2025-08-21 11:26
MUMBAI, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Indian importers for the first time bought palm oil from Colombia and Guatemala as producers sitting on surplus stocks offered cargoes at steep discounts, four trade sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. Indonesia and Malaysia dominate global palm oil supplies and are the main suppliers to India, which imported 9 million tons of palm oil in 2023/24. Colombia and Guatemala, the fourth- and sixth-largest producers of palm oil, usually export their surplus stocks to Europe and North America. Sign up here. Rising production in the two Latin American countries and their ability to divert their supplies could weigh on benchmark Malaysian palm oil futures , industry officials said. Colombian and Guatemalan cargoes were offered at steep discounts on a free-on-board (FOB) basis to ensure their landed cost at Indian ports remained lower than supplies from Malaysia and Indonesia, said a Mumbai-based dealer at a global trading house, who declined to be named in line with company policy. Indian buyers prefer quick shipments, and the shipping time from South America is about 45 days, but the discounts were enough to lure them, the dealer said. The landed cost of South American palm oil at Indian ports was more than $10 per ton lower than supplies from Indonesia and Malaysia, another Mumbai-based dealer said. Crude palm oil (CPO) is currently being offered at about $1,165 a ton, including cost, insurance and freight (CIF), in India for October delivery. Freight to ship palm oil from the Americas is about $90 per ton, compared with $45 from Southeast Asia, said Sandeep Bajoria, chief executive of Sunvin Group, a Mumbai-based brokerage. Vessels will be loaded at South American ports in September to arrive at India's Kandla port in October, said a New Delhi-based dealer. Latin America exports half of its 5 million tons of palm oil, and India's first purchases from the region could open the door to more supplies, said Aashish Acharya, vice president at Patanjali Foods Ltd (PAFO.NS) , opens new tab, a leading importer of edible oils. Palm oil demand has been rising and will remain robust in the coming months due to the festival season in India, Acharya said. Festival season starts in September and sees increased demand for edible oils to produce sweets and fried foods. Demand usually dips again during winter months. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-snaps-up-steeply-discounted-palm-oil-colombia-guatemala-2025-08-21/
2025-08-21 11:26
BRUSSELS, Aug 21 (Reuters) - The European Union's proposal would mean lowered U.S. car tariffs down to 15% retroactively from August 1st, the European Union's trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic said on Thursday. Sefcovic's comment came as a 3-1/2 page joint statement by the United States and the EU was released, locking in a trade deal reached last month that includes a 15% tariff on most EU imports. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/eu-says-its-proposal-means-lowered-us-car-tariffs-down-15-retroactively-aug-1-2025-08-05/
2025-08-21 11:22
GENEVA, Aug 21 (Reuters) - The head of the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency on Thursday voiced concern that children suffering from malnutrition in Gaza will die if emergency provisions are not immediately put in place during Israel's Gaza City military operation. UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said that its data showed a six-fold increase in the number of children suffering from malnutrition in Gaza City since March. Sign up here. "We have a population that is extremely weak that will be confronted with a new major military operation," he told a Geneva press club meeting. "Many will simply not have the strength to undergo a new displacement." "Many of them will not survive," he said of the children, addressing the audience in French. "It is a manufactured and fabricated famine. It is deliberate. Food has been used as an instrument of war," he said. In May, a global hunger monitor said that half a million people in the Gaza Strip faced starvation but stopped short of using the term famine. Israel's military agency that coordinates aid, COGAT, has previously said it invests considerable efforts to ensure aid reaches Gaza and has denied restricting supplies. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/unrwa-chief-warns-many-malnourished-children-will-die-gaza-city-operation-2025-08-21/
2025-08-21 10:44
LONDON, Aug 21 (Reuters) - What matters in U.S. and global markets today By Mike Dolan , opens new tab, Editor-At-Large, Finance and Markets Sign up here. U.S. tech stocks seem to have found a level following two days of sharp pullbacks, but the Treasury market was unnerved by the latest Federal Reserve drama just as everyone awaits the central bank’s annual Wyoming jamboree. U.S. stock futures ended in the red again on Wednesday, driven by a whole host of AI and tech sector jitters ahead of Nvidia's big earnings release next week. But stock futures seemed to find a foothold ahead of today's bell, with attention turning back to the Fed following President Trump's demand for the resignation of another Fed board member - Lisa Cook - over allegations of mortgage fraud that she insists she will contest. * If Cook were forced out, Trump would then likely secure a majority of his appointees on the seven-person Fed board by next summer. If Chair