2025-08-21 19:12

All eyes on Fed chair's address at Jackson Hole Odds of Fed rate cut next month at 74% Jobless claims rise by most in three months US business activity picked up pace in August NEW YORK, Aug 21 (Reuters) - The dollar gained on Thursday before a highly anticipated speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday will be evaluated for any new clues on whether the U.S. central bank is likely to cut interest rates next month. Traders ramped up bets on a cut at the Fed’s September 16-17 meeting after an unexpectedly weak jobs report for July. The risk of higher inflation as President Donald Trump's administration enacts new trade tariffs, however, remains a wild card that is making some policymakers hesitant to ease. Sign up here. The Fed’s Jackson Hole theme this year is “Labor Markets in Transition,” and “I guess it depends on how much (Powell) wants to lean on cracks in the labor market,” said Eric Theoret, FX strategist at Scotiabank in Toronto. “Whether it's the payrolls and the revisions, or whether it's the claims that continue to climb higher, there is a narrative there that he can definitely push on,” Theoret said. The dollar briefly pared gains on Thursday after data showed that the number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits rose by the most in about three months last week. It later added to its rally after a separate report showed that U.S. business activity picked up pace in August, led by a resurgent manufacturing sector that featured the strongest growth in orders in 18 months. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, was last up 0.38% on the day at 98.60, with the euro down 0.34% at $1.1611. The Japanese yen weakened 0.65% against the greenback to 148.29 per dollar. Sterling fell 0.27% to $1.342. Economists at Goldman Sachs expect Powell on Friday to modify his comments from the July Fed meeting, when he said that the U.S. central bank is "well positioned" to wait for more information. "Instead, he might note that the FOMC is well positioned to address risks to both sides of its mandate but emphasize that downside risks to the labor market have grown following the July employment report, while reiterating that tariffs are likely to have only a one-time effect on the price level," the economists said in a report. "We do not expect him to decisively signal a September cut, but the speech should make it clear to markets that he is likely to support one," they added. Powell is seen as unlikely to clearly signal a rate cut with data for August still due before the September session. Fed funds futures traders pared expectations for a September cut ahead of Powell's speech and are now pricing in 74% odds of a September cut, down from 82% on Wednesday, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool. They are also pricing in 49 basis points of cuts by year-end, down from 54 basis points. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said on Thursday that he still thinks the U.S. central bank can cut its interest rate target once this year, while noting there is a lot of uncertainty around that view as the economy undergoes considerable change. Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid said there seems no rush to cut interest rates, with inflation still above the central bank's 2% target and the labor market still in solid shape. Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack also said that based on where the economy is right now, ongoing issues with inflation mean it is not the time to cut the central bank’s interest rate target. Meanwhile, the U.S. Justice Department plans to investigate Fed Governor Lisa Cook, with a top official informing Powell of the probe and encouraging him to remove her from the board, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday. Trump on Wednesday called on Cook to resign, citing allegations made about mortgages she holds in Michigan and Georgia. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin fell 1.77% to $112,466. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/dollar-gains-before-key-powell-speech-jackson-hole-friday-2025-08-21/

2025-08-21 19:01

BUENOS AIRES, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Miner and trader Glencore will aim to produce nearly 1 million tons of copper annually at its planned El Pachon and Agua Rica projects in Argentina over the next 10 to 15 years, the company's CEO in the Latin American country said on Thursday. Argentina does not currently produce any copper, but several major miners are proposing projects that could make the country an important global supplier. Sign up here. Glencore earlier this week applied for its Argentina projects to qualify for the government's Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI), saying it would spend $4 billion to develop Agua Rica and $9.5 billion to develop El Pachon. Glencore's Argentina CEO Martin Perez de Solay said he anticipated initial production of 500,000 metric tons of copper a year from the projects, and that El Pachon in particular was poised for significant growth in output. "Glencore could be producing close to 1 million tons of copper in Argentina in 10 to 15 years," he said at an event organized by the Council of the Americas. He did not give a timeframe for production to start, but said he anticipated strong prices by the time the copper went on the market and global copper demand was likely to reach 35 million tons by 2035. De Solay said seven of the main projects in Argentina could produce 2 million tons of copper annually in 10 years, with investment ranging from $35 billion to $45 billion. "Two-thirds of the investment remains in Argentina, so it's essential for the foreign exchange balance," de Solay said He estimated that the output could yield $20 billion a year in exports. Argentina has not produced copper since the closure of the Bajo de la Alumbrera mine in 2018. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/glencore-targets-1-million-tons-copper-argentina-over-coming-decade-2025-08-21/

2025-08-21 18:52

SUCHITOTO, El Salvador, Aug 12 (Reuters) - The proliferation of water lettuce on El Salvador's largest wetland reservoir, known as Lake Suchitlan, is jeopardizing a key source of the country's hydropower generation as well as local species and communities, authorities said on Tuesday. Residents armed with excavators and dump trucks among other tools venture out to the reservoir on a daily basis to remove swathes of the bright green aquatic plants, which are growing rapidly due to flows of nutrients, debris and pollution, exacerbated by seasonal downpours. Sign up here. The free-floating invasive weed, which is not generally considered edible for humans, can smother native plants and choke waterways. The reservoir is El Salvador's largest freshwater body and plays a key role in the country's hydropower operations. It is also a specially designated wetland site, home a rich variety of migratory birds, aquatic species and native plants. Since late July, workers have cleared the equivalent of nine soccer fields of vegetation from the water's surface, weighing around 1,270 metric tons, according to CEL, the government's local hydroelectric commission. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/pollution-fed-aquatic-weed-overruns-el-salvadors-largest-reservoir-2025-08-13/

