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Asia shares are up, but bonds remain steady despite some tariff relief
Asia shares were slightly higher on Monday, with gains made by automakers after U.S. president Donald Trump said he may grant exemptions to auto-related taxes already in place. U.S. Treasury Bonds steadied after staging a recovery over night following last week’s historic selloff. Meanwhile, the dollar continued to lose favour with investors. Trump said Monday that he is considering a change to the 25% tariffs on imports of foreign autos and auto parts from Mexico, Canada, and other countries. These tariffs can increase the cost of a vehicle by thousands of dollars. Trump stated that car companies need "a little time" to manufacture cars in the United States. This followed Trump's Friday decision to exempt some electronics, including smartphones, computers and other electronic devices from his "reciprocal tariffs" in the U.S. His administration stepped up investigations into semiconductor imports after Trump announced on Sunday that he would announce the tariff rate in the coming week. Illiana Jain is an economist with Westpac. She said, "When we see these exemptions flowing through, it helps the markets to think that tariffs aren't going to be something that will be all-encompassing and that they may actually be reprieved." After last week's massive selling, investors took any good news and drove shares higher. The broadest MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan rose 0.3%. Japan's Nikkei index rose by 1%. Shares of automakers Toyota and Denso, which makes auto parts, were among the biggest gainers. Gains were modest as the uncertainty surrounding Trump's trade policy and his back and forth on tariffs continued to cloud markets and global economic outlook. U.S. Futures fluctuated between losses and gains, closing the last trades lower following an overnight gain in Wall Street. Nasdaq and S&P futures both fell by close to 0.2%. In Europe, EUROSTOXX futures dropped 0.14% while FTSE Futures rose 0.25%. Bank of America, Citigroup and other big banks will be reporting earnings this week. The numbers from chipmaker TSMC will be a highlight later in the week. The Shanghai Composite Index and China's CSI300 blue chip index each fell more than 0.4%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index reversed its early gains to drop 0.16%. Bharat S. Sachanandani is the head of flow strategies and solutions in Asia Pacific for Societe Generale. The asset markets seem to indicate that the higher prices of U.S. consumer goods will lead to a reduction in demand, and the probability of a recession is increasing. U.S. RATE After a wild selloff that resulted in the biggest weekly rise in borrowing costs for decades, U.S. Treasuries managed to hold onto their overnight gains on Monday. Bond yields are inversely related to bond prices. The benchmark 10-year rate was unchanged at 4.3564% after falling nearly 13 basis points the previous session. The yield on the two-year bond was also little changed, at 3.845% after slipping 12 basis points on Monday. Analysts have also cited comments made by Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller as contributing to the decline in yields. He said that on Monday, the Trump administration’s tariff policies were a major shock for the U.S. Economy and could cause the Fed to lower rates in order to avoid a recession even if the inflation rate remains high. Raphael Bostic of the Atlanta Fed Bank, on the other hand, suggested that U.S. Central Bank should remain on hold until more clarity is available. The markets are pricing in an easing of about 85 basis points by December. Most expect the Fed to keep rates at their current level next month. The dollar was near its three-year low against the euro, at $1.13245. It was also not far off from the decade-low it had reached against the Swiss Franc. Sachanandani, of SocGen, said that the U.S. Dollar's behaviour has changed recently. It now ignores rate differentials and responds more to capital flow. The U.S. Dollar does not like the prospect that U.S. companies will be less profitable and U.S. consumers will face higher inflation. Foreign investors' appetite for U.S. assets is also declining. assets." The latest exemptions from tariffs announced by Trump boosted oil prices. Brent crude futures rose 0.2% to $65.01 a barrel, while U.S. oil was up 0.24% at $61.68. Gold spot was nearing a record price of $3,221.45 per ounce.
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Scientists say that in 2024 Europe experienced the most extensive floods over a period of more than 10 years.
