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Vietnam firms sign MoUs for the purchase of $2 billion worth of US farm products
The Agriculture Ministry announced on Tuesday that Vietnamese firms would sign memorandums with U.S. counterparts to purchase $2 billion of American farm products. This is part of the efforts to seal a trade agreement between the two nations. The Trump administration has imposed "reciprocal tariffs" of 46% on Vietnam. The tariffs have been suspended until July but if they are implemented, they could severely undermine a model of growth that relies on the exports to its largest market, the United States. The agriculture ministry announced that the new deals were signed by 50 Vietnamese companies, led by Agriculture Minister Do Duc Duy. They include five Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) to purchase $800 million worth of products from Iowa in the next three years. It added that the Iowa MoUs include purchases of corn and wheat, dried distillers grain, soybean meal, and other grains. Vietnam and the Trump Administration have been in negotiations over a trade deal, with Vietnam promising to allow more U.S. imported goods to reduce the trade deficit between the two nations. The United States recorded a $123 billion trade deficit with Vietnam in the past year. Vietnam News Agency reports that Vietnam exported agricultural products worth $13,68 billion to the United States last year, while buying $3.4 billion in farm produce from the United States. Vietnam has also promised to purchase other American products including Boeing planes, liquefied gas and natural gas. It has also pledged to Crackdown on counterfeits After the U.S. accused Canada of being a major center for illegal activities, including digital piracy.
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VEGOILS - Palm oil prices rise as Dalian Oils firm and India cut import duties on crude edible oil
The price of Malaysian palm oil futures increased on Tuesday as a result of the stronger Dalian edible oil market, and India's reduced basic import tax for crude edible oils. By midday, the benchmark contract for palm oil delivery in August on the Bursa Derivatives exchange had gained 89 Ringgit or 2.29% to $3,967 Ringgit ($934.07) per metric ton. The Chinese edible oil market is a major driver of palm oil futures, and the demand outlook has improved since India, the largest importer of crude edible oils, announced a decrease in import duties. India reduced the basic import duty on crude edible oil to 10%, Friday. The country is trying to lower food prices and support the local refinery industry. Lim added that a recent increase in crude oil price has increased palm's appeal for use as a feedstock for biofuel, which is contributing to the bullish sentiment. Dalian's palm oil contract, which is the most active contract, gained 1.53%. Chicago Board of Trade soyoil prices rose 0.3%. As palm oil competes to gain a share in the global vegetable oil market, it tracks price changes of competing edible oils. According to AmSpec Agri Malaysia, an independent inspection company, exports of Malaysian products containing palm oil rose by 13.2% in May. Intertek Testing Services, a cargo surveyor, said that the increase was 17.9%. Data from the Statistics Bureau showed that Indonesia exported 6,41 million metric tonnes of crude and refined Palm Oil in the period January to April, a decrease of 5.37% compared to the previous year. Prices rose on supply concerns, as Iran is set to reject the U.S. proposal for a nuclear deal that would ease sanctions on the country's largest oil producer. The dollar was also weaker, which helped to support prices. Palm oil is a better option as a biodiesel feedstock because crude oil futures are stronger. Technical analyst Wang Tao stated that palm oil is neutral within a small range between 3,860 and 3,886 ringgits per metric ton. An escape from this narrow range could indicate a direction.
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Higher margins for global oil refiners provide a short-term boost
In recent weeks, refiners around the world have made unexpected profits by producing fuels that are essential to summer demand. This is a welcome respite for a sector in trouble, before a predicted weakening of this year. Fuel markets are strong in contrast to crude oil prices that fell in May to a 4-year low after OPEC+ increased output faster than expected. This also indicates that demand has remained resilient despite concerns over tariffs. Neil Crosby, analyst at Sparta Commodities, said that margins are high because supply and demand balance is tight. The refining margin is the profit a refinery makes by converting crude oil into fuels like gasoline or diesel. Only a few short months ago, the oil majors warned that 2025 would be a difficult year for refinery. TotalEnergies reported lower profits in the first quarter due to weaker fuel earnings. Refiners are struggling with the waning of demand due to economic slowdowns. They also face increased competition from newer plants from Asia and Africa. According to Wood Mackenzie consultancy, global composite refining margins in May 2025 reached $8.37 a barrel, the highest level since March 2024. However, this is still lower than the average of $33.50 in June 2022, when demand recovered after the pandemic and Russia invaded Ukraine. Closures of refineries in the United States, Europe and Asia have helped to slow global net refinery growth below demand growth. This has made operational refineries more profitable. According to FGE, the global diesel supply is expected to decline by 100,000 barrels a day (bpd), while demand will fall by 40,000 bpd. Demand will increase by 28,000 barrels per day, while gasoline supply will decrease by 180,000 barrels per day. "We're seeing a tighter market for transport fuels, which is putting upward pressure on margins. This is much to the joy and relief of regional refiners," said FGE head of refined products Eugene Lindell. Qilin Tam, FGE’s head of refinery, said that all fuel-producing configurations benefit from the current margins. This is because both light fuels like gasoline and heavier products like fuel oils have increased recently. Shell's Wesseling plant and Petroineos Grangemouth refinery, both in Scotland, were closed this year. BP's Gelsenkirchen refining plant was also partially shut down. The refineries of Phillips 66 in Los Angeles and Valero in Benicia are scheduled to shut down in October 2025, respectively, in April 2026. The impact of refinery closures has also been compounded by unplanned shutdowns. JPMorgan reported that a power outage on the Iberian Peninsula on April 28 knocked down around 1.5 million barrels per day of refinery production. 