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ADNOC’s Covestro purchase may have been boosted by subsidies from abroad, warns the EU
The EU's antitrust regulators may have opened an investigation Monday into possible distortions due to foreign subsidies. This could affect ADNOC, the state-owned oil company of Abu Dhabi. ADNOC has struck the Deal to Buy Covestro Last October, the Gulf state made its largest acquisition ever and was one of the biggest foreign takeovers by an EU company. The European Commission opened a detailed investigation Monday after reviewing the deal in May under its rules on foreign subsidies. It warned that foreign subsidies given by the United Arab Emirates may distort the EU's internal market. The Commission, acting as enforcer of EU competition, stated that the foreign subsidies could include an unlimited guarantee by the UAE as well as ADNOC's committed capital increase into Covestro. In a press release, it stated that "ADNOC could have offered a price unusually high and other favorable conditions which may have discouraged other investors from making a bid." The EU will also investigate any negative effects on the internal market that may result from the activities of the combined company once the deal has been completed. The Commission has set a deadline of December 2, for the decision it will make on this deal. The companies didn't immediately respond to our requests for comments. The EU's Foreign Subsidies Regulation focuses on unfair foreign assistance for companies to curb unfair competition by non-EU firms subsidised their governments.
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Sources say that OPEC+ will meet at 1300 GMT on Monday.
A panel of OPEC+ will meet online on Monday at 1300 GMT to discuss the market and review compliance with agreements. This is before Sunday's separate meeting of eight OPEC+ member countries to decide whether to increase oil production for September. Two OPEC+ source confirmed that the time of the meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee on Monday, which will include top ministers of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, led by Russia is one hour later than originally scheduled. The JMMC is a two-monthly meeting that has the authority to call a full OPEC+ meeting to discuss market developments if necessary. In a late Friday post on X, OPEC said that the committee did not have decision-making power over production levels and its role was limited to "monitoring conformity with production adjustment and reviewing overall market condition". OPEC+ has cut production to support the oil market for many years. It reversed its course in order to regain the market share and when U.S. president Donald Trump asked OPEC to pump more oil to keep gasoline prices down. Since April, eight members have increased their output. The most recent decision is to increase oil production by 548,000 barrels a day in August. Three OPEC+ source said last week that the eight countries will hold a separate gathering on August 3. They are likely to agree on a further 548,000 bpd for September. By September, OPEC+ will have undone its latest production cut of 2.2 millions bpd and the United Arab Emirates will have delivered a quota increase of 300,000 bpd ahead of schedule. The oil prices are still holding up despite OPEC+'s production increases. This is due to the summer demand, and also because some members did not increase their production as much as was required by the headline quota increases. Brent crude traded at close to $69 per barrel on Monday. Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar and Olesya Astakhova. Alex Lawler. Mark Potter edited the report.
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India's Adani Green Energy reports a quarterly profit increase on the strength of its power sales
Adani Green Energy, based in India, reported on Monday a 31% increase in its first-quarter profits, due to an increase in electricity sales and higher capacity utilization. Shares of the company rose 3.5%. India is expanding its renewable energy capacities aggressively as part of the country's climate goals, and to meet its goal of 500 gigawatts of non-fossil power by 2030. Adani Green, a major player in this expansion, is seen as an indicator for the sector. The green energy arm, owned by billionaire Gautam Adan's group, has solar and wind assets in India. The company's profit grew to 8.24 billion rupies ($95.10 millions) for the quarter ending June 30 from 6.29 billion rupies a year earlier. The company reported that revenue from energy sales increased by 42% and revenue from power supply rose 31%. The capacity utilisation (CUF) of the solar portfolio, which measures how much of an energy plant's total capacity is actually used in a period of time, increased by 28%. Meanwhile, the CUF of wind portfolio saw a 42.3% increase from a year ago. Adani Green increased its operational capacity by 45% in the first quarter.
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Moeve, a Spanish oil company, has seen its profit fall due to blackouts
Moeve, the second largest oil refiner in Spain, which was formerly called Cepsa said Monday that its net profit had fallen 19% during the first half of this year, mostly due to an impact from a massive blackout of power in April in Spain, Portugal and other countries. The company's net profit dropped to 324 millions euros ($378.92 million), and earnings before interest taxes, amortization, and depreciation (EBITDA) fell by 33% compared to a year earlier to 733.92 million euros. The company said that the decline in core profit was primarily due to the costs of stopping and restarting their two oil refineries before and after the blackout on April 28. After a shutdown, it can take up to two weeks before such plants are fully operational. Moeve refineries were also shut down for maintenance in the first half of this year. This further decreased utilisation rates. The company has not released an estimate for the cost of this outage. However, Repsol, a rival that operates five refineries across Spain, reported that the blackout, and other minor power supply issues, cost them 175 million euro in the second quarter. Moeve, owned by the Abu Dhabi fund Mubadala as well as U.S. private equity firm Carlyle Group and a plan worth 8 billion euros, rebranded itself last year in order to reflect its move towards low-carbon business. Moeve has sold 70% its oil production assets, including Abu Dhabi and South America operations since 2022.
