2025-08-20 07:12
Trump criticizes Powell ahead of Jackson Hole symposium Fed has held rates steady despite Trump's calls for cuts Investors will watch Powell's speech Friday for any hints on next moves WASHINGTON, Aug 19 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is "hurting" the housing industry "very badly" and repeated his call for a big cut to U.S. interest rates. "Could somebody please inform Jerome "Too Late" Powell that he is hurting the Housing Industry, very badly? People can't get a Mortgage because of him. There is no Inflation, and every sign is pointing to a major Rate Cut," Trump wrote on Truth Social. Sign up here. Inflation is well off the highs seen during the pandemic, but some recent data has given a mixed picture and inflation continues to track above the Fed's 2% target range. Trump's latest salvo against Powell comes ahead of the Fed chair's Friday speech at the annual Jackson Hole central banking symposium, where investors will cleave to his every word for hints on his economic outlook and the likelihood of a coming reduction to short-term borrowing costs. The Fed's next policy meeting will be held on September 16-17. Investors and economists are betting the Fed will cut rates by a quarter of a percentage point next month with perhaps another reduction of similar size to come later in the year, far less than the several percentage points that Trump has called for. Trump's Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, has promoted the idea of a half-point rate cut in September. The U.S. central bank cut its policy rate half a percentage point last September, just before the presidential election, and trimmed it another half of a percentage point in the two months immediately following Trump's electoral victory, but has held it steady in the 4.25%-4.50% range for all of this year. Fed policymakers have worried that Trump's tariffs could reignite inflation and also felt the labor market was strong enough not to require a boost from lower borrowing costs. MIXED INFLATION PICTURE The Consumer Price Index rose 0.2% in July, with the 12-month rate through July at 2.7%, unchanged from June. Core CPI, which strips out the volatile food and energy components, increased 3.1% year-over-year in July. Based in part on that data, economists estimated the core Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index rose 0.3% in July. That would raise the year-on-year increase to 3% in July. The PCE is a key measure tracked by the Fed against its own 2% inflation target. And despite a moderate rise in overall consumer prices in July, producer and import prices jumped, a suggestion that higher consumer prices could be coming as sellers pass higher costs onto households. The inflation picture comes amid a picture of a possible cooling in the labor market, with declines in monthly job gains, although the unemployment rate, at 4.2%, remains low by historical standards. Trump's online attacks on the Fed and Powell more typically focus on the cost that higher interest rates mean for U.S. government borrowing. High mortgage rates are a key pain point for potential homebuyers who are also facing high and rising home prices due to a dearth of housing supply. Mortgage rates can be loosely tied to the Fed's overnight benchmark rate but more closely track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which typically rises and falls based on investors' expectations for economic growth and inflation. A Fed rate cut does not always mean lower long-term rates -- indeed after the Fed cut rates last September, mortgage rates -- which had been on the decline -- rose sharply. In recent weeks the most popular rate - the 30-year fixed mortgage rate -- has drifted downward but -- at around 6.7% most recently -- is still much higher than it had been before inflation took off after the pandemic shock and the Fed began its rate-hike campaign in 2022. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-again-attacks-fed-chair-says-powell-hurting-housing-industry-2025-08-19/
2025-08-20 07:07
Aug 20 (Reuters) - Ithaca Energy (ITH.L) , opens new tab, a North Sea-focused oil and gas company, raised its 2025 production forecast on Wednesday for the second time in three months, after first-half production more than doubled, sending its shares 7% higher. The London-listed producer has been expanding its portfolio through acquisitions in the past year, including its purchase of Eni's (ENI.MI) , opens new tab UK oil and gas assets and a stake increase in Cygnus gas field. Sign up here. Production rose to 123,600 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in the six-month period ended June 30, up from 53,000 boepd last year, driven by record first-quarter output due to its expanded portfolio. Ithaca posted adjusted EBITDAX (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, Amortization and Exploration Expense) of $1.1 billion for the first half, compared with $533 million a year earlier. Ithaca now expects 2025 production levels between 119,000 and 125,000 boepd, from an initial forecast of 109,000-119,000 boepd. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/uks-ithaca-energy-lifts-annual-production-forecast-second-time-this-year-2025-08-20/
2025-08-20 07:01
NEW DELHI, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Russia will continue supplying oil to India and the country's President Vladimir Putin will meet India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi by the end of year, a Russian embassy official in India said on Wednesday. Russia has a "very, very special mechanism" to continue oil supplies to India, Roman Babushkin, the charge d'affaires at the Russian embassy in India, told reporters at a press briefing, adding that India's crude oil imports from Russia will remain at the same level. Sign up here. No dates had been finalised for the Putin-Modi meeting yet, he said. The U.S. is set to impose an additional 25% tariff on Indian exports on August 28, citing their imports of Russian oil, which expanded after Western nations sanction Russian supply after its invasion of Ukraine. However, the U.S. has stopped short of imposing similar tariffs on China over its purchases of Russian oil. Last month, the European Union sanctioned Russian-backed Indian refinery Nayara Energy, leading the refiner to cut back processing and companies to curtail their trading with them. Trade between Indian and Russia was expected to grow 10% annually, Evgeniy Griva, Deputy Trade Representative of Russia to India said at the briefing. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/russia-has-special-mechanisms-supply-oil-india-embassy-official-says-2025-08-20/
