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Euro up as stocks ease amid US-China trade war
The major stock indexes declined on Tuesday after the United States announced that 104% tariffs on imports from China would take effect shortly after midnight. However, the euro and European equity futures rose following reports that Germany's parties had reached an agreement on a coalition. However, two people who knew the situation said that the German coalition was still not agreed upon. Investors were optimistic earlier in the morning that Washington would be willing to negotiate some of its aggressive trade tariffs. The Trump administration is also It is important to begin discussions with other trading partners that are being targeted by Donald Trump's tariff plan. Since Trump announced his sweeping tariffs late on Wednesday, stocks have suffered heavy losses. Worries are growing that a trade war could push the global economy into recession. Germany's NTV reported Germany's conservatives under chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz on Tuesday reached a deal with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) to form a government. The euro last rose 0.61% to $1.0971. EuroSTOXX Futures in Germany rose 0.72%. DAX Futures increased 0.55%. CAC 40 Futures increased 0.43%. Bund futures have trimmed their losses. Wall Street saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average fall 337.84, or 0.89% to 37,627.76. The S&P 500 dropped 81.11, or 1.60% to 4,981.14, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 339.48, or 2.18% to 15,263.78. The MSCI index of global stocks fell by 2.43 points or 0.33% to 743.05. The U.S. trade war with China escalated, causing recession fears and a drop in oil prices. Brent futures dropped $1.39 or 2.16% to settle at $62.82 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude Futures fell $1.12 or 1.85% to settle at $59.58. Spot gold dropped 0.13% to 2,978.68 dollars an ounce. Investors anticipate the release of U.S. quarter earnings reports in this week. Adam Sarhan, CEO of 50 Park Investments, New York, said that positive results could be a catalyst for stocks. JPMorgan Chase will be the first to report results, followed by Citigroup and Wells Fargo. Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase's CEO, has warned trade wars can have long-lasting negative effects. These include inflation and recession.
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US stocks fall as US tariffs on China are imposed; the euro rises after news of German coalition
The U.S. stock market indexes fell on Tuesday, as the United States announced that 104% of import duties from China would take effect shortly after midnight. However, the euro and European equity futures rose following reports that Germany’s political parties had reached an agreement on a coalition. Investors were optimistic earlier in the morning that Washington would be willing to negotiate some of its aggressive trade tariffs. The Trump administration is also It is important to begin discussions with other trading partners that are being targeted by Donald Trump's tariff plan. Germany's NTV reported Germany's conservatives under chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz on Tuesday reached a deal with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) to form a government. However, two people who are familiar with the matter said that an agreement has not been reached. Futures for the EuroSTOXX50 index in Germany rose 0.72%. DAX futures increased 0.55%, and CAC futures increased 0.43%. Bund futures have trimmed their losses. The dollar was up by 0.41% to $1.0948. Wall Street saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average rise 62.46, or 0.16% to 38,028.03, while the S&P 500 dropped 13.34 points or 0.27% to 5,048.75, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 79.19, or 0.51% to 15,522.91. The MSCI index of global stocks rose by 4.27 points or 0.57% to 749.75.
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Meloni will meet Trump for tariff talks on April 17, 2019.
Her office announced on Tuesday that Giorgia Mello will meet Donald Trump, the U.S. president in Washington, on April 17, to discuss tariffs imposed by Trump on imports from the European Union. Trump has a policy of imposing tariffs that are 25% on imports of steel, aluminium and automobiles. The tariffs will be a broader 20% for all other goods starting Wednesday. Meloni said she backed an offer by the European Commission for a "zero to zero" tariff agreement to avoid a trade conflict with the United States. Meloni stated in a staff-released speech that "This is a negotiation which must see us at all levels committed, which sees and commits us. I am committed as I will be there in Washington on April 17, next year," Meloni. Meloni, a nationalist who has a deep admiration for Trump is Battle to reconcile Analysts say that there is a growing gap between Washington's ideological instincts and Italy’s strategic ties with the European Union. She is under pressure also to defend Italy's export-driven industry, which last year ran a 40-billion-euro ($43.75-billion)trade surplus with the United States -- the third-largest in the European Union after Germany and Ireland. Italy's total exports are 10% of its total. "I believe (tariffs are) an absolutely wrong decision by the Trump administration. Western economies are interconnected. Meloni stated that such protectionist policies would hurt Europe just as much as they would the U.S. EU FUNDS Meloni stated that her government will discuss alternative ways with the European Union to use funds already allocated