Jerome Powell, who gives his keynote Jackson Hole speech on Friday, steps down as a board member when his chairmanship ends in May, then a majority of deep rate cut advocates could well emerge on the Fed's policymaking committee with the support of just one regional Fed boss. * Despite the board machinations, minutes from the Fed's last meeting showed two policymakers - Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman - were alone in voting for a rate cut and it recounted how "almost all" favored holding the policy rate steady last month. Fed futures pricing for September's meeting slipped back to show less than an 80% chance of a rate cut and Treasury yields nudged higher, with a mixed review of the latest 20-year bond auction. The dollar was steady but gold firmed after the Cook story, giving up some of that today. * The big economic releases around the world today were early August business surveys, which came in above forecast in Europe and Japan - propping the euro, sterling and yen even though stocks in all three areas fell back. U.S. equivalent surveys are due later, with the Philadelphia Fed's August survey also released alongside closely watched jobless claims updates and existing home sales data for July. Walmart tops the earnings diary in a busy week for big retailers. In today's column, I look at the extraordinary moves by the Trump administration to propose taking stakes in big chipmaking firms, which would radically shift U.S. industrial policy and raise questions about what might next be seen as "strategic". , opens new tab Today's Market Minute * Financial markets are taking in a collective breath ahead of Jerome Powell's eighth and final keynote Jackson Hole speech as Federal Reserve Chair. If the moves following his last seven are any guide, writes ROI columnist Jamie McGeever, investors should buckle up for a bumpy ride. * China is considering allowing the usage of yuan-backed stablecoins for the first time to boost wider adoption of its currency globally, sources familiar with the matter said, in a major reversal of its stance towards digital assets. * Indian companies have seen the steepest earnings downgrades in Asia, with analysts slashing forecasts as steep U.S. tariffs heighten risks to growth even if proposed domestic tax cuts help cushion the impact. * Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek on Thursday released DeepSeek-V3.1, an upgraded model with hybrid inference structure, faster thinking speed and stronger agent capability, the company said in a statement published on WeChat. * U.S. power generation capacity is evolving at the fastest pace in decades, as utilities scramble to ensure that supplies keep up with rapidly growing electricity demand. ROI columnist Gavin Maguire lays out current expectations for the U.S. power generation mix through the next 10 years. Chart of the day The week's latest tech shakeout, with heavy losses for high flyers such as Nvidia and Palantir, comes as the sector's price-to-earnings ratio recently reached about 30 times expected earnings for the next 12 months, its highest level in a year, and tech's share of overall S&P 500 market value is close to its highest since 2000. Seeds of doubt over such heady valuations were sown over the past week by a study from researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that found that 95% of organizations are getting no return on AI investments, and comments by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman that investors may be getting overexcited about AI and some bubbles would emerge and pop. Today's events to watch * Philadelphia Federal Reserve's August business survey (8:30 AM EDT), U.S. weekly jobless claims (8:30 AM EDT), S&P Global flash U.S. business surveys for August (9:45 AM EDT) U.S. July existing home sales (10:00 AM EDT); Canada July producer prices (8:30 AM EDT); Euro zone August consumer confidence (10:00 AM EDT) * Fed's annual Jackson Hole symposium gets underway; Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic speaks * U.S. corporate earnings: Walmart, Ross Stores, Workday, Intuit * U.S. Treasury sells $8 billion of 30-year inflation protected securities Want to receive the Morning Bid in your inbox every weekday morning? Sign up for the newsletter here. You can find ROI on the Reuters website , opens new tab, and you can follow us on LinkedIn , opens new tab and X. , opens new tab Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles , opens new tab, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/global-markets-view-usa-2025-08-21/
2025-08-21 10:34
August 21(Reuters) - Sterling gained against the dollar on Thursday after a survey showed that British businesses are having their best month in a year due to a rebound in the services sector, while investors also kept their focus on the Fed's Jackson Hole symposium. Sterling rose 0.2% against the dollar to $1.3483 and was marginally higher on the euro at 86.57 pence to the common currency . Sign up here. The services data trails a hot inflation print from Wednesday, which had spurred only fleeting gains for sterling. The currency's rise didn't prove sticky, as analysts pinned the upside surprise on services inflation largely due to higher airfares as opposed to indications of broad-based price pressures. The inflation numbers are unlikely to have a major impact on the Bank of England's policy trajectory as "the composition of the data was less bad than the headline