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After the latest court ruling, Trump tariffs are still in place and stocks fall. The dollar also falls.
Investors digested the fact that an appeals court upheld President Donald Trump's tariffs, just a day after markets had rallied following a ruling that blocked most of them. The Nikkei index in Japan saw the biggest selling after the largest buying on Thursday. This was exacerbated by the fluctuation in demand for safe-haven currencies, such as the yen. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Washington, temporarily reinstated Trump’s duties on Friday while it considered the government’s appeal. A little-known trade tribunal unanimously ruled on Wednesday that Trump had overstepped his authority and that tariffs are the responsibility of Congress, not the President. Senior Trump administration officials have said that they are undeterred by the situation and expect to either win on appeal or use other powers to keep tariffs in place. The Nikkei fell 1.7% during the morning Asian session, which brought it back to its closing level on Wednesday. The yen gained about 2% since its low of Thursday, and last changed hands at around 143.48 dollars. The value of overseas revenue is reduced by a stronger yen. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.4%, while mainland China's blue-chip index slipped 0.3%. The KOSPI in South Korea fell by 0.5%. The broadest MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan fell by 0.4%. Rodrigo Catril is a senior FX Strategist at National Australia Bank. He said that Trump's trade agenda was still alive and well, but the legal battle has added yet another layer to uncertainty. He said that the only thing more certain than uncertainty is further delays in hiring and investment decisions. Futures for the U.S. S&P500 fell by 0.2%. Cash index rose by 0.4% overnight. However, this was mostly due to the resilient Nvidia results that were released after the close of the market on Wednesday. Asian shares had already had time to react to these results. The price of the STOXX50 futures in Europe fell by 0.1%. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury was unchanged at 4.42%, after a decline of 5.5 basis points on Thursday. Gold, the safe-haven, was unchanged at $3,311 an ounce after a 0.8% gain in the previous session. Bitcoin, a currency that is sensitive to risk, fell to a low of $104,714.35. Brent crude and U.S. West Texas Intermediate oil both fell 0.3% to $63.97 per barrel and $60.75, respectively, at the start of Friday. The Trump administration has said that despite the uncertainty created by the courtroom dramas, negotiations with the top trading partners are continuing unabated. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview with Fox News he was scheduled to meet with a Japanese delegation of high level later on Friday. Trump had already suspended his "Liberation Day' tariff rates for most trade partners until July 9, and in the interim set a 10% baseline rate to give some time to work out deals. Deals are still elusive, aside from the broad agreement reached with Britain. Bessent stated in an interview with Fox News, that the talks with China were "a little stalled" and could require the direct involvement of Trump or Chinese President Xi Jinping.
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Oil prices to drop by a weekly average with tariffs and legal battles in focus, OPEC+
The oil price is expected to drop more than 1% this Friday due to the U.S. tariff rulings and the potential OPEC+ production increase. Brent crude futures fell 26 cents or 0.41% to $63.89 per barrel at 0104 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude fell 27 cents or 0.44% to $60.67 per barrel. Brent's July futures contract expires on Friday. The tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump in the U.S. will remain in place after a federal court of appeals temporarily reinstated them Thursday. This reverses a decision made on Wednesday by a trade court to block the most comprehensive duties. As traders assessed its impact, the block sent oil prices down more than 1%. Analysts predicted that uncertainty would continue as tariff battles made their way through court systems. OPEC+ members, a group of oil exporting countries and their allies, will meet on Saturday to discuss a possible increase in July's oil production. OPEC is also trying to get some countries, like Kazakhstan, that are producing more than their agreed-upon levels, to reduce their output. Robert Rennie, Westpac's director of commodity and carbon analysis, said in a recent note that "the standoff between OPEC & Kazakhstan became more evident this week". According to a report published by Interfax on Thursday, citing Kazakhstan’s deputy energy minister, the country has told OPEC it doesn’t intend to cut its oil production. The Kazakhstani energy minister dismissed on Thursday the complaints of other countries about Kazakhstan's excessive production. He said that Kazakhstan's share in world oil production was less than 2%, and that a price for crude oil above $75 per barrel would be acceptable to all countries. Rennie stated that the stage was set for a bumper increase in production, possibly higher than the 411,000 barrels a day decision made at the two previous meetings. (Reporting and editing by Colleen Waye)
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CORRECTED OFFICIAL - Chevron to reduce 200 jobs in Texas
According to the Texas Workforce Commission, Chevron is laying off 200 workers in Texas. The U.S. oil company plans to reduce its global workforce to up to 20% by 2026. The layoffs will occur in Midland County where Chevron operates in the Permian basin, the largest oilfield in the United States. According to the notices, the layoff date will be July 15. Chevron announced in February that it would reduce its global workforce to cut costs. Chevron is under increasing pressure since then. Its license to operate in Venezuela has been revoked, and the planned $53 billion purchase of oil producer Hess, which was to be completed in February, hangs in limbo due an arbitration dispute. According to a March filing, the company had previously given notice that it planned to lay off at least 60 employees in California on June 1. Sheila Dang, Houston; Cynthia Osterman, editing.
