2025-08-14 12:50
Traders tip small chance of super-sized 50 bps Fed cut next month Bessent urges rapid Fed cuts, early BOJ hike, buoying yen vs dollar Bitcoin powered by improved risk sentiment, favourable regulatory changes Aussie dollar rises to multi-week high on upbeat jobs data TOKYO/LONDON, Aug 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar ticked marginally higher against other major currencies in calm market trading on Thursday, but stayed close to multi-week lows as bets that the Federal Reserve will resume cutting interest rates next month rose. Bucking the trend was the yen, with the dollar touching a three-week low against the Japanese currency after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested the Bank of Japan needs to raise rates again soon, while the Fed cuts aggressively. Sign up here. A hot producer price index for July saw the dollar spike marginally higher in afternoon trading, but markets were largely steady during morning trading in Europe. "This is typical summer markets vibe. Now we've moved past the CPI print on Tuesday, there aren't any major events on the horizon until Jackson Hole next week," said Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone. Brown added that the market is now dead-set on the Fed delivering its next rate cut in September. "We're probably going to see a week or so of these sort of trading conditions, relatively choppy, relatively indecisive, albeit at the same time with a bearish dollar bias in the mix." Fed rhetoric has turned broadly more dovish on signs of a cooling U.S. labour market, while President Donald Trump's tariffs have yet to significantly increase price pressures. Traders see a Fed rate cut on September 17 as a near certainty, according to LSEG data, and even lay around 7% odds on a super-sized half-point reduction. "For the markets, it's not even a matter of if the Fed cuts interest rates in September, it's a question of how much," said Kyle Rodda, an analyst at Capital.com. "Signs of a downturn in the labour market have pushed futures to bake in a series of rate cuts before the end of the year." The Fed also continues to be under intense political pressure to ease. Trump has repeatedly criticised Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not cutting rates sooner, even threatening to oust him before Powell's term expires next May. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called on Wednesday for a "series of rate cuts," and said the Fed could kick off the policy easing with a half-point cut. Francesco Pesole, FX strategist at ING, said a 50-bps rate cut is not very realistic right now. "In order for the market to price 50 basis points in, we would probably need some indication from other Fed members that they are somewhat open to the idea." Traders are now looking ahead to U.S. PPI figures for July due later in the session. "If that comes in soft or below expectations that can add a little bit of easing," said Pesole. Bessent said the Bank of Japan had gotten "behind the curve" by delaying rate hikes. "Bessent's comments are having a strong impact on USDJPY," said Norihiro Yamaguchi, an economist at Oxford Economics. At the same time, "gains in the yen are being accelerated by low liquidity in the market as fewer market participants are around this week" due to the Obon holiday, he said. The U.S. dollar dropped as much as 0.8% to 146.22 yen on Thursday, its weakest since July 24, and was last down 0.39%. The euro was down 0.23% at $1.167675, coming off Wednesday's peak of $1.1730, a level last seen on July 28. The pound declined 0.1% versus the dollar, earlier propped up by UK GDP data that showed the economy slowed less than expected in the second quarter. Neil Wilson, UK investor strategist at Saxo Markets, said recent UK data have been poor, yet wage growth is still strong. "Inflation remains too high and growth is failing - we are into stagflationary doom loop. This would be bad enough if it were not also for the fact we face a fiscal black hole that is going to mean higher taxes," he said. Bitcoin earlier hit its first record peak since July 14, pushing as high as $124,480.82 before trimming gains and was last down 2.66% at around $119,633. Bitcoin was already underpinned by increased institutional money flows this year in the wake of a spate of regulatory changes spearheaded by Trump, who has billed himself the "cryptocurrency president." https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/dollar-steady-near-multi-week-lows-fed-rate-cut-bets-build-yen-rises-2025-08-14/
2025-08-14 12:16
Aug 14 (Reuters) - India, the world's second-biggest producer of crude steel, has imposed anti-dumping duty on some steel shipments from Vietnam, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said. This comes a year after the ministry initiated a probe on some steel imports from the Southeast Asian country to analyse threats and consequential injury to India's steel sector. Sign up here. The duty is on some hot-rolled flat products of alloy or non-alloy steel, the ministry said in a notification dated Wednesday. "Domestic steel industry has suffered injury as a result of dumped imports," it said. "The injury margin is positive and significant." The ministry flagged further threats to local mills if anti-dumping duties are not levied on other select goods from Vietnam. In April, India imposed a 12% temporary tariff on some steel imports, locally known as a safeguard duty, to curb a surge in cheap shipments primarily from China. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-imposes-anti-dumping-duty-some-steel-imports-vietnam-2025-08-14/
2025-08-14 12:13
