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Stocks fall but are still set to gain in the month despite tariff concerns
The global stock market was down on Friday, but it is expected to post a weekly increase as well as its largest monthly gain since late 2023. This is despite the markets being roiled by the uncertainty surrounding the Trump administration's policies regarding tariffs. At the beginning of the week, sentiments were initially boosted by signs that trade tensions had eased between the U.S. Investors then focused on the earnings of artificial-intelligence chipmaker Nvidia. The company reported better than expected results in mid-week. The markets were temporarily shaken by an unexpected ruling of the U.S. Court of International Trade that struck down Trump's so called Liberation Day Tariffs. This triggered a court drama which saw an appeals court temporarily reinstate these tariffs. Trump claimed on Friday that China violated a bilateral agreement between the U.S. and China to roll back tariffs, trade restrictions and other measures for essential minerals. He also issued a new threat to be more aggressive with Beijing. Mark Malek said, "It has been a busy week." Mark Malek is the chief investment officer of SiebertNXT. "In just four days, we saw a compressed version what we had been experiencing for the whole month - the tug-of-war between the forces that drove the markets higher in the past year and prior year. That is AI and technology stocks. And then we faced the looming challenge of all the administration tariffs. All three major Wall Street indexes traded lower during the session due to weakness in consumer discretionary, technology and energy stocks. The S&P 500 was expected to finish the week and month on a positive note. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.24% to 42111.71. The S&P 500 declined 0.61% at 5,875.91. And the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.16% at 18,952.93. European shares ended the week with a gain of 0.14%. This represents 4% growth for May. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan closed up by 0.72% over night, ending the week with a lower value but adding nearly 5% to the month. MSCI's world index fell 0.37%, to 877. However, it was on course to gain over 1% in the coming week and over 5% for May. This would be the largest monthly gain since November 20,23. The closely-watched Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCEPI) rose by 0.1% in April. This was in line with the expectations. Trump and Fed chair Jerome Powell met for the first time on Thursday. A Fed statement stated that Powell did not discuss expectations for monetary policies, except to emphasize that the direction of policy would depend on the incoming economic data and its implications for the outlook. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. notes dropped 0.8 basis points, to 4.416%. After reversing previous losses, the 30-year bond yield increased 1.2 basis point to 4.9346%. The dollar rose against other major currencies, including the euro. It is on course to gain against the Japanese currency for the month. The dollar fell 0.23% against the Japanese yen to 143.83, while the euro dropped 0.01% to $1.1364. The dollar index (which measures the greenback versus a basket including the yen, the euro and other currencies) rose by 0.05%, to 99.30. Tariff uncertainty was weighing down the market, and it was set to suffer its fifth consecutive month of losses. Investors are weighing up the possibility of a larger OPEC+ production increase in July. Oil prices have fallen and could be headed for a weekly loss for a second time. Brent crude futures dropped 0.439% to $63.90 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude fell 0.53% at $60.63 per barrel. The dollar rose, and gold prices fell. Spot gold dropped 0.7% to $3.292.54 per ounce. U.S. Gold Futures dropped 0.81% to an ounce of $3,290.10.
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Mexican authorities seize 3 million litres of fuel stolen
Mexican authorities have announced that they seized over 3 million liters (792 516 gallons), of fuel illegally stored at a property located in Tabasco in the southeast of the country. This is the latest of a series of large fuel seizures in Mexico. Why it's important The seizure of fuel on Thursday was part of Mexico's ongoing fight against fuel smuggling. This includes both theft from the state-run oil company Pemex pipelines, and imports classified falsely to avoid taxes. KEY QUOTES In a statement released on Thursday, Mexico's cabinet of security said that 18 vehicles, 3 pieces of machinery and 3,904 metal containers containing hydrocarbons, identified as petroleum derivatives, had been secured. The Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stated on Friday that the seizures are related to a new system of "traceability", which tracks fuel imports all the way from their source until they reach the sale point. CONTEXT Since years, the state-owned Pemex is facing a rampant theft by illegal pipeline taps in Mexico. This has resulted in massive losses. By the numbers Over the last few weeks, the authorities discovered 1.5 million liters (fuel) in two raids conducted in the state Tabasco. They also found 10 million liters (fuel) in the State of Tamaulipas. These fuels were on a ship that arrived in Mexico from the United States a few weeks earlier.