to EU to offset the negative impact expected of the tariffs. She said, "We are committed in using all resources available, beginning with those which do not impact public finances." She said that although no additional borrowing is currently planned, 14 billion euro could be derived from a revamp of Italy's EU supported post-COVID Recovery Plan, and an additional 11 billion from EU Regional Development Funds. Another 7 billion euro was expected to be spent using EU funds in order to combat climate change. The government is Prepare to cut Two sources with knowledge of the situation said that the U.S. Tariffs have caused the uncertainty in the economic growth forecasts for this year and next. Sources said that the multi-year budget plan for Italy, which is due to be released on Wednesday, predicts a 0.6% increase in gross domestic product this year. This is down from the 1.2% goal set last September. Next year's GDP is expected to be +0.8% down from the previous target of +1.1%. ($1 = 0.9414 euros) (Reporting and writing by Giuseppe Fonte, Editing and proofreading by Crispia Balmer)
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US oil, biofuel group recommends 5.25 billion gallons in biomass diesel mandates, sources say
Two sources with knowledge of the matter reported that a U.S. biofuel and U.S. coalition has recommended the Environmental Protection Agency to propose federal mandates on biomass diesel blending in 2026, at 5.25 billion gallon, which is a significant increase over previous mandates. Sources said that the coalition recommended a total federal mandate for biofuel blend mandates of 25 billion gallons by 2026. The coalition led by the American Petroleum Institute (API), a major U.S. oil industry trade group, gave the figures to EPA at a recent meeting. EPA will release a proposal covering 2026 and 2027. This was previously reported. The Coalition's request of 5,25 billion gallons for biomass-based diesel mandates is slightly lower than the range between 5.5 billion and 5.75 billion gallons that was considered before the meeting by the. Previously, the EPA had set the biomass-based diesel mandates at 3,35 billion gallons for 2025. API refused to comment on numbers in particular, while the EPA didn't respond to a comment request. The U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard requires oil refiners to blend billions gallons worth of biofuels in the nation's fuel or purchase tradable credit from those who do. Reporting by Stephanie Kelly and Jarrett Renshaw, both in New York; editing by Mark Porter and Matthew Lewis.
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Venezuela restarts El Palito’s fluid catalytic cracked to offset the largest refinery’s problems
Sources close to the company's operations on Tuesday said that Venezuela's PDVSA, a state-owned oil company, is restarting the fluid catalytic cracked (FCC) at its El Palito refinery, which was shut down for 11 months. This will partially offset a suspension of key refinery units due to an electrical blackout. PDVSA is increasing domestic refining in order to avoid a fuel crisis. The U.S. government has tightened sanctions against the energy sector of the country, which prevents it from importing replacement parts and equipment necessary to maintain and upgrade its refining units. Venezuela's largest refinery, the 645,000-barrel-per-day Amuay, has been restarting several operational units since a blackout late last week, but its FCC is still out of service, limiting the volume of gasoline blendstock the country can produce. One source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said: "That's the reason they're restarting El Palito cracker." It's already producing 26,000. bpd catalytic naphtha. El Palito, Venezuela's smallest refining facility, has a capacity of 146,000 bpd for crude processing. The previous attempts to restart the FCC were unsuccessful. Now, workers are trying to produce up to 35,000 bpd blendstock. Sources say that the 955,000-bpd Paraguana refinery center, which includes Amuay & Cardon refineries and four crude distillation units, was processing 237,000 bpd or 25% of the installed capacity as of Tuesday. PDVSA didn't immediately respond to a comment request. The state oil company is trying to provide more crude and feedstock Cardon Petropiar will be reorganized as part of the plan to reorganize its operations once a U.S. licence for Chevron Venezuela's unit expires in a month. This will leave all operations to PDVSA. A separate source reported that Venezuela is also trying to reactivate an important thermoelectric plant in the central region of the country to reduce blackouts and power rationing. Reporting by Staff; Editing by Mark Porter & Paul Simao
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Codelco CEO: Codelco plans to return to the bond market and aims at higher end of copper production range
Ruben Alvarado said that Codelco's CEO, Ruben, believes the company will reach the upper limit of its production range in this year. He expects to achieve 1.39 million metric tonnes. Alvarado stated that the world's biggest copper producer intends to return to bond markets but is still evaluating the timing. We know that we have to get to the market. "We'll be there for sure, but we have to decide the exact date," he said on the sidelines of the CRU/CESCO World Copper Conference. Our bond prices are very competitive. "We are very careful with our investment grade. We believe that we still have room to move ahead with financing our project." Codelco has managed to increase production in 2024 after 2023 saw it hit a 25-year low due to delays and operational issues. Alvarado expects to improve performance following a better quarter than the previous year. He said that this year they were aiming for 1,39 million tonnes. He added, "We are focused on doing the right thing and ensuring operational continuity. We're also very careful about safety." Alvarado said that the company has not yet decided whether it will send any new spot copper shipments into the U.S. as they did in the past. first quarter When customers tried to get ahead of the expected U.S. import tariffs. He said that the main reason for increasing shipments to the United States was to meet the needs of long-term clients. (Reporting and editing by Alexander Villegas, David Gregorio and Fabian Andres Cambero)
