2025-07-22 07:18
ECB's policy decision due on Thursday Fed policy meeting scheduled for next week July 22 (Reuters) - Gold prices eased on Tuesday from their highest level in more than a month, pressured by profit-taking and a slight rebound in the dollar, while investors looked for progress in trade talks ahead of an August 1 deadline. Spot gold was down 0.3% at $3,384.49 per ounce, as of 0656 GMT. Earlier in the session, bullion hit its highest level since June 17. Sign up here. U.S. gold futures also slipped 0.3% to $3,397. "Gold's move on the upside has been pretty much supported by positive technicals and as well as reinforced by a broad base of dollar weakness," OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong said. The dollar index (.DXY) , opens new tab edged 0.1% higher after falling to a more than one-week low on Monday, making greenback-priced gold more expensive for other currency holders. The European Union is exploring a broader set of possible countermeasures against the United States as prospects for an acceptable trade agreement with Washington fade, according to EU diplomats. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened 30% duties on imports from Europe if no agreement is signed before the August 1 deadline. "There could be a possibility that U.S. and the respective trading partners may not agree to the terms and condition and that potentially could see a bit of uncertainty and there could be some hedging activities by market participants going forward," Wong said. Also on radar, the European Central Bank is expected to hold interest rates steady at 2.0% following a string of cuts at the end of its policy meeting on July 24. The U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting is scheduled for next week. Traders are pricing about a 59% chance of a rate cut by the Fed in September, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. Gold tends to perform well in a low-interest-rate environment. Spot silver dipped 0.1% to $38.86 per ounce, platinum added 0.6% to $1,447.53 and palladium gained 0.2% to $1,266.95. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/gold-eases-one-month-high-firmer-dollar-profit-taking-2025-07-22/
2025-07-22 07:15
OSLO, July 22 (Reuters) - Norway's combined oil and gas production exceeded an official forecast by 2.3% in June, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate (NOD) said on Tuesday. Norway is Europe's largest supplier of natural gas and a major producer of oil, but output varies from month to month depending on maintenance needs and other stoppages at more than 90 offshore fields. Sign up here. Overall oil, condensate, natural gas liquids and gas output stood at 0.587 million standard cubic metres per day, equivalent to 3.69 million barrels of oil equivalent, a decrease of 10.9% year-on-year driven primarily by greater maintenance levels. Natural gas production in June fell to 292.3 million cubic metres (mcm) per day from 345.9 mcm a year earlier, but exceeded a forecast of 283.6 mcm by 3.1%, the regulator said on its website. Crude oil output fell to 1.68 million barrels per day (bpd) in June from 1.73 million bpd in the same month last year, but came in above a forecast of 1.62 million bpd, NOD's preliminary data showed. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/norways-overall-oil-gas-output-beats-forecast-june-2025-07-22/
2025-07-22 07:12
OSLO, July 22 (Reuters) - Norway's biggest utility, state-owned Statkraft, reported a deeper quarterly net loss on Tuesday, as lower expectations for Nordic power prices and an ongoing restructuring of the group prompted it to write down the value of a number of assets. The net loss for the April-June period widened to 6.5 billion Norwegian crowns ($638.56 million) from 992 million crowns in the second quarter of 2024. Sign up here. Statkraft, which has continued to scale back its growth ambitions this year amid rising costs, said on Tuesday it will prioritise investments in near-term profitable opportunities. "Given the current market situation and geopolitical realities, combined with Statkraft's recent high activity and investment level, we are adjusting our strategic ambitions," CEO Birgitte Ringstad Vartdal said in a statement. Ratings agency Fitch this month cut Statkraft's credit rating by one notch to BBB+, citing weakening performance and financial metrics. The company booked impairments of 6.3 billion crowns in the second quarter, of which 2.5 billion crowns related to Swedish wind power assets and 0.5 billion to Norwegian wind farms. Other impairments related to battery energy storage systems investments in Britain, joint venture hydropower plants in Chile and the group's corporate development portfolio, Statkraft said. Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell to 4.5 billion crowns, from 6.5 billion a year ago as lower power prices outweighed higher production. Nordic power prices averaged 26.5 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) in the quarter, down from 35.3 euros/MWh a year ago, Statkraft said. ($1 = 10.1791 Norwegian crowns) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/norway-utility-statkraft-books-640-million-quarterly-loss-after-impairments-2025-07-22/
2025-07-22 06:54
July 22 (Reuters) - Swiss chocolate maker Lindt & Spruengli (LISN.S) , opens new tab on Tuesday raised its organic sales growth forecast citing customer loyalty despite steep price hikes, with a growing taste for more premium products especially in Europe. Shoppers continued to bear the brunt of high cocoa prices as Lindt raised prices of its products by another 15.8% in the first half of 2025. Sign up here. The maker of Lindor chocolate balls said it expected organic sales growth of between 9% and 11% for the full year, after previously guiding for 7% to 9%. It posted sales of 2.35 billion Swiss francs ($2.95 billion) for the January-June period, up 11.2% organically. That beat the mean estimate of 2.30 billion from analysts polled by LSEG. Analysts have said Lindt benefits from its premium positioning and strong pricing power despite cost challenges, and its performance should be further supported as the cocoa inflation eases. London cocoa futures (.LCCc2) , opens new tab