400,000 barrels per day of this capacity were still offline two weeks later. In April, two of the world's largest new refinery projects - Nigeria's Dangote Refinery and Mexico's Olmeca Refinery - experienced unplanned shutdowns on their gasoline-producing units. TIGHTER BALANCES Fuel inventories in key hubs are down this year, causing an increase in demand for refinery production as we head into peak summer. JPMorgan analysts report that stocks in the OECD area, which includes the U.S. EU and Singapore, have fallen by 50 million barrels between January-May. Analysts said that the "significant reduction in product stock has highlighted the resilience of product prices." In the northern hemisphere, fuel demand is at its highest during summer due to an increase in motoring and aviation. Heavy fuel oil is most in demand during the summer months to cool down when temperatures are high. Janiv Shah, Rystad analyst, said that margins are supported by the strength of summer demand in northern hemisphere. Executives in the U.S. refinery industry are optimistic about demand while pointing out that stocks are relatively low. Brian Mandell, executive vice president of Phillips 66's first quarter earnings call, said that the company's current outlook for gasoline supplies is that inventories will continue to tighten. Maryann Mannen, CEO of Marathon Petroleum, said that the company's domestic and international businesses saw steady demand for gasoline and growth in diesel and jet fuel compared to 2020. Analysts warn that current strength could soon be eroded as trade wars hit demand and fuel production increases as plants seek to profit from higher profits. Austin Lin, Wood Mackenzie's analyst, said: "We think there will be a slight short-term bump." According to the International Energy Agency, the growth in global oil demand is expected to be 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) for the rest of 2025. This is down from 1 million bpd during the first quarter, as trade uncertainty has weighed on the world economy. A veteran oil trader who requested anonymity said, "I think that this is the best thing for refining companies."
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Dollar slips, shares cautious as trade concerns persist
Asia shares were slightly higher in Asia on Tuesday, while the dollar dropped to a six week low. Investors turned defensive as the erratic U.S. policies clouded the market sentiment. White House Press Secretary Karoline Laavitt announced on Monday that U.S. president Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would likely speak this week. This comes after Trump had accused Beijing of breaking an agreement to reduce tariffs and trade barriers. Markets will closely monitor the call between the leaders, as tensions in trade between the world's largest economies continue to simmer due to tariffs. Monday's data showed that U.S. manufacturers contracted for the third consecutive month in May, and that suppliers were taking longer than ever to deliver inputs due to tariffs. Wells Fargo economists said that the May ISM data showed that tariff pressure was beginning to affect manufacturers, who are experiencing slower activity, longer lead-times and decreasing inventories. A private sector survey released on Tuesday showed that China's factory activities in May were also down for the first eight-month period. This indicates that U.S. Tariffs are beginning to affect manufacturers. U.S. Futures fell in the Asian session due to the gloomy trade situation, and failed to maintain the gains that were made overnight on Wall Street during the cash session. Nasdaq and S&P futures both fell by more than 0.3%. In Europe, EUROSTOXX futures and FTSE Futures both rose by just 0.1%. The MSCI broadest index for Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan reversed earlier losses to trade 0.4% higher at the last trading session, while Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.1%. Matt Simpson, City Index's senior analyst and market strategist, said that Trump has the sentiment of the country in his palms once more. He said that he expected to hear Trump and Xi talk about a "really great call" or something to that effect. We'll have to wait until China confirms, as they tend to be slow on this matter. Price action may be unstable until we receive concrete confirmation. We also need to consider the June 4, deadline for "best trade deals" from U.S. Trading Partners. The Trump Administration wants all countries to submit their best offers on trade negotiations before Wednesday. Officials are trying to speed up talks with several partners in order to meet a deadline they set themselves of five weeks. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.4%, while the CSI300 blue chip index gained 0.3%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose more than 1% from its one-month-low on Monday. PAYROLLS ARE AVAILABLE ON DECK The dollar dropped to its lowest level in six weeks against a basket currency early on Tuesday. This was ahead of the U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls data on Friday, which will provide a timely read on the health and performance of the largest economy on earth. The Federal Reserve may be able to ease policy again if unemployment increases. Investors have largely given up hope of a reduction this month or the next. The dollar index ended the session marginally higher, at 98.86. This was a slight improvement from its earlier losses. The euro also reached a six-week high before paring back some of its gains. It was last traded at $1.1421, and sterling fell 0.14% to 1.0025. The Treasury market would benefit from a softer U.S. employment report. 