2025-08-21 18:49

Aug 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department does not plan to target software developers that create decentralized platforms for transmitting cryptocurrencies without criminal intent, a Justice official said on Thursday. Marking the latest sign of the U.S. government's changing views on crypto, acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Galeotti of the DOJ's criminal division said the department will move away from bringing charges over failure to register as a money transmitter business. Sign up here. "Our view is that merely writing code, without ill-intent, is not a crime," Galeotti said in remarks prepared for a crypto summit in Wyoming. Money transmitters, such as Western Union and payment apps like Venmo, need to be licensed and follow certain rules for vetting customers and reporting suspicious activity to prevent money laundering. Such rules have become a flashpoint for the crypto sector, especially for decentralized exchanges which often say they have no visibility or oversight over transactions on their platforms. A jury earlier this month found a co-founder of Tornado Cash, a firm which makes cryptocurrency transactions harder to track, guilty of a conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. Anti-corruption advocates say such firms make it easier to launder illicit funds. But critics of the case said the co-founder, Roman Storm, merely created the computer code. The jury in the case deadlocked over whether he was guilty of money laundering and sanctions evasion. Those charges were brought by the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan under the Biden administration. The DOJ under Republican President Donald Trump, whose family has been building a crypto business, has dramatically shifted its approach to the crypto sector. The Justice Department has disbanded its crypto enforcement team, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a civil regulator, has walked away from a number of cases against crypto firms and executives. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/us-doj-back-off-money-transmitter-cases-shift-backed-by-crypto-2025-08-21/

2025-08-21 18:37

WASHINGTON, Aug 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. Commerce Department said on Thursday it has opened a national security investigation into the import of wind turbines and components. Earlier this week, the department said it was adding wind turbines to a list of products that will face 50% tariffs on the aluminum and steel content. The "Section 232" investigation, which was opened on August 13 but not made public until now, could be used as a basis for even higher tariffs on imported wind turbines. Sign up here. Energy research firm Wood Mackenzie said approximately two-thirds of the value of a typical U.S. wind turbine is imported. U.S. imports of 2023 wind-related imported equipment were valued at $1.7 billion, the lowest volumes since 2013, the firm added, with Europe being the biggest exporter (41%), followed by Mexico (34%), and India (around 15%), the firm added, saying Chinese imports have diminished due to increased trade tensions. Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has repeatedly sought to stall development of wind and solar energy, calling them unreliable, expensive and overly dependent on Chinese supply chains. The Commerce Department is seeking comments on the role of foreign supply chains in meeting U.S. demand for wind turbines and on "the impact of foreign government subsidies and predatory trade practices on the competitiveness of the wind turbines and their parts and components industry." The United States is self-sufficient for nacelle assembly and tower supply, while maintaining limited blade manufacturing capacity. However, the majority of blades, all drivetrains and other electrical components are imported, Wood Mackenzie analyst Endri Lico said. The department has opened numerous probes into the national security ramifications of imports of airplanes, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, heavy trucks, copper, timber and lumber, critical minerals and drones. The offshore wind industry has struggled in recent years with soaring inflation and logistical problems that have raised costs. It faced a further setback when Trump suspended licensing on his first day back in office in January. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-opens-national-security-probe-into-imported-wind-turbines-components-2025-08-21/

2025-08-21 18:23

BERLIN/FRANKFURT, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Berlin is considering extending its trusteeship over the German assets of Russian oil producer Rosneft (ROSN.MM) , opens new tab for a sixth time, two people familiar with the matter said, as efforts to sell the business drag on. The repeated trusteeship renewals raise pressure on Berlin to come up with a better legal structure for Rosneft's activities in Germany. Sign up here. The situation is emblematic of the challenges Berlin faces in dealing with Russian assets in Germany at a time when efforts to end the war in Ukraine are picking up pace. Rosneft's German assets, including stakes in the Schwedt, MiRo and Bayernoil refineries, were put under government trusteeship in September 2022 in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which sparked an energy crisis due to the collapse of Europe's relations with key supplier Russia. So far, Berlin has shied away from nationalising Rosneft's activities, opting instead to maintain de facto control over them via a trusteeship that still leaves legal ownership in Russian hands. The trusteeship, which has to be renewed every six months, currently runs until September 10 and is being enacted by the German network regulator, the Bundesnetzagentur, on behalf of the economy ministry. A formal decision about the trusteeship extension is still outstanding, the sources said. Rosneft, Russia's biggest oil producer, has sought to sell its German businesses, including a 54.17% stake in the PCK Schwedt refinery, but talks with potential suitors, including Qatar, have proven unsuccessful so far. The first source said talks between Rosneft and Qatar were ongoing. Rosneft also owns a 24% stake in the MiRo and a 28.57% stake in the Bayernoil refineries. The economy ministry said that Berlin was examining various options regarding the group's German assets. "Ensuring security of supply remains the primary goal," a spokesperson for the ministry said, adding that Berlin was not part of the sales negotiations and could not provide information about it. The Qatar Investment Authority and Rosneft did not respond to requests for comment. Gazprom Germania, now operating under the name Sefe, was nationalised by Berlin in 2022 after the group's former Russian parent ditched the division, which is a vital part of Germany's gas supply. "The federal government is locked into its own strategy. For the (conservatives) Christian Democrats, expropriating companies would be against their campaigns ... it would be a major step with a very high threshold," the first source said. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/berlin-weighs-trusteeship-extension-rosnefts-german-assets-sources-say-2025-08-21/