Scientists said that Europe experienced its worst flooding since 2013 last year, with 30 percent of the continent's rivers being affected by major floods. Climate change caused by fossil fuels continues to cause torrential rainfall and other extreme weather. In a report jointly published by the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service (ECCS) and the World Meteorological Organization on Europe's Climate, they said that flooding in Europe would kill at least 335 and affect more than 410,000 people. Western Europe was the hardest hit, with 2024 being one of the ten wettest seasons in region's records dating back to 1950. Last year, storms and flooding caused damage of over 18 billion euros in Europe. Globally, the year 2024 was one of the hottest on record, and it was also the hottest for Europe, the continent that is warming the fastest. Climate change is largely responsible for the planet being 1.3 degrees Celsius hotter than it was in pre-industrial days. Celeste Saulo, WMO Secretary General said: "Every fractional increase in temperature is important because it increases the risk to our lives and the economy as well as to the environment." The report highlighted some positives, such as the fact that renewable sources of energy will produce a record-high 45 percent of Europe's electricity in 2024. Most European cities also have plans to adapt better to climate change. But extreme weather conditions were observed across the continent. Southeastern Europe experienced its longest heatwave on record of 13 days. Meanwhile, Scandinavia's glaciers shrank the fastest rates ever recorded, and heat stress was felt across the continent. In western Europe, floods and drought plagued much of Eastern Europe. In 2024, nearly a third (32%) of Europe's river network will have exceeded the "high" threshold for flooding. Meanwhile, 12% will be at "severe flood" levels. Valencia's devastating floods of late October, which killed 232 people, accounted for the majority of deaths and economic damages in Europe caused by flooding. In September, Storm Boris dumped the most rain recorded in Central Europe, including Austria and Czechia. Scientists confirm that climate change is causing more intense downpours, as a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture. In 2024, atmospheric water vapour surpassed all previous records. The management of rivers and the planning of urban areas can also influence flooding. (Reporting and editing by Aurora Ellis; Kate Abnett)
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LME copper gains from relief of US tariffs and China stimulus
London copper prices rose on Tuesday. They remained close to the highs of the previous session. Recent exemptions from U.S. duties and the hope for further stimulus from China, the top consumer, will help to boost the economy. As of 0106 GMT, the benchmark three-month price for copper at the London Metal Exchange was up by 0.2% to $9,206.5 per metric tonne. On Monday, it reached its highest level since the 4th of April. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's (SHFE) most-traded contract for copper rose by 0.4%, to 76.170 yuan per ton ($10,417.27). The U.S. has excluded smartphones and electronics from its tariffs against China. On Monday, President Donald Trump revealed new wrinkles in his trade policy by indicating that he may grant exemptions for auto-related levies. The White House has announced that it is investigating whether the importation of semiconductors and pharmaceuticals could threaten national security. This could lead to tariffs being placed on these products. Trump's exemptions from his reciprocal tariffs helped copper gain. The pause in import fees for consumer electronics gave markets a temporary reprieve after Trump's policies created deep uncertainty. Data from the General Administration of Customs revealed on Monday that China's imports of copper, both unwrought and wrought, in March fell by 1.4% compared to a year ago, totaling 467,000 tonnes. Market participants expect more stimulus measures to be taken by the Chinese government in order to boost consumption and reduce the impact of a escalating US-China trade war. SHFE aluminium fell by 0.2% at 19,675 Yuan per ton. Zinc also declined 0.2%, to 22,415 Yuan. Lead retreated 0.5%, to 16,830 Yuan. Nickel was up 0.5%, at 123 590 Yuan. Tin dropped 0.1%, to 259 530 Yuan. LME aluminium rose by 0.4% to $2382.5 per ton. Lead fell by 0.2% to $1913, while tin rose 0.6% to $31,450. Zinc rose 0.1% at $2,638.5, and nickel increased 0.2% to reach $15,330. ($1 = 7.3119 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)