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India reduces import taxes on crude edible oil to reduce food prices
India has lowered the basic import duty on crude edible oil to 10%, according to the government. The world's largest vegetable oil importer is trying to lower food prices and support the local refinery industry. Crude palm oil, soya oil and crude sunflower oils are subject to a customs duty. The total import duty for the three oils will be reduced from 27.5% to 16.5%, as they will also be subject to the Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess and Social Welfare surcharge of India. The Solvent Extractors' Association of India's (SEA) executive director, B.V. Mehta said, "This is a win for both the vegetable oil refiners and the consumers as the local prices will drop due to the reduction in duty." The government has not changed the import duty for refined palm oil or refined soya oil. These oils are currently subject to a 35,75% import tax. Mehta stated that the import duty difference between refined and crude oils has increased to 19,25%. This will encourage importers to bring crude edible oil instead of refined oil and boost local refining industries. India imports more than 70% its vegetable oil. It imports palm oil, mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia, and soyoil, sunflower oil, and other oils from Argentina, Brazil and Ukraine. Sandeep Bajoria is the CEO of Sunvin Group. A vegetable oil brokerage. He said that the reduction in basic duty will bring down the price of edible oil and help to revive the retail demand which has been subdued over the past few months. (Reporting and editing by David Evans, Susan Fenton and Rajendra Jadhav)
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Britain sells off last NatWest shares after crisis-era bailout
After a 60.59 billion pound ($45 billion) state-funded investment at the height the financial crisis in 2008, NatWest is now fully private. This ends a costly taxpayer-funded investment which reshaped both the lender and the industry. The British government has sold the remaining 1% of its bank shares, according to an announcement by the Treasury on Friday. It had previously sold small blocks over recent years. It held up to 38% as recently as December 20,23. In a press release, Finance Minister Rachel Reeves stated that "nearly 20 years ago, the government intervened to protect millions and businesses from the effects of the collapse RBS". "That decision was made to protect the economy, and the return of NatWest to private ownership marks a turning point in the history of this country." NatWest's reprivatisation is a turning point in the recovery of its business and mortgage lending in its home market. It transformed from an investment bank with a global reach to a more traditional, slimmed-down lender. NatWest shares have risen by more than 30% this year, to 523 pence. This is above the 502 pence bailout. Prior government selldowns took place at lower prices, resulting in a loss for the rescue. According to Britain's Finance Ministry, the government lost approximately 10.5 billion pounds in the 45 billion pound rescue when proceeds from share sales and dividend payments to finance ministry are added together with fees and other revenue. The SYMBOL of EXCESS NatWest's growth in the years leading up to the financial crisis became a symbol of excess in that time. It grew from being a small Scottish bank in the 1990s, to becoming one of the largest banks in the world, with a total balance sheet exceeding 2 trillion pounds in 2008, which was almost twice the annual British economic output. Before its 2020 rebranding, the bank known then as RBS had sold assets that ranged from a fleet aircraft in Beijing to the largest hospital of Sydney. It also included a golf-course in Florida, 110 km away from the nearest highway, and an American graveyard. Deep South. According to UK Finance, the bank, now under private ownership, is a significantly slimmed down lender, focused on its domestic businesses. It ranks third in Britain for mortgage providers behind Lloyds Banking Group, and Nationwide Building Society. After the financial crisis, Britain introduced so-called "ring-fencing" rules to protect ordinary savers from the riskier activities of banks. It also aimed to boost competition by encouraging smaller challenger banks. NatWest faces a challenge to increase fee-based revenue from businesses like wealth management. This is because incumbents have been largely unaffected by these efforts. Meanwhile, big rivals including HSBC are pursuing the same strategy in response to declining lending income due to Britain's central banks' policy rate cuts. Paul Thwaite, the current CEO of the bank, has made it a priority to further simplify and streamline its operations and to promote economic growth by providing mortgages and business loans. This is in line with the pressure the left-leaning Labour party has put on banks to kickstart the slow economic growth of the country. The ruling party may still tap the cash-rich banks via additional taxes to plug the gaps in the budget. Alex Potter, Investment Director, Developed Market Equities, Aberdeen, said that NatWest had rebuilt its reputation but was still a political ball. He said that the lender would continue to be under pressure to actively support the growth agenda of government. NatWest executives said that the state exit would not affect how they do business. However, bankers and advisors believe that it may try to accelerate its growth strategy through further acquisitions in 2024 after a number of such deals. ($1 = 0.7427 pounds)
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IIR: Nigeria's Dangote Refinery will run with reduced production until October.