30-year yields are still flirting with the 5% mark as investors continue to demand higher premiums to offset the growing supply of debt. This week, the Senate will begin considering a tax and spending bill that is estimated to add $3.8 trillion dollars to the $36.2 trillion debt of the federal government. The evidence indicates that term premiums are being re-priced significantly higher to account U.S. fiscal risks, geoeconomic risks, trade risks, and credit risks, along with some hedges against the (U.S. Dollar) depreciation, said Vishnu Varathan. He is head of macro-research for Asia ex Japan at Mizuho. The dollar increased by 0.2% against the yen to 142.92. Kazuo Ueda, Governor of the Bank of Japan, said that the central bank would raise interest rates when it was sufficiently convinced of a resurgence in economic growth and prices after a prolonged period of stagnation. Brent crude futures rose 0.34% to $64.85 per barrel while U.S. Crude gained 0.45% to 62.79 per barrel. Spot gold fell from its four-week high to $3,362.10 per ounce.
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Wall Street Journal, June 3,
These are the most popular stories from the Wall Street Journal. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch their accuracy. Staff at the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency have confirmed that they are abandoning a plan for hurricane response which their newly appointed leader David Richardson had claimed was near completion. The U.S. Federal Government has proposed to remove restrictions on oil and natural gas development in a 23-million-acre reserve of Alaska. EchoStar, a telecom company, has skipped another interest payment while it waits for the Federal Communications Commission to complete its review. Snowflake, a cloud-based data warehouse company, has acquired database startup CrunchyData, in an effort to attract customers who are looking to create their own artificial-intelligence agents. A person familiar with this matter estimates the deal at approximately $250 million. Walt Disney announced Monday that it would be laying off hundreds of people worldwide across a number of divisions. These include marketing for film, television, TV publicity and casting, corporate financial operations and corporate finance. In the proposed budget of U.S. president Donald Trump for fiscal 2026, funding for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency will be cut by $495 millions to $2.38 billion.
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The price of oil is rising due to supply concerns and a weaker dollar
The oil prices rose on Tuesday due to concerns over supply. Iran is set to reject the U.S. proposal for a nuclear deal that would ease sanctions on the country's largest oil producer. A weaker dollar also helped to support prices. Brent crude futures rose 21 cents or 0.32% to $64.84 per barrel at 0437 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was up 27 cents or 0.43% to $62.79 per barrel after rising by about 1% in the previous session. In a report, ING analysts said that the oil market gained on Monday due to rising geopolitical risk and a lower-than-expected supply increase from OPEC+. ING stated on Tuesday that "the strength continued in the early morning trading today." Both contracts rose by nearly 3% the previous session, after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) agreed to limit the increase in production in July to 411,000 barrels a day. This was lower than many market participants had feared, and the same as the two previous months. Analysts at ANZ said that investors have unwound the bearish positions built up before the weekend meeting. The dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency against six major currencies, was near its six-week low as the markets assessed the impact that President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs could have on the economy and inflation. Oil, for example, becomes cheaper when the dollar value of commodities is weaker. "Crude Oil Prices Continue to Rise, Supported by the Weakening Dollar," said Priyanka Sackdeva, Senior Market Analyst at Phillip Nova. Prices were also supported by geopolitical tensions. Iran is set to reject the U.S. proposal for settling a decades-old dispute over nuclear energy, a diplomat from Iran said on Monday. He claimed that it did not address Tehran's concerns or soften Washington’s stance towards uranium enrichment. If the nuclear talks between Iran and the U.S. fail, this could lead to continued sanctions against Iran. This would limit Iranian oil supply and support oil prices. A wildfire in Alberta, Canada, has caused a temporary shut-down of oil and gas production. This could lead to a reduction in supply. Wildfires have affected the production of crude oil in Canada by more than 344,000 barrels per day (bpd). This is about 7%. (Reporting and editing by Sonali Freed and Jamie Freed; Anjana Anil and Michele Pek)
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India's imports of iron ore will continue to rise, but it is not China: Russell