2025-08-20 06:57
MUMBAI, Aug 20 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee was largely flat on Wednesday, holding near 87 per dollar, amid dollar sales by foreign banks, which offset broader demand for the U.S. currency from corporates and short-term speculators. The rupee was at 87.0575 to the U.S. dollar at 10:52 a.m. IST, after trading between 87.1650 and 87.0050 through the session. Sign up here. Traders said foreign banks were active on offers for USD/INR, preventing the pair from pushing higher despite weaker Asian peers and hedging by importers. "There’s no shortage of dollar buyers. However, foreign banks have been hitting offers again, which is most likely driven by client flows," a currency trader said. "That’s kept it (USD/INR) from moving up, like I had expected." Fading risks of an upside breakout in USD/INR, a rally in local equities and position squaring have helped the Indian currency recover after recent pressure. In recent weeks, the rupee’s direction has been dictated largely by domestic factors. News around U.S. tariffs on India has been a key driver, and more recently by S&P's upgrade of India's credit rating outlook and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's planned tax cuts on goods and services. On tariff-related news, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday accused India of profiteering from its purchases of Russian oil during the war in Ukraine. His comments come at a time when U.S.-India relations are strained, with President Donald Trump imposing additional tariffs on New Delhi over Russian oil purchases. The tariffs are set to take effect next Wednesday. Meanwhile, other Asian currencies weakened on the day, while the dollar index inched higher. The key event this week is Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/foreign-banks-lean-against-broad-dollar-demand-pin-rupee-near-87dollar-2025-08-20/
2025-08-20 06:56
Aug 20 (Reuters) - Chile's SQM (SQMA.SN) , opens new tab, the world's second-largest lithium producer, reported a 59% decline in quarterly profit on Wednesday due to lower lithium prices. The company posted a second-quarter net profit of $88.4 million, missing analysts' estimates of $143.01 million, according to data compiled by LSEG. Sign up here. Its revenue of $1.04 billion in the quarter was broadly in line with the analysts' estimates of $1.064 billion. Lithium prices were down about 34% year-on-year, the company said. Global prices for lithium, a critical component of electric vehicle batteries, have plunged nearly 90% since their peak in late 2022, causing producers worldwide to slash workforces and pull back on plans. In June, SQM began laying off 5% of its Chilean workforce as it contended with a protracted slump in global prices for the battery metal. “As anticipated, during the second quarter, we navigated a period of lower lithium market prices than those observed in previous quarters. In this context, some of the contracts we had in place, hit the lower limits set in those contracts, affecting the volumes agreed," SQM Chief Executive Officer Ricardo Ramos said. Last month, Moody's lowered the miner's outlook to "negative" from "stable" due to uncertainty around lithium revenue, but affirmed the credit rating. SQM, one of two companies producing lithium in Chile, also makes fertilizers and industrial chemicals. It is due to this year finalize a partnership with state-run copper producer Codelco to produce lithium in the Atacama salt flat. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/chiles-sqm-quarterly-net-profit-falls-by-about-59-lower-lithium-prices-2025-08-20/
2025-08-20 06:52
SINGAPORE, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Oil prices edged up on Wednesday as investors awaited the next steps in talks to end the war in Ukraine, with sanctions on Russian crude remaining in place for now and the potential for further restrictions on buyers of its exports still looming. Brent crude futures rose 50 cents to $66.29 a barrel by 0630 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures for September delivery, set to expire on Wednesday, were at $62.80 a barrel, up 45 cents. The more active October contract was at $62.30 a barrel, up 53 cents. Sign up here. Prices settled down more than 1% on Tuesday on optimism that a deal to end the war seemed closer, which would likely lead to an easing of sanctions on Russia and an increase in global supply. However, despite comments from U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday that the U.S. might provide air support as part of security guarantees for Ukraine, he also conceded that Russian President Vladimir Putin might not want to make a deal. "Crude markets are in limbo ... continued protracted peace talks will keep the market on its toes," said Emril Jamil, a senior analyst at LSEG. Trump said on Monday he was arranging a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to be followed by a trilateral summit among the three presidents. Russia has not confirmed it will take part in talks with Zelenskiy. "The likelihood of a quick resolution to the conflict with Russia now seems unlikely," said Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ, in a note on Wednesday. In the U.S., BP (BP.L) , opens new tab said on Tuesday operations at its 440,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Whiting, Indiana, were affected by flooding caused by a severe thunderstorm overnight, potentially weighing on the facility's crude demand. The site is a key fuel producer for the Midwest market. Prices also found some support as an industry inventory report indicated steady crude and fuel demand in the United States, the world's biggest oil consumer. U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 2.42 million barrels in the week ended August 15, market sources said on Tuesday, citing American Petroleum Institute figures. Gasoline inventories fell by 956,000 barrels, while distillate inventories rose by 535,000 barrels from last week, the sources said. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-firms-while-investors-await-next-steps-ukraine-peace-talks-2025-08-20/