Brent and WTI stabilise off previous session's two-month lows Trump meets Putin on Friday to discuss war in Ukraine U.S. crude stocks rose unexpectedly last week, EIA says LONDON, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Oil prices were stable on Thursday as investors weighed the potential impact of Friday's U.S.-Russia summit on Ukraine on Russian crude flows, after U.S. President Donald Trump warned of "severe consequences" for Russia if it does not agree to peace. Brent crude futures were up 25 cents, or 0.38%, at $65.88 a barrel by 1202 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were 26 cents, or 0.42%, higher at $62.91. Sign up here. Both contracts hit their lowest in two months on Wednesday after bearish supply guidance from the U.S. government and the International Energy Agency (IEA). Trump on Wednesday threatened "severe consequences" if Putin does not agree to peace in Ukraine. He did not specify what the consequences could be, but he has warned of economic sanctions if the meeting in Alaska on Friday proves fruitless. The U.S. president has threatened to enact secondary tariffs on buyers of Russian crude, primarily China and India, if Russia continues with its war in Ukraine. "The uncertainty of U.S.-Russia peace talks continues to add a bullish risk premium given Russian oil buyers could face more economic pressure," Rystad Energy said in a client note. "How (the) Ukraine-Russia crisis resolves and Russia flows change could bring some unexpected surprises." However, some analysts remained sceptical that Trump would take action that could significantly disrupt oil supplies. "Anything that causes oil prices to rise from policy such as secondary tariffs is almost an own goal against this administration, and the man from Moscow knows it," PVM analyst John Evans said. Expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut rates in September also propped up oil prices, as lower borrowing rates can spur economic growth and in turn demand for oil. Traders are almost 100% agreed a cut will happen after U.S. inflation increased at a moderate pace in July. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he thought an aggressive half-point cut was possible given recent weak employment numbers. Oil prices were kept in check on Wednesday as crude inventories in the United States unexpectedly rose by 3 million barrels in the week ending August 8, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-stable-ahead-trump-putin-alaska-meet-2025-08-14/
2025-08-14 12:07
Firm hopes for deal capable of getting all regulatory approvals Deal requires approval from China, US, UK, EU, and others Chairman Victor Li misses analyst briefing for first time H1 underlying profit up 11%, net profit down 92% HONG KONG, Aug 14 (Reuters) - CK Hutchison (0001.HK) , opens new tab said on Thursday its $22.8 billion ports business sale had a "reasonable chance" of going through after a plan to add a Chinese major strategic investor to the buying consortium, as it tries to navigate through Sino-U.S. tensions. CK Hutchison, based in the Chinese-controlled territory of Hong Kong, has faced heavy criticism from Beijing since unveiling a plan in March to sell 43 ports in 23 countries, including two near the Panama Canal, to a group led by BlackRock (BLK.N) , opens new tab and Italian Gianluigi Aponte's family-run shipping firm MSC. Sign up here. President Donald Trump had called for the U.S. to "take back" the Panama Canal, which is used by more than 40% of U.S. container traffic, valued at roughly $270 billion annually, from Chinese influence. CK Hutchison's ports are not on the canal or part of it, however. "We are into a new stage of our deal," group co-managing director and finance director Frank Sixt told analysts at an earnings conference. "There is a reasonable chance that those discussions will lead to a deal that is good for all of the parties, ourselves included. And most importantly, that we'll be capable of being approved by all of the relevant authorities." On July 28, the conglomerate said it was in talks to include a Chinese "major strategic investor" in the bid for its ports, and that it would allow as much time as needed to secure approval in relevant jurisdictions. On Thursday, Sixt said these included China, the U.S., Britain and the European Union. He said the talks were taking much longer than expected but that this was "not particularly troublesome" because the port business had delivered stronger earnings and cash flow this year than expected. Sources have said the investor is COSCO (1199.HK) , opens new tab - one of the world's dominant, vertically integrated marine transportation firms. They said COSCO wanted a bigger stake while the other parties were keen to keep it a minority. ALLAYING CHINESE CONCERNS The inclusion of a Chinese investor would alleviate Beijing's security concerns and have its blessing, the sources and other experts have said. COSCO did not respond to a request last month for comment. Thursday's results conference was the first opportunity for analysts to quiz management about the ports deal. But chairman Victor Li, eldest son of Hong Kong's richest man, Li Ka-shing, who took over the conglomerate from his father, was missing for the first time, as was deputy chairman Canning Fok. Also unusually, CK Hutchison did not brief analysts or media about its 2024 earnings when it released them in March. Its shares closed down 0.4% on Thursday ahead of the results, in line with the Hang Seng Index (.HSI) , opens new tab. The conglomerate posted an 11% rise in first-half underlying profit to HK$11.3 billion ($1.44 billion) on a post-IFRS 16 basis. UBS had forecast a 6% rise. However, including one-time non-cash accounting loss, notably from the merger of 3UK and Vodafone UK, net profit dropped 92% year-on-year to HK$852 million. The company said global trade and consumer demand affecting its ports business would remain volatile in the second half due to uncertainty over trade disputes and geopolitical risks. ($1 = 7.8474 Hong Kong dollars) https://www.reuters.com/world/china/ck-hutchison-sees-reasonable-chance-228-bln-ports-sale-going-through-2025-08-13/
2025-08-14 12:07
