank, said: "Despite the S&P 500’s impressive rally the U.S. Dollar continues to retreat. This highlights a changing global macro narrative."
We believe that the dollar is still 5-15% undervalued. We expect further weakness as cyclical trends and capital reallocation play out.
Bitcoin was near its record high at $111,234.63, and ether rose 1.3% to 2,775.54.
"We are seeing our clients adopt a more measured strategy, choosing to allocate their funds strategically into cryptocurrencies that have real utility rather than chasing after short-term movements. Bitcoin is still the most popular choice on OKX Singapore's platform, according to Gracie Lin.
Brent crude futures fell 0.16% on Thursday to $70.08 a barrel. U.S. crude dropped 0.22% to $68.02 a barrel.
Spot gold increased 0.3% to $3322.69 per ounce.
(source: Reuters)