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Finance Ministry report: Global slowdown could reduce demand for Indian exports
India's Finance Ministry said that a global slowdown may further dampen the demand for Indian exports. The continued uncertainty over U.S. Tariffs could also affect India's trade performance during the coming quarters. India's exports of goods fell to 35.14 billion dollars in June, down by 9% compared to May and nearly unchanged compared to a year ago. According to LSEG, the figure was $32.11 billion in November. The report, released on Monday, stated that "India's macroeconomic fundamentals remain resilient despite global headwinds characterized by geopolitical instability, trade tensions and external uncertainties." While the outlook for India's economy is positive the third largest economy in Asia faces downside risks, such as a slowdown of the global economy, especially the U.S. shrinking 0.5% It said that India's exports were affected by the impact of January-March. In addition, the report said that India's inflation in 2025-26 may be lower than the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)'s expectation of 3.7%. Retail inflation in June Over a six-year minimum of 2.1%. Last week, RBI Governor Sanjay Malholtra said that the central bank had " Win the war against inflation The war continues as the price stability is the main goal. (Reporting and editing by Topra Chopra; Nikunj Ahri)
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Europe's reaction to the US trade agreement is a mix of relief, concern and reassurance
European governments and businesses reacted on Monday with relief and concern to the framework deal reached with U.S. president Donald Trump. They acknowledged that it was an unbalanced agreement, but one which avoided a more serious trade war. The U.S. will impose an import tariff of 15% on the majority of EU goods, which is half the rate threatened, but more than the Europeans had hoped. The deal was not entirely clear at the time. As we wait for the full details of the EU-U.S. trade agreement, one thing is clear: this is a moment of relief but not celebration," wrote Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever on X. One thing is certain: This is not a time to celebrate, but rather a moment for relief," wrote Belgian Prime Minster Bart De Wever on X. "Tariffs are going to increase in many areas, and there are still some unanswered questions." Trump said that the deal would strengthen trans-Atlantic ties, and include an investment pledge on top of the $550 billion agreement signed last week with Japan. He claimed the U.S. had been unfairly treated for years by Japan. This will provide clarity to European car, plane and chemical manufacturers. The EU initially hoped to achieve a zero-to-zero deal. The 15% baseline tariff is an improvement over the threatened rate 30% but compares with an average U.S. tariff rate on imports of around 2.5% in the last year, before Trump returned to the White House. Von der Leyen told reporters that Trump was a "tough negotiator" and it was the best they could do. The European stock market opened on Monday with all major bourses in green and the STOXX at its highest level in four months. Stocks in the tech and healthcare sectors led the way. Mohit Kumar, an economist at Jefferies, said that the 15% rate was better than what the market had feared. The German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that the agreement avoided a trade war which would have severely affected Germany's export driven economy and its huge auto sector. A BIT MORE CLEAR, BUT "NOT THE END" French ministers stated on Monday that although the deal was not balanced, it had merits. Marc Ferracci, the industry minister, said that more discussions - possibly lasting weeks or even months - were needed before a deal could be officially concluded. He told RTL Radio that "this is not the end" of the story. European companies were left to wonder whether they should be happy or sad about the agreement. "Those who expected a hurricane will be grateful for a thunderstorm," said Wolfgang Grosse Entrup. He is the head of VCI, the German Chemical Industry Association. "We have avoided a further escalation." The price for both sides is still high. Exports from Europe are becoming less competitive. "The tariffs are paid by the customers in the United States," he stated. Stellantis' shares rose 3.5%, Valeo's car parts rose 4.7% and Merck KGaA grew 2.9%. The EU has promised to invest hundreds billions in the U.S., and to increase the energy purchases by a large amount. It wasn't immediately clear whether specific promises of increased investment had been made, or if the details were still to be worked out. While the EU has pledged to spend $750 billion on strategic purchases in the next three-year period, including oil and liquefied gas (LNG), the U.S. is struggling to meet this demand. Although U.S. gas production capacity will almost double in the next four-years, it won't be enough to increase supplies to Europe. And oil production this year is expected to fall short of previous forecasts. Analysts stressed that despite the remaining unknowns, the agreement still helped to reduce uncertainty. The euro and oil prices both rose on Monday. Rodrigo Catril is a senior currency strategist with the National Australia Bank. Reporting by Phil Blenkinsop; Writing by Ingrid Melander and Joe Bavier; Editing by Joe Bavier
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Valterra CEO: Platinum price rally brings producers back from the brink
Valterra Platinum CEO Craig Miller stated on Monday that the platinum price rally in the first half 2025 helped most mines to recover from losses, but the industry was still far away from adding new production. South African miners, who account for 70% of the world’s platinum supply cut unprofitable production in the last two years, after metal prices crashed, amid warnings about the terminal decline of the industry. The price of metal used in catalytic converters to reduce vehicle emissions soared by 36% during the second quarter. This was due to the increase of Chinese imports as well as the heavy flow of stocks into the NYMEX under threat of U.S. tariffs. Miller said in an interview that "about 90% of the industry now makes money or is just breaking even compared to 40% at the end last year." He added that prices were still too low for the industry, to add new production. You need another 50% increase in price to encourage that new production. Miller stated that there is still a long way to go. Valterra, previously Anglo American Platinum reported a 81% drop in its half-year profits, due to lower production and costs associated with the demerger of Anglo American. In the six-month period ending June 30, headline earnings fell from 6.5 billion rand to 1.2 billion rand (67.62 millions). Valterra announced an interim dividend per share of 2 Rand, down 79% on the payout from a year ago. In June, the world's largest PGM producer in terms of value merged and is now listed separately on the Johannesburg and London stock exchanges. Meanwhile, global mining giant Anglo restructuring its business to concentrate on copper.