NEW YORK, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Major data center developer and operator Equinix (EQIX.O) , opens new tab has entered into several advanced nuclear electricity deals, including power purchase agreements for fission energy and pre-ordering microreactors for its operations, the company said on Thursday. Big Tech's race to expand technologies like generative artificial intelligence, which requires warehouse-like data centers that can require city-sized amounts of electricity at a single site, is driving up global energy consumption and raising fears about depleted power supplies. Sign up here. The voracious energy needs of data centers has led to a rising number of preliminary power deals to fuel data centers with advanced nuclear energy. Small modular reactors and other next-generation energy is not yet commercially available in the U.S., the world's data center hub. The Equinix announcement follows news that the U.S. Department of Energy earlier had selected an initial 11 projects for a pilot program seeking to develop high-tech test nuclear reactors with the aim of getting three of the projects operating in less than a year. Equinix's deals with advanced nuclear providers would supply more than 1 gigawatt of electricity to the company's data centers. Among the agreements, Equinix plans to procure 500 megawatts of energy from California-based Oklo's next-generation nuclear fission powerhouses. It also entered into a preorder agreement for 20 transportable microreactors from Radiant Nuclear, which is also based in California. In Europe, Equinix's agreements to eventually purchase power from next-generation nuclear developers, ULC-Energy and Stellaria. Equinix also entered into advanced fuel cell agreements with Bloom Energy, based in Silicon Valley. The agreements are part of Equinix's long-term planning for electricity to use for its data centers, as opposed to a quick-fix solution, Raouf Abdel, Equinix’s executive vice president of global operations, told Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/equinix-enters-into-multiple-advanced-nuclear-deals-power-data-centers-2025-08-14/
2025-08-14 11:32
Q2 net profit up 27% on-year, beating market forecasts Foxconn bullish on AI server demand Warns of challenge from tariffs, currency exchange rate TAIPEI, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Foxconn on Thursday forecast a significant rise in third-quarter revenue as the world's biggest iPhone maker said it had for the first time made more money from its AI server business than from smart electronics last quarter. The company (2317.TW) , opens new tab said artificial intelligence server revenue is expected to leap more than 170% year-on-year in the coming quarter, though it also warned of uncertainty from U.S. tariffs. Sign up here. Nvidia's (NVDA.O) , opens new tab biggest server maker and Apple's (AAPL.O) , opens new tab top iPhone assembler has been riding a data centre boom, as cloud computing firms such as Amazon (AMZN.O) , opens new tab, Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab and Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab Google spend billions of dollars to expand their AI infrastructure and research capacity. Cloud and networking products, which include servers, accounted for 41% of its revenue in the second quarter, while smart consumer products represented 35%, the company said. The contribution from the server business to its revenue is set to grow further in the current quarter, as Foxconn expects a slight decline in smart consumer electronics revenue. Some experts expect iPhone sales to slow after they surged in the June quarter ahead of the expected imposition of U.S. tariffs. "AI has been the primary growth driver so far this year," Kathy Yang, rotating CEO of Foxconn, said on a call with media and analysts. She warned however that "close attention is needed due to the impact of changes in tariffs and exchange rates". The company said on Thursday its capital spending would rise more than 20% this year, as it plans to boost server production capacity in its manufacturing sites in Texas and Wisconsin. Global trade uncertainty and particularly the trade spat between the U.S. and China could dim its outlook this year as it has a major manufacturing presence in China, though Washington and Beijing this week extended a tariff truce for another 90 days. Most of the iPhones Foxconn makes for Apple are assembled in China, but the bulk of those sold in the U.S. are now produced in India. The company is also building factories in Mexico and Texas to make AI servers for Nvidia. LORDSTOWN SOLD Foxconn has also been looking to expand its footprint in electric vehicles, which the company sees as a major future growth generator, though that has not always gone smoothly. Earlier this month, Foxconn said it had struck a deal to sell a former car factory at Lordstown, Ohio, for $375 million that it purchased in 2022 to manufacture EVs. However, it will continue to occupy the facility. The company said the Ohio plant would be used to manufacture cloud-related products. The goal of manufacturing its Model C EV for the U.S. market remains unchanged, although initial production will take place in Taiwan, Foxconn said. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that the plant was sold to its partner SoftBank. Foxconn and SoftBank declined to comment. Overall, the company reported net profit for the April-June period of T$44.4 billion ($1.48 billion), higher than the consensus estimate of T$38.8 billion compiled by LSEG. Foxconn, formally Hon Hai Precision Industry, last month reported record second-quarter revenue on strong demand for AI products, but cautioned over geopolitical and exchange rate headwinds. Its shares have risen 8.4% so far this year, outperforming the broader Taiwan index's (.TWII) , opens new tab 5.2% gain. They closed up 0.5% on Thursday ahead of the earnings release. ($1 = 29.9600 Taiwan dollars) https://www.reuters.com/world/china/foxconn-sees-robust-ai-demand-second-quarter-profit-tops-forecast-2025-08-14/