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JSW, a Polish miner, suffers a net loss of $500,000 due to lower coal prices and weak demand
The company reported on Tuesday that the decline in coking coal prices, and a weaker demand for coal led to a loss of 7,24 billion zlotys (1.85 billion dollars) in 2018 from a profit of 993.9 millions zlotys (993.9 million dollars) made by JSW between 2023 and 2018. The results were in line with the preliminary data that was reported by the company at the beginning of March. Why it's important JSW is Europe's largest coking coal producer, essential to steel production. The EU has listed coking coal as a critical raw material because steel is essential for the construction of renewable energy sources and other infrastructure. The EU wants to guarantee a sustainable and secure supply of the materials listed. CONTEXT JSW will be hit by the falling prices of coking coal, a weaker demand as a result of lower steel production and increased competition with non-European suppliers, such as China and Indonesia, in 2024. The company has proposed to not pay a dividend in 2024. In 2018, it stopped paying dividends. By the Numbers JSW's revenue fell to 11,33 billion zlotys from 15,34 billion zlotys by 2023. This was mainly due to the lower coal price and decreased demand. The company reported a 6.50 billion-zloty loss for the year, as compared to earnings of 4.56 billion-zlotys on the same basis in 2023.
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President says that most automakers will remain in Mexico
The Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum stated on Tuesday that most auto executives who have plants in Mexico said they do not have any plans to relocate their factories. The president spoke at her morning news conference. "I've personally spoken to many CEOs and global mangers of several auto companies, to find out what their thoughts are about the future...Most have told us they don't plan to make any changes for the time being," she said. Mexico, which exports nearly 80% of all its goods to the United States was not on Trump's global list of tariffs that were announced last week. Mexico remains subject to the 25% tariffs that Trump imposed on steel, aluminium and automobiles as well as goods that did not comply with regional USMCA. Sheinbaum reported that Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick will meet in Washington on Tuesday evening to discuss these tariffs. Sheinbaum said that the government of Sheinbaum would Avoid They cannot be completely ruled out. (Reporting and editing by Kylie Madry; Raul Cortes)
Oil prices rise 1% following US tariff-driven selling
The oil prices increased by more than 1% Tuesday. This is a rebound after recent heavy losses, mainly due to fears that U.S. Tariffs could depress demand or lead to a recession.
Brent crude futures increased 81 cents or 1.26% to $65.02 a barrel. U.S. West Texas intermediate crude futures increased 92 cents or 1.52% to $61.61 at 0051 GMT.
Oil prices fell 2% on Monday, approaching a four-year record low. This was due to concerns that the latest tariffs imposed by U.S. president Donald Trump could push global economies into recession, and reduce energy demand. The markets, however, expect a possible limit to the downward trajectory for oil prices.
Trump claims that tariffs of at least 10% on all U.S. imported goods, and targeted rates up to 50% would help revive the U.S. industry base. He says it has declined due to decades' worth of trade liberalisation.
Many countries, such as China, the second largest economy in the world after the U.S. have announced plans to reciprocate tariffs. Trump has said that he will impose more tariffs against China if Beijing doesn't withdraw its countermeasures.
Tony Sycamore of IG said that if China were to remain firm, its total tariff rate for imports into the U.S. could reach 104%. This would likely trigger a further deterioration of risk sentiment and steep falls in global stock markets, as well as accelerate the pace at which the global economy is heading towards recession.
The market expects a weak demand for crude oil. A preliminary poll conducted on Monday showed that U.S. crude and distillate inventory levels were expected to rise by an average of 1.6 million barrels last week.
Analysts estimate that the break-even cost for oil production in America, the world’s largest oil producer, is around $60 per barrel. This could set a ceiling on how low oil prices can go if some decide to reduce investment and drilling.
If prices continue to be low, which is likely, this would lead to a slowdown in the growth of output and a fall in U.S. production from its current level at 13.4 million barrels / day. Eurasia Group stated in a report that the reduced activity is likely to support WTI prices in the $50s. (Reporting and editing by Muralikumar Aantharaman, Jacqueline Wong, and Katya Glubkova from Tokyo)
(source: Reuters)