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White House: Trump's metal tariffs will not change unless the president announces it
Trump administration officials stated on Friday that there will be no changes to President Donald Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum, as well as thousands of products made with the metals. In response to a Financial Times article that said the administration planned to reduce tariffs on certain steel and aluminium goods, with possible exceptions, a White House official stated that Trump would "never compromise on reinvigorating domestic manufacturing, which is crucial to our national security and economic stability, especially steel production." Officials said the administration is implementing a "nimble and nuanced tariff program" to boost U.S. steel, aluminum, and other manufacturing sectors. The official stated that any speculation about a change in our current tariff system is based on supposition unless it has been officially announced by the Administration. Scott Bessent, Treasury Secretary, said on CNBC that "I do not think that the FT's reporting today is great," but that it could be modified. Bessent stated that "if anything is done I think it will be some clarification on some incidental items, but again, the decision will be made by the president." The U.S.?Commerce Department spokesperson did not respond immediately to a?request for comment regarding the FT article, which cited anonymous sources as saying the Trump administration is reviewing tariffs and will exempt certain items. The U.S. Trade Representative did not respond immediately either. CNBC reported White House Trade and Manufacturing Advisor Peter Navarro told the network, off camera, that there was in fact no basis for the FT's report that the Administration was planning to?"reduce the tariffs on steel and aluminum". The Commerce Department is responsible for the Section 232 tariffs on national security that Trump doubled in the last year, which include steel and aluminum. Trump is pivoting to address the 'rising cost of living' for Americans in a midterm election year. In its annual fiscal report, the Congressional Budget Office said that U.S. consumer's are paying 95% of Trump tariffs through increased prices for imported goods and domestically manufactured goods. The American Iron and Steel Institute on Friday urged the Trump administration to maintain the steel and aluminum tariffs, arguing that government-subsidized excess steel capacity in China and ?elsewhere was a threat to U.S. national ?security. The Section 232 tariffs imposed on steel by President Trump were "essential" to prevent the overcapacity fueling new surges in harmful imports to the U.S. Market, which would pose a grave threat to American National Security and undermine the health the American Steel Industry," AISI president Kevin Dempsey stated in a press release. (Reporting and editing by Philippa, Andrea Ricci, and Nick Zieminski; Reporting by David Lawder)
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Trump announces he will travel to Venezuela following a'very positive' relationship with the interim president
President Donald 'Trump said on Friday that the United States' relationship with Venezuela is "very good". He also stated his intention to visit Venezuela. Trump's praise of Venezuela's interim leader Delcy Rodrguez follows the U.S. arrest of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, in January. The Trump administration also wants to increase oil deals with Venezuela. Trump said to reporters at the White House that he would be visiting Venezuela, but he didn't give any further details. Trump noted that the United States "work very closely" with Rodriguez to ensure?access? to oil. Trump said, "I would rate the relationship we currently have with Venezuela as a ten." When asked if he would recognize Rodriguez as an official government, Trump replied, "Yes, we've done that." We are dealing directly with them and they have really done a fantastic job. The White House didn't?immediately answer a question about whether the official U.S. position towards Rodriguez's Government has changed. In recent weeks, Trump administration officials made it clear that the U.S. does not recognize Rodriguez's interim government as legitimate. Chris Wright, the U.S. Energy secretary, said in Venezuela that Rodriguez was the "interim President"? working with the United States. Wright said in an interview with CNN that the U.S. would not "tell Delcy her future role" in future elections, leaving this decision to 'the Venezuelan people. In an interview with NBC News this week, Rodriguez called Maduro "the legitimate president" of Venezuela.