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Australian shares rise as energy and mining firms outweigh consumer weakness
The Australian share market posted marginal gains Tuesday, supported mainly by energy stocks and mining companies. However, the gains were limited, as consumer discretionary firms suffered due to U.S. China trade tensions, and domestic political uncertainties. The S&P/ASX 200 Index held steady, with a 0.2% gain at 7,766.80 by 1232 GMT. The iron ore price and metals prices have been strong, helping to extend gains for a fourth straight session. Shares in industry giants Rio Tinto BHP and Fortescue increased between 0.5% to 1.5%. Energy stocks gained more than 1% on the back of higher oil prices due to tariff exemptions. Viva Energy led with gains between 3.4% and 2.0%, while Santos was second with gains of 2.1% and 3.4%, respectively. Consumer discretionary companies were the worst laggards. They dropped as much as 1%, and snapped a two-day streak of gains. Breville Group, Aristocrat Leisure and other companies in the subindex suffered the most losses. Both fell by 1.5%. The political uncertainty before the May 3 elections weighed heavily on consumer stocks. With the possibility of a divided parliament, despite Labor's improved polls, caution was felt around sectors that were vulnerable to shifts in household spending. Shares of Collins Foods fell as much as 2,7% in company news after the fast-food chain operator announced its plans to exit Taco Bell, which was underperforming. Investors remain cautious after Donald Trump, the U.S. president, exempted semiconductors and electronics from new duties. Beijing has retaliated against Washington in every way, but says it will not respond to any further U.S. duties. The Reserve Bank of Australia minutes of its latest policy meeting are due at around 1300 GMT on Thursday, along with the quarterly inflation data for New Zealand and the jobs data. The benchmark S&P/NZX 50 Index fell by 0.2% in New Zealand to 12,082.43 point.
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Prices of oil rise due to potential US exemptions from tariffs on automobiles, and a pickup in crude imports from China
The oil prices rose in the early hours of trading on Tuesday. This was due to new tariff exemptions proposed by President Donald Trump, and an increase in crude oil imports from China in anticipation that Iranian supply would be tighter. Brent crude futures rose 27 cents or 0.42% to $65.15 a barrel at 0046 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude also gained 26 cents (0.42%) to $61.79. Trump said that he is considering a change to the 25% tariffs on imports of foreign autos and auto parts from Mexico, Canada, and other countries. The vacillating U.S. policies on trade have created uncertainty in global oil markets, and OPEC reduced its demand forecast for the first time since Dec. On Friday, the Trump administration announced that it would exempt some electronic goods from tariffs, including smartphones, computers, and other electronic products, which are mostly imported from China. This led to both oil benchmarks settling up slightly higher on Sunday. Trump announced on Sunday that he would announce tariff rates on imported semiconductors in the coming week. A Federal Register filing on Monday showed that the administration began an investigation on imports of semiconductors as early as April 1. Data released on Monday showed that China's crude imports were up nearly 5% in March compared to a year ago, with arrivals of Iranian crude oil surging in anticipation of stricter U.S. sanction enforcement. Kazakhstan confirmed on Monday its oil production fell 3% from March to the average in the first two week of April, although it still remains above its OPEC+ quota. (Reporting Colleen Waye; Editing Sonali Paul).
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Russell: China's Q1 imports of key commodities were weak, but outlook is mixed.