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Barrick requests World Bank Court to intervene in Mali proceedings
Barrick Mining asked the World Bank arbitration tribunal to intervene in the legal proceedings in Mali as it faces the possibility that the Loulo-Gounkoto Mine could fall under the Mali government's control. Barrick made its move as a Mali court is set to rule on Tuesday, June 2, on the government request to place the Canadian miner’s gold mine in a temporary administration. In the event that the Mali court rules in the government's favor, an individual will be appointed to take control of the mine and reopen the facility. Barrick's Mali gold mine has been closed since January of this year, after Mali confiscated 3 tons of gold due to non-payment. Barrick denies the allegations. Barrick requested "provisional" measures from the arbitral tribunal in a Wednesday filing to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. Timothy Foden of the international law firm Boies, Schiller, Flexner said that "provisional measures" means that Barrick applied to the tribunal to have an order that the Mali government refrain from further actions that could exacerbate the dispute. This includes Mali's attempt to place the mine under provincial administration. Barrick didn't immediately reply to an email from. Mali's Mines Ministry also did not reply to an email. Mali, Africa’s third largest gold producer, issued a new code of mining and tightened the grip on its gold mines. Most are run by Western companies. The military-led Government says it wants to increase revenue from the mining industry because it feels that current arrangements are unfair. Foreign multinationals will have to comply with the government's demands in order to continue operating in this gold-rich nation. Barrick is the exception. The company has said repeatedly that it has been investing heavily in the Malian economic system for over 20 years. The company accuses government officials of shifting the goalposts and demanding more money. It also claims that some of its executives have been unfairly detained in an effort to blackmail it. Barrick's Bamako corporate office has been closed by Mali's military government. The mine closure has also led to the layoff of Barrick's contractors. A Mali official said that international arbitration was not necessary and the issue is one of domestic taxation. Foden stated that Mali could ignore the World Bank's decision, even if it ruled in favor of Barrick’s request for a temporary measure. However, Mali might scare off more Western investors. (Reporting by Divya Rajagopal; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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IIR: Nigeria's Dangote Refinery will run at reduced rates until October.
The 650,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Dangote oil refinery in Nigeria is expected to operate its gasoline-making unit at reduced rates through October after a string of issues in recent months, industry monitor IIR Energy told . About 70% of the capacity of the refinery's residual fluid catalytic (RFCC) unit, which produces 204,000 bpd of gasoline, is being used. IIR reported that the unit was closed from April 7 until May 11 due to damage to part of it, and again from May 15 through May 25 because of a mechanical problem. IIR stated that the full rate of production is not expected until October, when the refinery has completed a 40-day turnaround for reactor and catalyst repairs. IIR announced that the refinery's Continuous Catalytic Reformer will also be closed for seven days beginning June 2 in order to fix leakages. Dangote didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. In January 2024, the refinery built by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dagote in Lagos began to process crude oil into products such as gasoil and naphtha, and started producing petrol in September. The closure of smaller fuel plants in Europe, and elsewhere, is expected to have a major impact on the global fuel market. IIR stated that some downstream units have yet to begin commercial operations. These include a sulfuric alkylation unit which is scheduled to be operational by mid-June and a unit for polypropylene, which will come online at the end of the month. The industry monitor reported that the refinery's unit for crude processing has been operating at about 80% since mid-March. (Reporting from Shariq Khan, New York; editing by Sonali Paul).
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Attorney General: Three suspects arrested for raiding Libya's oil company
The Attorney General of Libya said that three suspects were detained after allegedly storming Tripoli's state oil company's headquarters. This comes a day before the rival government to the east had threatened to declare force majeure for oil fields and ports due to the assaults. The National Oil Corporation is based in Tripoli under the control of the internationally-recognized Government of National Unity. Although the parallel government in Benghazi, in the east, is not recognised internationally by the international community the majority of oilfields are controlled by Khalifa haftar. The NOC denied that its corporate headquarters were stormed. It called it "completely untrue" and quoted the acting chief of its corporation as saying it was "nothing but a small personal dispute which occurred in reception." The eastern-based government also threatened to temporarily relocate NOC's HQ to "safe cities", such as Ras Lanuf or Brega which they control. The Attorney General said that the public prosecution had reviewed all the evidence, examined the scene and reviewed video footage taken at the time of incident, as well as heard testimonies from those who were present. Attorney General said that the three suspects had been handed over to the Defence Ministry, who was instructed "to arrest any remaining participants in the incident". NOC reported on Wednesday that the national crude oil production in the last 24 hours was 1,389,055 barils per day. This is normal. Libya's oil production has been interrupted repeatedly over the past decade, since the chaos began in 2014 after the country was split between rival authorities east and west in response to the NATO-backed revolt that ousted Muammar Gadhafi in 2011. Ahmed Elumami, Ahmed Tolba and Deepa Babington (Reporting).