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Aluminum pulls back after a one-week low following market digests reporting Trump may ease tariffs
Aluminum prices fell to their lowest level in a week on Friday after reports that the U.S. may slash some import tariffs. However, they have since pared back losses as investors determined any impact will be minimal. The other industrial metals have lost ground due to profit-taking and risk-off attitudes. The benchmark three-month aluminum on the London Metal Exchange lost as much as 2,7%, but reduced its losses to just 0.9% by 1700 GMT, at $3,074 per metric ton. This is its lowest since February 6. It reached a peak of nearly two weeks on Thursday due to supply concerns. Ewa Manthey is a commodities strategist with ING in London. She said: "Macro driven risk-off sentiment, and widespread profit-taking continues to unwind the early-year rally." The news that the U.S. could roll back some of its aluminum tariff regime has added an additional layer of uncertainty to trade flows and prices." The premium that U.S. metal buyers pay over the LME rate has fallen 6.8%, to 93 cents a lb. The Financial Times reported that Trump was considering reducing tariffs. His officials believe tariffs hurt consumers. Analysts say that Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum imports were up to 50% last June. However, the biggest impact was felt by primary aluminium. Morgan Stanley analyst Amy Gower wrote in a report that if the administration reduced tariffs on derivative products we would not see any impact on LME aluminum prices. "We'd only see downward pressure on aluminium prices if tariff reductions were also extended to primary metal." Trading in China has slowed since the Shanghai Futures Exchange is?closed for nine days during the Lunar New Year holiday and will reopen February 24. LME copper was little altered at $12,883 per ton, after hitting a one-week low. It is moving further away its record high of $14,527.50, which it reached on January 29. This is because 'physical demand' has declined ahead of the break, and inventories have exceeded 1,000,000 metric tons on the three largest metal exchanges for the first time in over two decades. LME zinc fell 1% to $3,339 per ton. Nickel dropped 2.5% to $17,000 per ton. Lead was down 0.6% to 1,966 per ton. Tin tumbled 5%, to $47,000, a metric ton.
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Copper miner Codelco sacks executives after El Teniente audit
Codelco, a state-owned copper miner in Chile, removed on Friday three executives from its El Teniente division after an internal audit found inconsistencies related to a previous accident at the same mine. Codelco stated that an internal audit resulting from the El Teniente accident in July revealed "serious breach of duty" on the part of executives following a rock blast within the mine in the year 2023. This included in the company’s reports to the mining regulator Sernageomin. Codelco announced that Chief Operations Officer Mauricio Baraza, who was responsible for all Codelco mine divisions as well as El Teniente's Claudio Sougarret, and El Teniente Projects Manager Rodrigo Andrades would be replaced "immediately". Barraza was previously the mine's head. Sougarret took over as mine manager in August, after the accident. He was previously the operations manager. El Teniente is the world's largest underground copper mine. The removal of top Codelco operational leaders highlights the complex nature of the challenges that have existed for years. Barraza and Sougarret are to be replaced? by Lindor Quiroga, while Gustavo Reyes will replace Barraza. Codelco announced that Claudio Canut would also be the interim head of Andina. Reorganization "Radical" In a separate Friday statement, Codelco’s board stated that it also found weaknesses in the governance of El Teniente as well as throughout the company. The board has approved a "radical reorganization" of El Teniente's operations, which will see senior executives becoming more involved in day-today affairs. The board announced that digital signatures with no alteration will be used on all technical reports. The board did not mention whether former executives altered signatures. Codelco said that it would "handover information to the public prosecutor of Chile while opening additional internal audits." DIFFICULT ROAD Ahead Last year, a?project to expand the flagship mine failed. The project was supposed to increase output at a time when Codelco is trying to raise production. Sougarret said on Tuesday that the output of the mine - once Codelco’s most productive - would be reduced 'for five years', an estimate longer than the previous one. He predicted that the production of copper would be around 301,000 tons per year. (Reporting and writing by Fabian Cambero, Kylie Madry, Cassandra Garrison and Kirsten Donovan).
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Trump EPA eliminates emissions limits for US automakers. State rules and lawsuits may follow.
The repeal by President Donald Trump of the federal climate regulations will free automakers of costly emissions standards at the tailpipe. However, the move may spark lawsuits or force businesses to navigate a future of uncertain state and regional rules. Trump's Environmental Protection Agency finalized on Thursday its repeal of "endangerment findings" for vehicles. This was a 2009 determination that greenhouse gas emission endanger the health of humans. The agency was given the authority to regulate vehicle emissions, and those from other sectors which produce or burn fossil fuels. Trump claimed that the "biggest deregulation action" of all time would save companies more than $1 trillion on compliance costs. Environmental groups criticized the move. It was praised by some industry groups, but met with caution by others. The ten lawyers and analysts interviewed for the said companies are facing a bumpy road, citing impending court challenges as well as the possibility of a patchwork state and regional emission rules replacing one federal regulation. Rob Bonta is the attorney general of California. The state has been considering a lawsuit. Matthew Leopold is an environmental lawyer at Holland & Knight, who was the EPA's general counsel under Trump's first presidency. He said that the strategies of companies to adjust to the repeal would depend on the speed with which legal challenges are brought before the U.S. Supreme Court and resolved. He said utilities, as well as other large emitters, will want to understand the implications. This initial rulemaking, while focusing on motor vehicle regulations, will also have ripple effects on the other EPA programs. Leopold said, "It's the basis of all EPA greenhouse-gas regulation in all sectors." The EPA relies on the finding of endangerment to regulate oil and gas operations, power plants and vehicle manufacturers. About half of U.S. emissions are from transport and power. Trump called climate change "a con job" and withdrew the U.S. from international efforts against it. The U.S. is the largest emitter in history. CAUTIOUS REACTION The first Trump administration didn't want to revisit the endangerment ruling, because industry groups were against it and the then-EPA acting general counsel?David Fotouhi stated that the disruption would be too risky. In a Thursday press release, the EPA said that it was more bold this time, after Supreme Court decisions such as Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo determined that Congress should be making these determinations, and not administrative agencies. Some industry groups, including the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPA) and the Marcellus Shale Association (MSA), praised the EPA's decision. Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA), a trade association for companies who supply equipment for vehicles with internal combustion engines, has said that the decision will "directly affect the range of vehicle choices available in the coming year." Environmental groups condemned the move, and pointed out that major industry groups didn't seem to be in agreement either. David Doniger is a senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council. He cited Ford's and Honda's public statements from last fall. Both automakers supported the decision to keep it in place for a stable regulatory climate. Doniger stated that "they're concerned about the political pendulum swung back in a couple of years." Honda has not responded to a'request for comments on the EPA decision. Ford applauded the administration's efforts to address the "imbalance" between the current emission standards and the customer choice, but stated that it had advocated for a single national standard rather than separate state standards. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation said that the Trump endangerment bill repeal was not supported by the Alliance for Automotive Innovation on Thursday, but added "automotive emission regulations finalized under the previous administration are extremely difficult for automakers to meet given the current market demand for EVs." The American Petroleum Institute stated that it did not support a repeal of endangerment findings, but supported the action taken by the administration to end the electric vehicle mandates. Dustin Meyer, Senior Vice President for Policy and Regulatory Affair at API, said in a press release that the trade association supports federal regulation on emissions. This includes methane emitted by oil and gas operations. He said, "Our current focus is on developing policies that will reduce emissions and meet the growing energy demand." The Chamber of Commerce announced on Thursday that it would take a few extra days to study the new rule and its effects. Marty Durbin is the president of Global Energy Institute, a part of the Chamber. He said, "We did not ask the EPA to revisit or rescind its 2009 Endangerment Finding. However, we will carefully review the details of this final regulation and engage with our membership to assess the implications and long-term impacts." Edison Electric Institute (EEI), which represents large U.S. utility companies, stated that they are reviewing the new rule and will continue to collaborate with the Administration in order to improve grid reliability and lower energy prices for all customers. Ann Carlson is an environmental law professor from the University of California Law School. She agreed that the federal authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions would no longer preempt any state action. She said that if greenhouse gases were not subject to the Clean Air Act then states could regulate them on their own. (Reporting and editing by David Gregorio; Additional reporting by David Shepardson)
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Sources: Three injured workers on Exxon Beaumont small CDU in Texas
People familiar with the operations of the refinery reported that three contractors were injured when a'release' of steam condensate occurred while reworking the CDU at Exxon Mobil Beaumont, Texas, which produces 612,000 barrels per day. In a Friday statement, Exxon confirmed that there were?injuries? at its Beaumont complex. This includes a?chemical plant, lubricant plant, and refinery. Exxon spokesperson Kelly Davita stated in an email that "Safety has always been a top priority and we are thinking of the individuals and their families." "A comprehensive inquiry has been launched to determine the cause." Sources said that the three contractors were working on the Crude A CDU which produces 180,000 bpd and is expected to be closed until mid-March. Crude A is one of the three CDUs at the refinery that breaks down crude oil to feedstocks for the other units. Crude A is a CDU that processes "sweet crude oil". Sources claim that two of the injured contract workers were transported by helicopter to hospitals.
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Stocks mostly rise, but yields drop in the wake of US inflation data
Investors digested a 'U.S. economy that was cooler than expected, and the result was a largely positive performance for Wall Street. The January inflation data was a surprise to some, but others saw it as a reason for interest rate cuts. Last time, the U.S. Dollar was slightly higher than other currencies. The report revealed that the U.S. Consumer Price Index increased 2.4% annually, which was slightly less than the 2.5% estimated by economists polled. This news increased bets on the Federal Reserve delivering at least two rate reductions this year. The data comes after a surprising?strong U.S. Employment Report on Wednesday. Last month, the Fed left its benchmark overnight rate at 3.50% to 3.75%. According to Josh Jamner, senior investment strategist at Clearbridge Investments, "given the Fed's double mandate of price stabilization and maximum employment," inflationary concerns may play a greater role in determining monetary policy in this year than previously expected. The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq were all higher on Wall Street. However, there was a slight decline in the Nasdaq due to concerns about disruption caused by artificial intelligence. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 49.36 points or 0.10% to 49,501.34. The S&P 500 rose by 9.72 points or 0.14% to 6,842.48. And the Nasdaq Composite fell 17.64 points or 0.08% to 22,579.50. The MSCI index of global stocks rose by 0.27 points or 0.03% to 1,045.49. The STOXX 600 index fell by 0.03%. The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10 year notes dropped 3.7 basis points to 4.067% from 4.104% on Thursday. The dollar has risen in currencies. The dollar index, which measures greenbacks against a basket of currencies, including the yen, and euro, rose by 0.05% to 96.98. Meanwhile, the euro fell 0.06% to $1.1862. Bitcoin gained a sharp 4.16%. Investors digested the Financial Times report that U.S. president Donald Trump intends to'scale back some tariffs on steel and aluminium products, citing sources familiar with the issue. Aluminum prices fell to their lowest level in a week on Friday.