IIR Energy, an industry watchdog, said that the Dangote oil refining plant in Nigeria, which is one of the largest refineries in the world, will operate its gasoline production unit with reduced output until October due to a series of problems in recent months. The 650,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery, which opened last year, is currently running its 204,000 bpd gasoline-producing residual fluid catalytic cracking (RFCC) unit at about 70% of capacity, IIR said. IIR reported that the unit was closed from April 7 until May 11 due to damage to part of the unit, 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. Anthony Chiejina, a spokesperson for Dangote, said that the unit was not scheduled to be turned around in October. He did not specify when the refinery planned to finish maintenance or when the unit will be back in full operation. IIR announced that the refinery's Continuous Catalytic Reformer will also be closed for seven days beginning June 2 in order to fix leaks. 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. Some downstream units, like the sulfuric acid-alkylation unit, have yet to begin commercial operations. Chiejina, a Dangote representative, said the unit was scheduled to begin operations on May 31. This is earlier than IIR had expected a mid-June start. As reported earlier, the Dangote Petrochemical Plant began producing 25 kilogram bags (55.12lb) of polypropylene for the local market back in March. The industry monitor reported that the crude processing unit of the refinery has been operating at 80% since mid-March. Chiejina stated that the unit was running at 85%. (Reporting from Shariq Khan, New York; Isaac Anyaogu, Lagos; Editing done by Sonali and Susan Fenton.
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Nigeria's Dangote Refinery continues WTI purchasing spree in July
Three trading sources have confirmed that Nigeria's Dangote refinery will import five million barrels (or more) of U.S. WTI Crude Oil in July. This is a continuation of its purchasing spree following a possible record tally for June. Sources said that the giant new 650,000 barrel-per-day (bpd), oil refinery will import 161,000 barrels of WTI per day in July, after recent tenders were awarded. This is on the back of the record 300,000 barrels per day booked in June's tenders. The final totals of the month may change if the refinery makes more purchases. Traders said that the buying spree highlights increased competition for oil exporters as OPEC+ producers increase output. U.S. crudes are struggling to compete with UAE Murban crude in Asia, which has a six-month low spot premium. Sources said that commodity trader Vitol provided two million barrels of oil for delivery in July, Azeri State-owned Socar supplied another two millions barrels and miner Glencore sold one million barrels. Glencore, Vitol, and the Dangote refinery did not respond immediately to our request for comment about the results of this tender. No one has confirmed the sellers of nine million barrels Dangote had allegedly bought in an earlier bid for arrival in June. The tender details are not public. Kpler, a global shipping analytics company, has revealed that Dangote had previously set a record of 173,000 barrels per day (bpd) for U.S. oil imports in April. Kpler reports that the Dangote refinery purchases WTI semi-regularly since March 2024, but mainly Nigerian crude grades. The data shows that in 2025, it also purchased spot cargoes of crude from Angola and Equatorial Guinea as well as Algeria and Brazil. According to IIR, the refinery will operate at a reduced rate until October as a result of recurring issues over the past few months. A spokesperson for the refinery said that it is ramping up to 85% of its operating capacity. IIR reported that the refinery had been operating at 80% capacity since mid-March.