China's imports were low in the first quarter. The challenge is to determine whether this was due to temporary factors, or a deeper economic malaise. In the first quarter of 2025, the four biggest commodity imports - crude oil, coal, iron ore and copper - all fell compared to 2024. The soft imports can be explained by the fact that the second largest economy in the world is still trying to gain momentum for economic growth. This task is made more difficult by the trade war escalating by U.S. president Donald Trump. This ignores a number of factors that are unique to each commodity. Consider crude oil as an example. Customs data released Monday showed that imports in the first quarter were 135,25 million metric tonnes, or 10.97 million barrels a day. This is a 1.5% decrease from the same time last year. On the surface, this seems like a poor result. Crude imports certainly struggled in January and Febraury. Arrivals roared to life in March with a rise of 4.8% and reached 12.1 million bpd. This is the highest level since August 2023. It is unclear whether the increase in imports in March was due to an improvement in fuel demand or if it was driven by temporary factors. It is more likely that Chinese refiners purchased as many cargoes as possible of Iranian and Russian oil before the new U.S. sanction on these two countries' oil exports took effect. Kpler, a commodity analyst firm, estimated that China's imports of Iranian oil in March were 1.37 million barrels per day (bpd), up from 746 000 bpd and the highest since October. Kpler estimated that seaborne imports to Russia reached 1.25 million bpd. This is up from 760,000 in February, and the highest since November of last year. China imports pipelines from Russia at a rate of just under 1,000,000 bpd. The crude oil market is generally weak, and the strength seen in March was likely due to the United States' actual and anticipated measures. WEATHER HITS Imports of iron ore fell to 93.97 millions tons in March from 94.21 millions tons in February, and 6.7% lower than the March level last year. Arrivals of key steel raw materials for the first quarter were 285.31 millions tons, a 7.8% decline from the same period last year. The weather disruptions in Australia, the country that supplies two-thirds China's total iron ore imports, were a major factor in the decline in iron ore prices. Exports of Australian iron ore to China fell to 50.5 millions tons in February, their lowest level in five years. The Chinese imports for April could be higher because many of the February-loading shipments arrived in March. Imports of coal of all grades were 114.85 millions tons in the first three months, down by 0.9% compared to the same period last year. Weather-related delays also affected shipments of iron ore from Australia. Australia is China's second largest supplier, after Indonesia. Australia's exports of goods to China fell to a two-year record low in February, at 3.74 million tonnes. Although they rose to 6.17 millions in March, they were still well below the average monthly volume of 6.7 million tones in 2024. Weaker Chinese prices encouraged utilities to switch from imports to local supplies. This trend is likely to continue and will put downward pressure on the volume of imports. Imports of copper unwrought also fell by 5.2% in the first three months, to 1.3 millions tons. Copper is another temporary factor. Shipments to the United States increased as traders sought higher prices in the United States ahead of an expected tariff on the imports of this key industrial metal. Chinese buyers chose to reduce their imports as the United States was a major source of cargoes. They will wait for cheaper prices when the situation regarding Trump's possible tariffs is clarified. China's first-quarter commodity imports show a soft trend, with temporary factors causing the signs of strength. For example, crude oil arrivals for March were boosted by temporary factors. The outlook is also cloudy due to Trump's new tariff of 145% on U.S. imported goods from China. If this continues, it will be harder for Beijing achieve its economic growth target of 5% by 2025. These are the views of the columnist, an author for.
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Britain secures fuel shipment for its last steel blast-furnaces
After securing fuel, Britain announced on Tuesday that it would be able to keep its last steel blast furnaces running for the next few months. This is the latest move in the last-ditch effort by the government to save the domestic virgin steel industry. After passing emergency laws to take control of the site, in northeastern England, from Chinese owners Jingye Group on Saturday, the government has been in a race to find enough coking coal to keep the furnaces operating. The furnaces were losing over 700,000 pounds (922,950.00 dollars) per day. They needed to be continually fueled, could not be easily restarted when shut down and couldn't be easily restarted. In a period of geopolitical instabilities and trade wars, Britain would have to import products for its rail and construction industries as well as the automotive industry. Jonathan Reynolds, the Business Minister, said that British steel was at the core of government plans to revitalize the nation's aging infrastructure. Reynolds will visit the port of Immingham on the east coast to witness the loading of fuel for transit. The government has confirmed that it has paid for the original shipment from the United States, which had been stored in the docks. After a settlement of a legal case and payment by the government, a separate ship carrying coking coal from Australia and iron ore also headed for Britain.