India's growing steel industry is hailed as a boon for iron ore miner's looking to expand their market as China's production slows down. But the reality may not match the hype. India's capacity to produce steel is about 200 million tons per year, and the South Asian country has ambitious plans for reaching 300 million tons by 2030. How would this change the dynamics of the global iron ore seaborne market if these plans were to be realized? To get a definitive answer, you need to determine how much of India's demand for iron ore can be met from its own mines. According to preliminary data, India is the world's fourth largest iron ore producer. Its production reached a record of 289 million tonnes in the fiscal period from April 2024 through March 2025. The amount of steel produced in the last fiscal year was 277 million tonnes. However, this is still far short of the 300 million tons required per annum to meet demand. It takes about 1.6 tonnes of iron ore to produce one ton using the basic oxygen furnace/blast furnace process. This is the most popular method used in India and China, the world's largest steel producer. It is possible for India's iron ore production to reach 460 million tonnes by 2030. If it does, can the infrastructure to transport ore from mines to steel mills be built? Anil Agarwal, chairman of Vedanta group, told Business Standard in October that India could overtake China and Brazil as the world's second largest iron ore producer after Australia. Vedanta is the owner of Sesa Goa Iron Ore. While Agarwal's claim of India's vast reserves is true, it is unlikely that such an increase in iron ore production in a short time period is possible. The Indian Steel Association predicts that iron ore will be in short supply by more than 100 millions tons over the next few years. This will mean an increase in imports. Imports are rising. India is a net iron ore exporter. It usually ships lower-grade ore to China, while importing material of higher quality to mix with the domestic ore. According to commodity analysts Kpler, India exported 13.67 million tonnes in the first five month of 2025, with 11.11 million of those going to China. As domestic steel mills use more ore, exports are on the decline. The average monthly exports for the first five month of 2025 is 2.73 million tonnes, down from 3.13 million in 2024 and 3.70 millions in 2023. Kpler reports that imports also increased, reaching 4.57 million tonnes in the first five month of 2025. The Indian imports are expected to double this year, from 6.72 million tonnes in 2024, and 6.67 millions in 2023. Even if imports rise to 10 million tonnes this year, there is a long road to 100 millions tons by 2030. How quickly India can build up its steel capacity, and how the domestic iron ore miners respond will determine how much of an impact this has. According to the Global Energy Monitor, India currently has a steel capacity of 20 million tons and another 155 million are planned. Iron ore imports will be boosted by the under-construction plants, but volumes are expected to remain modest for at least this year and next. It is most likely that the current trend will continue, with India's low-grade iron-ore exports decreasing and its higher-grade imports increasing over time. These are the views of the columnist, an author for.
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PMI data shows that growth in Saudi Arabia's private non-oil sector accelerated in May.
A survey released on Tuesday showed that the expansion of Saudi Arabia's private non-oil sector activity accelerated in May. This was due to an increase in new orders and a boost in business confidence. The seasonally-adjusted Riyad Bank Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers' Index rose from 55.6 to 55.8 by May, firmly in the growth zone even though it is still below the peak level of 60.5 at the start of the year. In May, new order volumes recovered strongly from an eight-month low reached in April. This was due to a combination of increased demand, a strong sales performance and new marketing campaigns. Export orders also increased, although at the slower pace than in previous months. The subindex for new orders jumped from 58.6 in April to 62.5 readings in May. The pace of growth in output has slowed to its lowest level since September 2024. According to the survey, the construction industry led both in terms of activity and the number of new businesses. Naif Al Ghaith is the chief economist at Riyad Bank. He said that domestically, firms have increased hiring in order to meet rising output requirements. Meanwhile, purchasing activity has seen its highest growth since March 2024. This was supported by faster vendor delivery times, and a more flexible supply chain. The increase in raw material supplier fees was the main reason for the sharp rise in input prices. However, firms were forced to lower their prices by competitive pressures, especially in the service sector, despite increased costs. As companies cited improved demand conditions and expansion plans, the degree of optimism among respondents reached an 18-month peak. Toby Chopra, Toby Chopra (Reporting)
CANADA-CRUDE-Heavy oil discount rate widens as refinery upkeep reported
The discount rate on Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy unrefined versus the North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) expanded on Friday after reports that a major U.S. refinery would quickly go on turn-around:
* WCS for July shipment in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $ 14.50 a barrel below the WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, having actually settled at $13.80 a barrel under the criteria on Thursday.
* BP's 435,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Whiting, Indiana, refinery plans to conduct a major turn-around in the coming months, an industry source stated on Thursday. Whiting is a major consumer of Canadian heavy crude.
* WCS has been trending broader this month, with some traders associating the weak point to issues the recently broadened Trans Mountain pipeline will not be able to load as lots of tankers in the Port of Vancouver as prepared for.
* Worldwide oil costs settled a little lower after a survey revealed degrading U.S. customer sentiment, however rates rose 4%. for the week as investors weighed forecasts for strong need for. petroleum and fuel in 2024.
(source: Reuters)