2025-08-07 12:31

Aug 7 (Reuters) - Cheniere Energy (LNG.N) , opens new tab on Thursday reported a second-quarter profit that nearly doubled, driven by steady demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and robust margins, and said it has signed a LNG supply deal with Japan's biggest power generator. The U.S. is the world's largest exporter of the superchilled gas and commercial activity has gained further momentum after President Donald Trump lifted a moratorium on new LNG export permits after taking office in January. Sign up here. In July, the European Union pledged $750 billion worth in strategic LNG purchases over three years from the U.S. as part of a sweeping trade pact, opening up opportunities for major producers like Cheniere. The company's LNG revenue was at $4.52 billion in the reported quarter, up about 43% from a year earlier, while the number of LNG cargoes exported was at 154, down by one, dragged down by maintenance activities. Separately, Cheniere and Japan's JERA signed a LNG supply agreement, under which JERA will purchase about 1 million tonne per annum of the superchilled gas from Cheniere from 2029 through 2050. In June, JERA agreed to new supply deals for U.S. liquefied natural gas to diversify its global portfolio away from its reliance on Australia. Cheniere also reported an adjusted core profit of $1.42 billion, missing analysts' average estimate of $1.56 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. However, the company raised the lower end of its current- year adjusted core profit forecast by $100 million to between $6.6 billion and $7.0 billion. Cheniere's Corpus Christi Stage 3 project, an export facility in South Texas, was 86.7% complete as of June 30. The Stage 3 project is expected to add 10 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) of LNG to Cheniere's production capacity of 15 mtpa at the export facility. The company reported net income attributable to Cheniere of $1.63 billion, or $7.30 per share, for the quarter ended June 30, up nearly 85% from a year ago. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/cheniere-energy-posts-jump-quarterly-profit-enters-supply-deal-with-japans-jera-2025-08-07/

2025-08-07 12:30

LONDON, Aug 7 (Reuters) - The Bank of England cut interest rates to 4% from 4.25% on Thursday but four of its nine policymakers - worried about high inflation - sought to keep borrowing costs on hold. Here's what Bank of England officials said in a press conference following that decision: Sign up here. ANDREW BAILEY, BANK OF ENGLAND GOVERNOR On the direction of inflation: "Domestic price and wage pressures have generally continued to abate in recent months, and that's allowed us to take another step today in reducing bank rates. But the picture is more complex than that." "There are good reasons to think that this rise in headline inflation will not persist." "Our job is to ensure that inflation falls back to the 2% target once these temporary factors pass, as we expect to see. So it remains important that we do not cut bank rate too quickly or by too much." "Food and energy prices are salient to consumers and often affect inflation expectations more than other prices, so we have to be very careful that this does not lead to any additional second round effects on wage and price setting in the economy." On the direction of rates: Asked if rates were definitely still on a downward path: "Yes... I do think the path continues to be downward." "There is, however, genuine uncertainty now about the course of that direction of rates. I'll be honest with you, the point I was making is that I think that the path has become more uncertain." On recession worries: "My vote was not, I should say, motivated by my concerns about a risk of recession." On UK bonds: "The steepening of curves that we've see ... across this year, is actually a phenomenon that we've seen across major government bond markets. So... I don't think there's a particularly UK story going on." On business investment: "There is, of course, a higher level of uncertainty at the moment...and of course, that tends to map through into businesses responding to greater uncertainty by delaying investment decisions. That's a reasonably well established feature, and I certainly pick that up when I go around the country." On U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell: "Jay Powell is a friend of mine, obviously we are very close, we work very closely together, and, I'll say this again, he is a man of the utmost integrity." "I'm really not going to comment on what's going on in the U.S. other than to comment on somebody who obviously I do know very well and I respect very much." DAVE RAMSDEN, BANK OF ENGLAND DEPUTY GOVERNOR On neutral interest rate: "It's in a range of 2% to 4%, within that MPC members have a range of views." https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/bank-england-policymakers-speak-rate-cut-following-narrow-vote-2025-08-07/

2025-08-07 12:23

LONDON, Aug 7 (Reuters) - U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is a man of "utmost integrity", Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said, following sharp criticism of Powell's performance by U.S. President Donald Trump. Bailey declined to comment directly on whether he was worried by Trump's attacks on Powell, but described the Fed chair as a friend. Sign up here. "Jay Powell is a friend of mine, obviously we are very close, we work very closely together, and I'll say this again, he is a man of the utmost integrity," he said, speaking after the BoE cut rates to 4% from 4.25% earlier on Thursday. "I'm really not going to comment on what's going on in the U.S. other than to comment on somebody who obviously I do know very well and I respect very much." https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/feds-powell-has-utmost-integrity-says-bank-englands-bailey-2025-08-07/