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Stocks fall but are set to gain in the month despite tariff uncertainty
The global stock market was down on Friday, but it is expected to post a weekly increase as well as its largest monthly gain since late 2023. This is despite the markets being roiled by the uncertainty surrounding the Trump administration's policies regarding tariffs. At the beginning of the week, sentiments were initially boosted by signs that trade tensions had eased between the U.S. Investors then focused on the earnings of artificial-intelligence chipmaker Nvidia. The company reported better than expected results in mid-week. The markets were temporarily shaken by an unexpected ruling of the U.S. Court of International Trade that struck down Trump's so called Liberation Day Tariffs. This triggered a court drama which saw an appeals court temporarily reinstate these tariffs. Mark Malek said, "It has been a busy week." Mark Malek is the chief investment officer of SiebertNXT. "Within four day we had a compressed version what we've been having for the whole month. That is the tug-of-war between the forces that drove the markets higher last year, and the year before that - that is AI and technology stocks - then we have this looming problem with all of these administration tariffs." All three major Wall Street indexes traded lower during the session due to weakness in energy, technology and materials stocks. The S&P 500 is expected to finish the week and month on a positive note. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.14% to 42155.39. The S&P 500 fell 0.33% at 5,892.70, and the Nasdaq composite lost 0.57% at 19,065.61. European shares ended the week mostly higher, and are expected to gain 4% in May. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan closed up by 0.72% over night, ending the week with a lower closing but adding nearly 5% to the month. MSCI's world index fell 0.24%, to 878.15. However, it was on course to gain over 1% in the next week and more that 5% for May. This would be the largest monthly gain since November 20,23. The data released on Friday showed that U.S. consumer spending increased marginally in April. In addition, the closely watched Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCEPI) rose by 0.1% in March, as expected. Trump and Fed chair Jerome Powell met for the first time on Thursday. A Fed statement stated that Powell did not discuss expectations for monetary policies, except to emphasize that the direction of policy would depend on the incoming economic data and its implications for the outlook. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. notes dropped 1.2 basis points, to 4.412%. The 30-year bond rate fell 0.3 basis point to 4.9203%. The dollar rose against other major currencies, including the euro. It is on course to gain against the Japanese currency for the month. The dollar fell 0.01% against the Japanese yen to 144.18, while the euro dropped 0.19% to $1.1349. The dollar index (which measures the greenback in relation to a basket including the yen, the euro and other currencies) rose by 0.18%, reaching 99.44. The tariff-induced uncertainty was weighing on the market, and it is now set to suffer its fifth consecutive month of losses. Investors are weighing up the possibility of a larger OPEC+ production increase in July. Oil prices have fallen and could be headed for a weekly loss for a second time. Brent crude futures dropped 0.44% to a price of $63.87 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude fell 1.1% to 60.27 per barrel. The dollar rose as gold prices fell. Spot gold dropped 0.78%, to $3.289.91 per ounce. U.S. Gold Futures fell 0.93% to an ounce of $3,286.40.
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Zelenskiy, book-fair browser, picks up a new title: "To Kill A Tyrant"
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his spouse browsed the stalls of a literary fair held in Kyiv, and came away with a new book to read - "To Kill A Tyrant." Zelenskiy has called Russian President Vladimir Putin a dictator on numerous occasions. He has led his nation through the three-year conflict with Russia. He didn't reveal whether he wanted to send a signal to his Kremlin counterpart with his book. According to a Telegram post on his book fair visit, he bought the Ukrainian language version of the book by Italian academic Aldo Andre Cassi. In a photo, he showed Olena Zelenskiy, his wife, as she thumbed through the book while her husband stood beside her. Zelenskiy stated that it was just one of many titles he and Olena had purchased at the fair. The title of the book in full is "To Kill A Tyrant: A History Of Tyrannicide from Caesar to Gaddafi." The book was first published in Italian and released in 2022. According to the summary provided by the Italian publisher, the author asks the question "Is killing a tyrant right or wrong?" Who decides? Reporting by Olena Hartmash and Christian Lowe, editing by Mark Heinrich
-Trump applauds Ukraine's willingness sign minerals deal and talk peace
U.S. president Donald Trump said Tuesday that he was grateful for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's willingness sign a mineral deal with the United States, and to come to the table with him to negotiate a lasting peace in Kyiv’s war against Russia.