have nearly halved after reaching historic highs in 2024, but despite the sharp drop, cocoa prices remain clearly above the historical average. Growth in the first half was driven by a dynamic performance of core products such as Lindor and Lindt Excellence and product innovation including the Lindt Dubai Style Chocolate, it added. Europe showed strong organic growth of 17.7%, while North American sales grew just 3.6%, below the company's expectations, amid a weak consumer sentiment. Lindt continues to evaluate its sourcing strategy ahead of the expected imposition of new U.S. tariffs on August 1, a company spokesperson told Reuters. It produces 95% of the chocolates it sells in the U.S. at its five factories in the country, which also supply less than half of the products sold in Canada. Lindt had said in March it would supply chocolate made in Europe to Canada to avoid reciprocal tariffs on U.S. goods, but later said it had not adapted the strategy yet, after several changes to tariffs placed on imports and exports from the U.S. ($1 = 0.7975 Swiss francs) https://www.reuters.com/business/lindt-lifts-outlook-shoppers-taste-chocolate-trumps-high-prices-2025-07-22/
2025-07-22 06:53
UK reaches final investment decision Canadian pension fund La Caisse takes 20% stake UK to hold 44.9% in project LONDON, July 22 (Reuters) - Britain gave the final go-ahead for the 38 billion pound ($51 billion) Sizewell C nuclear plant in eastern England on Tuesday after it secured investment from British and international investors including Canadian pension fund La Caisse. Under the deal the British state will be the largest shareholder in the project with a 44.9% stake, La Caisse will hold 20%, UK energy firm Centrica 15% and London-headquartered Amber Infrastructure taking an initial 7.6%, joining France's state-owned EDF which had already announced its 12.5% stake. Sign up here. Britain needs to build new nuclear plants to replace its ageing fleet, boost energy security, reach its climate targets and create new jobs. "Delivering next generation, publicly-owned clean power is vital to our energy security and growth," finance minister Rachel Reeves said in a statement. The announcement of La Caisse as the second biggest shareholder comes as a surprise after months of speculation that Canadian investor Brookfield was in pole position to invest. Sizewell will be only the second new nuclear plant built in Britain in more than two decades, after French state-owned EDF's Hinkley Point C. That has been beset by delays and cost overruns, and is not due to start operating until about 2030. First proposed in the early 2010s, Sizewell C was originally going to be developed by EDF with China General Nuclear Power Group, but the UK government bought out the Chinese firm's stake in 2022 amid security concerns. France's EDF has said it is investing around 1.1 billion pounds in Sizewell, while Centrica said in its statement it had committed to construction funding of 1.3 billion pounds. The government statement said Britain's National Wealth Fund would provide the majority of the debt finance for the project, alongside a debt guarantee from France’s export credit agency, Bpifrance Assurance Export. ($1 = 0.7424 pounds) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/uk-greenlights-sizewell-c-nuclear-plant-after-la-caisse-investment-2025-07-22/
2025-07-22 06:51
UK borrowing in June 20.7 bln pounds Deficit pushed up by jump in inflation in April Reeves struggling to hit fiscal targets Borrowing in April-June 57.8 billion pounds Year-to-date deficit in line with official forecasts LONDON, July 22 (Reuters) - Britain borrowed more than expected in June as high inflation pushed up the government's debt costs, according to data that is likely to add to speculation about the need for fresh tax increases by finance minister Rachel Reeves. Public sector net borrowing totalled 20.7 billion pounds ($27.88 billion) last month, the data showed, higher than a median forecast of 16.5 billion pounds in a Reuters poll of economists, and the second highest for June on record. Sign up here. The borrowing was also higher than expected by Britain's budget watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, which forecast borrowing of 17.1 billion pounds in June when it published its outlook in March. That was before a strong inflation reading in April had the effect of pushing up inflation-linked government bond payments. Tuesday's data from the Office for National Statistics showed interest payable on central government debt was 16.4 billion pounds in June, the third highest since monthly records began in 1997. Reeves is expected to raise taxes in a budget statement towards the end of 2025 in order to remain on track to meet her targets for fixing the public finances. That job was made harder by the government dropping its plans to save money from the welfare bill due to stiff opposition from within Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour Party. Slow economic growth is also adding to Reeves' problems. "Recent U-turns on welfare and persistent growth headwinds could open a gap against fiscal targets, which could require further tax rises or spending cuts in the Autumn Budget," Dennis Tatarkov, senior economist at KPMG UK, said. Darren Jones, a deputy to Reeves at the Treasury, said the government remained committed to its fiscal rules, chief among them a promise to cover day-to-day spending with tax revenues by the end of the decade. Over the first three months of the fiscal year which began in April, Britain borrowed 57.8 billion pounds, 15% more than in the same period last year and the third-highest April-to-June deficit on record. However, the figure was in line with the three-month forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility, offering some comfort to Reeves. The public finances have been bolstered by her increase in social security contributions paid by employers. Compulsory social contributions - mostly National Insurance Contributions - jumped by 18% in the April-to-June period to 48 billion pounds. ($1 = 0.7425 pounds) https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-borrowing-climbs-inflation-adds-debt-bill-reeves-headache-2025-07-22/