2025-08-07 12:20

Armenia and Azerbaijan in conflict since the late 1980s over Nagorno-Karabakh Peace deal could transform energy-rich South Caucasus region Armenia to grant US rights for transit corridor, named after Trump WASHINGTON, Aug 7 (Reuters) - When U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to the White House on Friday, the meeting will culminate in the signing of a peace framework that includes exclusive U.S. development rights to a strategic transit corridor through the South Caucasus, officials told Reuters. Armenia and Azerbaijan have been at odds since the late 1980s when Nagorno-Karabakh - an Azerbaijani region that had a mostly ethnic-Armenian population - broke away from Azerbaijan with support from Armenia. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan won independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Sign up here. A peace deal could transform the South Caucasus, an energy-producing region neighboring Russia, Europe, Turkey and Iran that is criss-crossed by oil and gas pipelines but riven by closed borders and longstanding ethnic conflicts. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan are to join Trump at the White House for talks and the signing ceremony, the U.S. officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. They are to sign a framework aimed at reaching a "concrete pathway to peace" and addressing a long-simmering transit issue, the officials said. Azerbaijan has asked for a transport corridor through Armenia, linking the bulk of its territory to Nakhchivan, an Azerbaijani enclave that borders Baku's ally Turkey. Under a carefully negotiated section of the documents the leaders will sign on Friday, Armenia plans to award the United States exclusive special development rights for an extended period on a transit corridor that will be named the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, and known by the acronym TRIPP, the officials said. The route will be operated according to Armenian law and the United States will sublease the land to a consortium for infrastructure and management, the officials said. "Through commercial means, this step will unlock the region and avert further hostilities," one of the officials said. The Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders will also sign documents requesting the dissolution of the Minsk Group, which has been co-chaired by France, Russia and the United States since its establishment in 1992 to mediate the conflict, the officials said. Progress on the Armenian-Azerbaijan issue began in March when U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff visited the region. Members of his team made several subsequent trips there to help broker the agreement. U.S. officials believe a peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan could prompt negotiations on the entry of Azerbaijan into the Abraham Accords, the series of normalization agreements that Trump brokered between Israel and four Muslim-majority countries in his first term. The White House summit comes as Trump has tried to present himself as a global peacemaker in the first months of his second term. The White House has credited him with brokering a ceasefire between Cambodia and Thailand and sealing peace deals between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Pakistan and India. Trump has been less successful in ending Russia's war in Ukraine and the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The summit will take place on the same day that Trump set as a deadline for Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to steps to halt his invasion of Ukraine or face further economic sanctions. https://www.reuters.com/world/us-secures-strategic-transit-corridor-armenia-azerbaijan-peace-deal-2025-08-07/

2025-08-07 12:07

US crude inventories fall by more than expected Investors remain cautious after Trump tariffs on India Saudi Arabia raises its crude prices to Asia LONDON, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Oil prices steadied on Thursday, paring early gains after the Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet U.S. President Donald Trump in the coming days, raising expectations for a diplomatic end to the war in Ukraine. Brent crude futures were up 30 cents, or 0.5%, at $67.19 a barrel by 1201 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 27 cents, or 0.4%, to $64.62. Sign up here. Both benchmarks slid about 1% on Wednesday, touching their lowest in eight weeks, after comments from Trump on progress in talks with Moscow. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said on Thursday that Trump and Putin will meet in the coming days in what would be the first summit between leaders of the two countries since 2021. A White House official had previously said that Trump could meet Putin as soon as next week, though the U.S. continued preparations to impose secondary sanctions, potentially including China, to pressure Moscow to end the war in Ukraine. Oil is modestly up, benefiting from a crude draw in the U.S., higher Saudi prices for Asia and solid Chinese crude imports in July, said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo, adding that gains were curbed by news of the potential Trump-Putin meeting next week. Russia is the world's second-biggest producer of oil behind the United States. The Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday that U.S. crude oil stockpiles fell by 3 million barrels to 423.7 million barrels in the week ended August 1, exceeding an expected decline of 591,000 barrels in a Reuters poll of analysts. In China, crude oil imports in July dipped 5.4% from June but were still up 11.5% year on year, with analysts expecting refining activity to remain firm in the near term. Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, on Wednesday raised its September crude oil prices for Asian buyers, the second monthly rise in a row, on tight supply and robust demand. Global macroeconomic uncertainty capped price gains, however, after the U.S. ordered a fresh set of tariffs on Indian goods. Trump imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods on Wednesday, citing the country's continued imports of Russian oil. The new import tax will take effect on August 28. Trump also said he could announce further tariffs on China. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-steadies-potential-trump-putin-meeting-coming-days-2025-08-07/