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Demand outweighs gains in renewable energy and nuclear
On Tuesday, wind and solar energy supply will likely increase throughout the region, offsetting growing demand while French nuclear power supply rises. LSEG data shows that the German baseload contract for Tuesday had reached 77.75 Euros ($90.77 USD) per megawatt-hour (MWh), while the French equivalent was 45 Euros/MWh. On Friday, both Monday contracts were not traded. LSEG analyst Xiulan he said that a general bearish outlook for Germany is expected on Tuesday, as the supply of wind and solar energy increases, with imports into Germany expected throughout the day. LSEG data indicated that the German wind power production was projected to increase by 2.5 gigawatts to 15.1 GW while French output is expected to decrease by 1.4 GW resulting in 3.6 GW. The data indicated that the German solar generation is expected to increase by 3.6 GW to 15.1 GW on February 2. The French nuclear capacity has increased by five percentage points, to 80%. On Tuesday, power consumption in Germany will rise by 1.6 GW. In France, demand is expected to increase by 1.3 GW. Analysts at Engie Energy Scan say that the lower French demand for electricity due to the cool weather and higher nuclear availability led to strong exports Monday. The analysts expect the cooler temperatures to continue through the week. LSEG data show that the German baseload power for the year ahead increased by 0.2% to 85.65 euros/MWh. The French equivalent fell 0.8% to 61.90 euro/MWh. The benchmark contract on the European carbon markets fell by 0.2%, to 71.23 Euros per metric ton. The U.S. and the European Union reached a framework agreement on trade on Sunday. It imposed a 15% tariff on the majority of EU goods, half the rate that was threatened. This avoided a larger trade war by making major commitments on EU energy purchases.
Oil prices rise as US-EU trade deal increases optimism
The oil prices increased on Monday, after the United States reached a trade agreement with the European Union. It is also possible that the tariff pause will be extended with China. This alleviates concerns about higher tariffs having a negative impact on economic activity and fuel demand.
Brent crude futures rose 20 cents or 0.29% to $68.64 a barrel by 0336 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $65.31 a barrel, up 15 cents or 0.23%.
Tony Sycamore, IG's markets analyst, said that the US-European Union Trade Deal and a potential extension of the US-China Tariff Pause are supporting oil prices and global financial markets.
The markets responded positively to the gradual deflation of the threat of a long-term trade war, and the significance of the August deadlines for tariffs.
The US-EU Framework Trade Agreement, signed on Sunday, sets a 15% import tariff for most EU products. This is half of the rate that was threatened. The agreement avoided a larger trade war between the two allies, who account for nearly one-third of world trade and could reduce fuel demand.
A meeting of US and Chinese negotiators is also scheduled for Monday in Stockholm. The goal is to extend the truce that has held back sharply increased tariffs until August 12.
The oil price fell to its lowest level in three weeks on Friday, weighed down both by concerns about global trade and the expectation of increased Venezuelan oil supplies.
Sources at the company said that once Donald Trump, U.S. president, reinstates authorizations for partners to export oil and operate under swaps in the United States, PDVSA will resume work on its joint ventures with terms similar to those of Biden's era.
Prices rose slightly on Monday but gains were restricted by the possibility that OPEC+ would further ease supply restrictions.
On Monday, 1200 GMT, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies will meet to monitor the market.
Four OPEC+ delegates stated last week that it is unlikely they will recommend changing existing plans to increase oil production by 548,000 barrels a day in August. However, another source said the time was not yet right to make a decision.
ING believes that OPEC+ should be able to return a minimum of 2.2 millions barrels of additional voluntary supply per day by the end September.
This would translate to an increase in supply of at least 280.000 barrels per day by September. There is room to increase the supply more aggressively.
Summer demand helps absorb the extra barrels.
JP Morgan analysts reported that global oil demand increased by 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) in July compared to the previous year. Global oil stocks also rose 1.6 millions bpd.
Yemen's Houthis announced on Sunday that they will target all ships belonging to companies doing business in Israeli ports, irrespective of their nationality. This is part of a new phase of military action against Israel for the Gaza conflict. (Reporting and editing by Christian Schmollinger, Clarence Fernandez).
(source: Reuters)