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Romanian PM: Cost of planned SMR nuclear plant is $6-7 billion
Romania's 460 MW modular small nuclear reactor plant is expected to?cost $7 billion, and it will be difficult to devise a financing plan for such an investment? said Romanian Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan on Friday. Nuclearelectrica, a state-owned producer of nuclear power in Romania, announced on Thursday that it had made a decision to invest in a small modular reactor plant (SMR) in Doicesti. This could be the first project in Europe using this technology. The project would build six reactors in a staggered manner beyond 2030, using technology from the U.S. company NuScale Power. Nuclearelectrica holds a 50% share in the joint-venture and has not disclosed the project's cost. Bolojan said to local radio station Europa FM: "As far as I can remember, it's a pretty large sum of money. It is $6-$7billion. The business plan should also take into account how the energy will be used." "The investment will only be made when a funding formula is found." The amount of money involved, the complexity and early stage of the technology, as well as the large sum of money, will delay the investment. Romania, a member of the European Union, uses a mixture of gas, coal and renewable energy sources to generate electricity. It has also committed to phase out lignite, or brown coal, under conditions agreed as part exchange for EU funding. Nuclearelectrica is a company that owns?two 706-megawatt reactors using Canadian CANDU technologies, which are owned by AtkinsRealis (formerly known as SNC-Lavalin). These reactors account for one fifth of Romanian power production. It signed a main engineering contract in 2024 for 3.2 billion euros ($3.80 'billion) to build two additional 700 MW nuclear reactors before 2032, with a consortium including U.S. Fluor Corp. and Sargent & Lundy. It has also signed a main 'engineering contract' to extend the?life?of the first reactor connected to the grid in 1996 by 30 years at a cost around 1.9 billion euro. $1 = 0.8423 Euros (Reporting and editing by Susan Fenton; Luiza Ilie)
Gold dips as dollar steadies, focus turns to US tasks data
Gold fell more than 1% on Tuesday as the dollar steadied ahead of U.S. tasks data, due later on this week, which might set the tone for the Federal Reserve's. rate of interest method.
Area gold fell 0.9% to $2,329.10 per ounce by 1818. GMT.
U.S. gold futures settled 0.9% lower at $2,347.4. per ounce.
Gold reversed gains from a bounce late in the previous. session following weaker U.S. production information. The current. fall in the safe-haven asset likewise came despite a dip in Wall. Street.
There was probably a little bit of a response to the US dollar,. and a component of profit-taking in gold, said Bart Melek, head. of product strategies at TD Securities.
The dollar index steadied making gold more expensive for. overseas purchasers, after falling to its lowest given that mid-April. overnight.
Investors now await Friday's U.S. non-farm payrolls data for. clearness on rate cuts. Lower rates reduce the chance cost of. holding non-yielding bullion.
Weaker jobs data might trigger a short-term rally in gold,. while a more powerful number will pressure gold considering that it might suggest. the Fed is going to have a harder time cutting rates,. said Jim Wyckoff, senior expert at Kitco Metals.
Overall, gold is most likely to grind sideways, if not sideways. to somewhat lower here in the coming few weeks, disallowing an. unanticipated geopolitical event that would drive safe house. demand.
In addition, financiers watched on arise from. elections in India, the world's second-biggest gold customer.
If equities continue to crash, there will be some funds. entering into gold too, said ANZ commodity strategist Soni. Kumari.
General decreases in products, led by oil, might likewise be. contributing to the bearish belief in precious metals,. analysts stated.
Silver fell 3.8% to $29.59 per ounce, platinum. shed 1.6% at $995.50 per ounce and palladium lost. 0.1% to $916.50 per ounce.
(source: Reuters)