In an address to Congress, Trump claimed that Zelenskiy had made the statement in a previous day's letter.
Zelenskiy had posted earlier on X that Ukraine was prepared to sign the agreement and talk peace. He also called a controversial Oval Office Meeting last week, which was then put on hold, "regrettable."
Four people who were familiar with the situation said earlier that the Trump administration and Ukraine planned to sign the mineral deal. Three sources reported that Trump told his advisers he planned to announce a deal in his speech to Congress. However, they cautioned that the agreement had not yet been signed and that the situation might change.
Trump's remarks indicated that progress has been made.
"Earlier today I received an important message from President Zelenskiy. Trump stated that the letter said, "Ukraine is prepared to come to a negotiating table as quickly as possible in order to bring lasting peace nearer."
Trump said Zelenskiy said he was ready to work under President Trump's "strong leadership" to get a lasting peace and that he appreciated how much America has done to help Ukraine retain its sovereignty and independent.
Zelenskiy said that Ukraine was ready to sign the agreement regarding minerals and security at any time convenient for them.
Trump added that "I am grateful that he wrote this letter." He also said that "we've had serious talks with Russia, and we have received strong signs that they are prepared for peace."
Trump said that the agreement would help to secure a peace by giving the United States financial stakes in Ukraine's destiny. He sees it as a way for America to recoup some of the financial and military assistance it has provided Ukraine since Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago.
Zelenskiy, after being scolded by Trump and Vice President Biden for asking for more aid in the war between Ukraine and Russia before the media, was fired from the White House.
Trump told the press on Friday that you were gambling with World War Three.
U.S. Officials Urged Apology
According to a person familiar with the situation, U.S. officials spoke to officials in Kyiv in recent days about signing the mineral deal despite the Friday blow-up. They also urged Zelenskiy’s advisers convince the Ukrainian President to openly apologize to Trump.
Zelenskiy wrote in a post on X that "our meeting at the White House in Washington on Friday did not go as it was intended to." "Ukraine will come to the table to negotiate as soon as it is possible in order to bring a lasting peace closer."
Uncertainty remained about whether the agreement had changed. The deal that was supposed to be signed by last week did not include explicit security guarantees for Ukraine, but it gave the U.S. a way to access revenues from Ukraine's mineral resources. The Ukrainian government was also to contribute 50% of the future monetization from any state-owned resources to a U.S.Ukraine-managed reconstruction investment fund.
Trump said in a press conference that Ukraine should be "more appreciative" of the agreement.
Trump said, "This country has stood by them through thick-and-thin." "We have given them more than Europe and Europe should give more than us," Trump said.
France, Britain and perhaps other European countries offered to send peacekeeping forces to Ukraine in case of a ceasefire. However, they would need support from the U.S. Moscow has rejected the proposal for peacekeeping forces.
Daniel Fried, former senior White House official, and ambassador to Poland said that the process of getting the minerals agreement done was messy. But it would bring two solid victories for Trump: Zelenskiy’s statement of regret, and the agreement by Britain and France to provide boots on the ground and security.
"Trump should and can win. Fried, a fellow with the Atlantic Council, said that Fried would be able "to say that he... got the Europeans standing up in front an issue of European Security, which they have never done before." (Reporting from Erin Banco, Gram Slattery, and Andrea Shalal, in Washington; Additional reporting from Yuliia, Dysa, in Kyiv, and editing by Don Durfee and David Gregorio)
(source: Reuters)