2025-08-07 12:04

Higher tariffs likely to impact global supply chains and inflation Several major trading partners secure reduced tariff rates Tariffs increase US federal revenues, further sectoral duties possible Switzerland, South Africa, Brazil and India still seeking better terms India's Modi and Brazil's Lula adopt defiant stances Aug 7 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's higher tariffs on imports from dozens of countries kicked in on Thursday, raising the average U.S. import duty to its highest in a century and leaving major trade partners such as Switzerland, Brazil and India hurriedly searching for a better deal. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency began collecting the higher tariffs of 10% to 50% at 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT) after weeks of suspense over Trump's final tariff rates and frantic negotiations with countries seeking to lower them. Sign up here. The leaders of Brazil and India vowed not to be cowed by Trump's hardline bargaining position, even while their negotiators sought a reprieve from the highest tariff levels. The new rates will test Trump's strategy for shrinking U.S. trade deficits without causing massive disruptions to global supply chains or provoking higher inflation and stiff retaliation from trading partners. After unveiling his "Liberation Day" tariffs in April, Trump has frequently modified his plans, slapping much higher rates on imports from some countries, including 50% for goods from Brazil, 39% from Switzerland, 35% from Canada and 25% from India. He announced on Wednesday a separate 25% tariff on Indian goods, to be imposed in 21 days, over India's purchases of Russian oil. "BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, LARGELY FROM COUNTRIES THAT HAVE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF THE UNITED STATES FOR MANY YEARS, LAUGHING ALL THE WAY, WILL START FLOWING INTO THE USA," Trump said on Truth Social just ahead of the tariff deadline. "THE ONLY THING THAT CAN STOP AMERICA'S GREATNESS WOULD BE A RADICAL LEFT COURT THAT WANTS TO SEE OUR COUNTRY FAIL!" Tariffs are ultimately paid by companies importing the goods, and passed on in full or in part to consumers of end products. Eight major trading partners accounting for about 40% of U.S. trade flows have reached framework deals for trade and investment concessions to Trump, including the European Union, Japan and South Korea, reducing their base tariff rates to 15%. Britain won a 10% rate, while Vietnam, Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines secured rate reductions to 19% or 20%. "There'll be some supply chain rearrangement. There'll be a new equilibrium. Prices here will go up, but it'll take a while for that to show up in a major way," said William Reinsch, a senior fellow and trade expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Countries with punishingly high duties, such as India and Canada, "will continue to scramble around trying to fix this," he added. Switzerland's government will hold an emergency meeting on Thursday to decide its next move after President Karin Keller-Sutter returned home empty-handed from an 11th-hour trip to Washington aimed at averting the crippling U.S. import tariff on Swiss goods. A last-minute attempt by South Africa to improve its offer in exchange for a lower tariff rate also failed. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa held a telephone call with Trump on Wednesday and the two countries' trade negotiating teams will have more talks, Ramaphosa's office said. Vietnam said on Thursday it will continue talks with the U.S. as it seeks to lower tariffs further still after negotiating a reduction to 20% from the 46% duty Trump slapped on the Southeast Asian country in April. Meanwhile, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told Reuters on Wednesday he wouldn't humiliate himself by seeking a phone call with Trump even as he said his government would continue cabinet-level talks to lower a 50% tariff rate on Brazilian exports to the U.S. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was similarly defiant, saying he would not compromise the interests of the country's farmers after Trump introduced a 50% tariff on Indian goods. There were also signs that some countries were rallying together to confront Trump, with Brazil's Lula he would call the leaders of India and China to discuss a joint BRICS response to tariffs. India said on Wednesday that Modi will visit China for the first time in seven years as tensions with the U.S. rise. REVENUES, PRICE HIKES U.S. import taxes are one part of a multilayered tariff strategy that includes national security-based sectoral tariffs on semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, autos, steel, aluminum, copper, lumber and other goods. Trump said on Wednesday the microchip duties could reach 100%. China is on a separate tariff track and will face a potential tariff increase on August 12 unless Trump approves an extension of a prior truce after talks last week in Sweden. He has said he may impose additional tariffs over China's purchases of Russian oil as he seeks to pressure Moscow into ending its war in Ukraine. Trump has touted a vast increase in federal revenues from his import tax collections, with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying tariff revenues could top $300 billion a year. The move will drive average U.S. tariff rates to around 20%, the highest in a century and up from 2.5% when Trump took office in January, the Atlantic Institute estimates. Commerce Department data released last week showed more evidence that tariffs began driving up U.S. prices in June, including for home furnishings and durable household equipment, recreational goods and motor vehicles. Costs from Trump's tariff war are mounting for a wide swath of companies, including bellwethers Caterpillar, Marriott, Molson Coors and Yum Brands. Toyota on Thursday said it expected a hit of nearly $10 billion from tariffs on cars imported into the U.S. as it cut its full-year profit forecast by 16%. But other Japanese companies such as Sony and Honda said they now expected a smaller impact on profits after Japan agreed a bilateral deal with Washington to lower tariffs. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/trumps-higher-tariffs-hit-major-us-trading-partners-sparking-defiance-concern-2025-08-07/