number," said Samy Chaar, chief economist at Lombard Odier. Money markets are currently pricing in a less than 50% chance of rate cut by the BoE before the end of 2025 while a cut is only priced in by March 2026. The benchmark two-year gilt yield, meanwhile, rose 6 basis points to 3.97% on Thursday, reversing a drop the previous day. Sterling stands out as a leading carry trade candidate among the currencies of the Group of 10, comparable to the high-yielding U.S. dollar, analysts at UBS said in a note. Carry trades involve borrowing in currencies with low interest rates and then using those funds to buy currencies with better yields. "We expected a temporary consolidation of the strong GBP/USD rally. This has now played out, and we see more upside from here with a year-end target of 1.39," the UBS note said. Sterling is up nearly 8% against the dollar over 2025. The focus now turns to the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole symposium where Fed Chair Jerome Powell is slated to speak on Friday. The event takes place in the shadow of renewed investor concerns over U.S. President Donald Trump's attempts to gain influence over the central bank. Trump called on Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to resign on Wednesday on the basis of allegations made by one of his political allies concerning mortgages she holds in Michigan and Georgia. Against a basket of peers, the dollar was little changed at 98.2. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/sterling-firms-against-dollar-after-strong-business-activity-data-2025-08-21/
2025-08-21 10:32
European stock indexes down, Wall Street futures mixed Euro zone business activity expanded in August, PMIs show Markets wait for Fed's Jackson Hole comments PARIS, Aug 21 (Reuters) - European stock markets fell slightly in early trading on Thursday, hovering just below recent highs, as traders avoided making big moves and waited for the Federal Reserve's three-day annual Jackson Hole symposium. Jackson Hole starts on Thursday and focus will be on Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech on Friday, which could move markets as traders look for hints about the likelihood of a September rate cut. Sign up here. “People are sitting on their hands. You have a couple of big known unknowns coming, with Jackson Hole tomorrow and the Fed in September," said Tim Graf, head of macro strategy for EMEA at State Street Markets. “This is the time to send the message, if you’re going to ease, that it’s coming," he said. "But I can also see them saying, we don’t know the full effect of tariffs and inflation pressure is still not quite out of the economy and being a bit more balanced." Traders had ramped up bets for a September cut following a surprisingly weak payrolls report at the start of this month, and were further encouraged after consumer price data showed limited upward pressure from tariffs. But they lowered their expectations slightly following the release of minutes from the Fed's July meeting. Stock markets stayed near recent highs during Asian trading, and Australia's benchmark (.AXJO) , opens new tab hit a new record. At 0946 GMT, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down by 0.2%, just below the five-month high it hit in the previous session (.STOXX) , opens new tab. London's FTSE 100 was down 0.1% (.FSTE) , opens new tab, Germany's DAX was down 0.1% (.GDAXI) , opens new tab and France's CAC 40 was down 0.4% . The MSCI World Equity Index was down 0.1% on the day (.MIWD00000PUS) , opens new tab. U.S. stock futures were mixed, with Nasdaq e-minis steady but S&P 500 e-minis down by 0.1% , . A U.S. tech selloff had continued for a second day on Wednesday, in a move analysts attributed to concerns about high valuations, profit-taking and risk aversion. Euro zone business activity accelerated in August, PMI data showed, with Germany registering its fastest growth since March and France's downturn easing. Euro zone bond yields were mostly higher, with the benchmark 10-year German Bund at 2.7374% . The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield was at 4.3101% . The U.S. dollar index was up 0.2% on the day at 98.225 , and the euro was steady at $1.1653 . U.S. President Donald Trump intensified his effort to influence the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, calling on Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to resign on the basis of allegations made by one of his political allies about mortgages she holds in Michigan and Georgia. Cook said she had "no intention of being bullied to step down" from her position at the central bank. Deutsche Bank analysts in a research note attributed a rise in gold overnight to renewed concerns about the Fed's independence. "The news was a reminder of the lingering concerns over future Fed independence and risks of fiscal dominance, though the extent of the market reaction was fairly modest," Deutsche Bank said. State Street Markets' Tim Graf said that although central bank independence is considered "sacrosanct" by markets, it was not yet problematic. “Markets quite rightly look through this, price maybe a little bit of risk premium for sure, but it's not something that I think really upsets the apple cart too much," he said. Gold prices edged lower on Thursday, at $3340.61 per ounce. Oil prices rose, bolstered by signs of strong demand in the U.S.. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-update-3-2025-08-21/