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Industry group: Declining prices make it possible for Brazil to increase biodiesel blend from 10% to 15%
Daniel Amaral of the oilseed industry group Abiove said that the decline in vegetable oil prices has cleared the way for Brazil's mandatory biodiesel mix into diesel to be increased to 15% from 14%. Brazil's National Energy Council decided to keep the blend at 14% in February amid fears that the proposed increase would push up food costs, negatively impacting President LuizInacio Lula Da Silva's decreasing approval ratings. The government was trying to combat inflation by raising the price of vegetable oil in the second half last year. Inflation stood at 5.48 percent for the 12-month period ending March. The central bank targets 3%. Amaral stated that prices have fallen again due to a recovery in supply and demand for vegetable oils. Amaral said that the price of vegetable oils has dropped, and the government must now move ahead with plans to increase biodiesel to 15%. Amaral told Abiove attendees in Sao Paulo that "the conditions for this are already there, the industry is capable, we're increasing crushing. All of this has already been put in place." The decision is now in the hands of the government, and we hope that it will be made as soon as possible. The Ministry of Mines and Energy didn't immediately respond to an outside of normal office hours request for a comment. Amaral stated that Abiove had always maintained that an increase in demand for biodiesel wouldn't affect the prices of consumers. He said that the rise in vegetable oil prices in the first half of this year was primarily due to foreign exchange rates, and the problems in Southeast Asia with palm harvest. He said that these issues were not only limited to Brazil. After the decision was made to keep the blend at 14 percent, the agribusiness consulting firm StoneX reduced its forecast for the growth of biodiesel from 1.2 to 600,000 cubic metres. Reporting by Oliver Griffin Editing and Rod Nickel
Hyundai Motor prepares to include hybrids to United States plant within current financial investment -exec.
Hyundai Motor Co. prepares to use the financial investment it has actually currently lined up for the. United States to produce hybrid automobiles at its electric vehicle. ( EV) plant there.
The world's No. 3 car manufacturer by sales together with affiliate. Kia Corp, intends to utilize investment in its EV and. battery production centers in Georgia to produce hybrid. vehicles, Hyundai Motor's international Chief Operating Officer Jose Munoz. informed a service conference hosted by the Financial Times on. Wednesday.
I believe we can deal with (that) within the existing investment. more or less ... It is already a lot, stated Munoz.
South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group, which houses Hyundai. Motor and Kia, stated it would invest $12.6 billion for brand-new. dedicated EV and battery production centers in Georgia -. its largest investment outside South Korea.
Munoz's comments followed the automaker stated last month it. prepared to include devices to build hybrid vehicles at the Georgia. plant, which is set to begin production in the second half of. this year.
Now we are at this pivotal point where we can choose if. we're going to go complete electric or if we ought to choose something. else. My vote here is that we should choose something else in. addition to electrical, stated Munoz, when inquired about Hyundai's. decision to include hybrids to the plant.
Automakers and providers are adding capability to build. gasoline-electric hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars for the. U.S. market, responding to increased consumer need for. Once, technology that General Motors and other automakers. prepared to phase out in favor of all-electric fleets.
Last month, reported that Hyundai Motor Group. prepared to launch its very first hybrid cars and trucks in India as early as. 2026.
In the first quarter, Hyundai's sales of hybrid vehicles. leapt 17% worldwide, highlighting customers' growing interest in. automobiles that are often more affordable than pure EVs.
Munoz said Hyundai Motor would prepare for different. situations, when asked about the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act -. which requires vehicles to be assembled in The United States and Canada to. qualify for EV tax credits - and the prospective effect of the. upcoming U.S. governmental election on the law.
He added the business, the No. 2 EV seller in the United. States after Tesla, was closing the EV sales space on its. U.S. competitor, despite being still far away.
In October later this year and
(source: Reuters)