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Sources: Creditors of Brazil Braskem are skeptical about Tanure's bid
According to two sources familiar with the situation, the government of Brazil and the major banks that are Braskem's key creditors have so far been skeptical about the bid of businessman Nelson Tanure for a controlling interest in the petrochemical company. Sources who requested anonymity in order to discuss private discussions said that for now, lenders prefer to have a plan to restructure a company, and eventually sell the shares used as collateral to repay outstanding loans. Sources said that the banks were shocked by Tanure’s formal offer to buy a controlling interest in Braskem made on Friday and had yet to meet him to discuss this. Third source said that Tanure was visiting the heads of these banks but had not provided any details about his bid. Financial details of the plan are still being kept under wraps. Tanure stated in a press release that he was committed to Braskem's long-term growth. Sources said that before the proposal was made, banks including Brazil's state-owned development bank BNDES had held discussions with specialized firms such as Geriba Investimentos or IG4 Capital which specialize in alternative investments and special situations. BNDES and IG4 Capital declined comment. Geriba has not responded to requests for comment. The plan was for an investment firm, Braskem, to restructure the company, in order to increase its value, and to allow Novonor's creditors to gradually sell their shares over time. Sources claim that the banks have not finalized any contracts with the investment firms with whom they have been in contact. Sources also said that Brazilian banks are still willing to explore other options and may engage with partners they have not yet approached. After a major scandal involving corruption about a decade back, Novonor (formerly Odebrecht) has been unsuccessfully seeking a buyer for Braskem. It pledged Braskem shares as collateral for 15 billion reais (2.65 billion dollars) in bank loan. Since then, the value of these shares have plummeted. They are now worth less than one-third of the outstanding debt. Novonor confirmed on Friday that it had received a nonbinding proposal by an investment fund connected to Tanure, and signed an agreement. The proposal also stated that it was subject to conditions including completion of negotiations with creditors banks and Novonor fulfilling its obligations to Petrobras, Braskem’s second largest shareholder. Luciana Magnhaes, Luciana Magalhaes and David Gregorio (Editing)
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Sempra Port Arthur Phase 2 receives US approval for LNG export
The Department of Energy announced on Thursday that Sempra’s Port Arthur Phase 2 Project in Texas had won U.S. approval for exporting liquefied gas to Europe and Asia. The first final LNG export approval was given by President Donald Trump, reversing a pause in the approvals ordered by former President Biden to study the environmental and economic impacts of this booming industry. According to U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, the project is "a significant expansion of a first phase that was already under construction – turning more liquid gold underneath our feet into energy for the American public." Port Arthur LNG Phase II is still awaiting a final investment determination (FID) but will export 1,91 billion cubic feet of gas per day when completed. Port Arthur Phase 1 has begun construction and will begin exporting LNG by 2027. Sempra operates Cameron LNG Export Terminal in Louisiana which exports LNG since 2019. It is also building the Energia Costa Azul Terminal in Mexico which will start commercial export operations for U.S. gas as LNG by 2026. In a recent earnings call, Sempra stated that it expected to have a final investment decision (FID) by the end the year. However, "uncertainty regarding the macroeconomic climate may impact the timing of product developments." (Reporting and editing by Lisa Shumaker; Additional reporting by Curtis Williams, Houston)
US authorities arrest Mexican immigrant accused of threatening to shoot Trump
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced on Wednesday that U.S. Immigration authorities arrested an immigrant from Mexico who had allegedly threatened President Donald Trump with a gun.
According to DHS which published a picture of the letter, Ramon Morales Reyes (54), allegedly wrote a letter to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent stating that he was going to "shoot [your precious] president in the head" at a rally.
Morales stated in his letter that ICE was deporting members of his family, although he didn't mention anyone by name.
The letter states: "We are tired that this president is messing with us Mexicans. We have done more to help this country than white people." Trump was the target of two assassination efforts during his presidential campaign in 2024, including a shooting at a rally held in Butler, Pennsylvania. Both of the suspects were U.S. Citizens.
In a recent statement, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Nöem stated that "all politicians and media members should take note of these repeated attacks on President Trump's lives and tone down their language."
DHS reports that Morales illegally entered the U.S. at least nine different times between 1998 and 2005. DHS reported that he had been arrested for a hit-and run felony and other crimes. DHS reported that he is being held in Wisconsin by ICE and awaiting his deportation. (Reporting and editing by Mary Milliken, Deepa Babington and Ted Hesson)
(source: Reuters)