2025-07-04 17:46

July 4 (Reuters) - Sterling was poised for a weekly loss on Friday, marking a lacklustre end to a week that saw fiscal and political uncertainties rattle investor appetite for UK assets. The pound was flat and last fetched $1.36, while against the euro it inched 0.1% lower and was last at 86.26 pence. Gilt yields were broadly steady in late morning trading. Sign up here. However, on a weekly basis, cable was down 0.4% against the greenback, while it had fallen about 1% against the euro, marking its biggest one-week drop against the currency since U.S. tariffs on world economies took effect in early April. UK stocks, bonds and cable witnessed a selloff earlier in the week, after the government's welfare reforms were not well received by ruling Labour Party members and stirred speculation about the future of finance minister Rachel Reeves. Some analysts even drew parallels between this week's market reaction and the rout during former Prime Minister Liz Truss' premiership in 2022. With the Keir Starmer-led government completing one year in power, uncertainties prevail over the options it has to balance public accounts. "There is speculation that given the difficulties the government has faced in finding savings from welfare budgets, tax rises are likely in the Autumn Budget," said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown. "Bets are rising that the Bank of England will cut interest rates more quickly with a reduction in August increasingly on the cards. So, that’s kept a bit more downwards pressure on sterling." Traders expect the Bank of England to lower borrowing costs by 25 basis points next in September and are anticipating another interest rate cut by the same amount before the year ends, data compiled by LSEG showed. Further, top ratings agency S&P said the inability of Britain's government to make modest cuts to welfare spending this week underscores that it has very limited budgetary room to manoeuvre. Despite the week's developments, the pound is at a near four-year high against the dollar and is up about 9% so far this year, having benefited from broader dollar weakness and as a U.S.-UK trade deal offered some relief on the tariff front. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/sterling-heads-weekly-loss-fiscal-concerns-loom-2025-07-04/

2025-07-04 15:38

BRASILIA, July 4 (Reuters) - Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes called a mediation hearing between the government and Congress on July 15 to address a dispute over a tax hike, according to a court decision seen by Reuters on Friday. Moraes temporarily suspended both a presidential decree raising the IOF tax levied on some financial transactions and a subsequent congressional action to annul President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's move, the document showed. Sign up here. His ruling aims to ease tensions between the two branches of power, which escalated in recent weeks as they clashed over the tax on certain credit, foreign-exchange and private pension plan operations. Lula hiked the tax in May as a way to boost revenue and limit spending freezes needed to comply with the government's fiscal framework. The move, however, sparked immediate backlash from lawmakers, who voted last month to nix his decree. The Lula administration earlier this week filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court challenging Congress's decision to overturn the hike, saying that lawmakers had overstepped their constitutional powers. Moraes wrote that suspending both moves and scheduling a mediation was a reasonable decision amid what he described as an "undesirable clash between the executive and legislative branches, with successive and repeated antagonistic remarks." "The Constitution, more than determining the independence of the branches of power, requires harmony between them as a basic and inalienable principle of our democratic rule of law," he added. Lower House Speaker Hugo Motta said Congress was open to institutional dialogue, while noting in a post on X that the court decision ultimately prevented the IOF tax hike, coming "in line" with what lawmakers had voted for. Finance Minister Fernando Haddad welcomed the ruling, saying it aims to clarify the limits of each branch's authority, "which is great for the country." The government will demonstrate that the IOF hike was aimed at correcting tax distortions, he added. Brazilian markets showed little reaction to Moraes' decision, with the local currency sliding 0.1% against the U.S. dollar in spot trading while benchmark stock index Bovespa (.BVSP) , opens new tab climbed 0.2%. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazils-top-court-mediate-talks-with-government-congress-over-tax-hike-row-2025-07-04/

2025-07-04 15:25

LONDON, July 4 (Reuters) - The inability of Britain's government to make cuts to welfare spending this week underscores the extent of the challenges it faces in repairing its finances, credit rating agency S&P Global said on Friday. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer was forced to scrap 5 billion pounds ($6.83 billion) worth of benefits cuts due to opposition from within his own government, reducing the already razor-thin margin it relies on to meet its self-imposed fiscal rules. Sign up here. "We consider the inability to make modest cuts to welfare spending, which has ballooned in the UK since the 2020 pandemic, underscores the UK government's very limited budgetary room for manoeuvre," S&P said in an analysis. S&P has a "stable" outlook on its AA UK credit rating and though it sees the fiscal position as "vulnerable" it said the direct effect of this week's last-minute policy reversal was small in the context of the country's "existing fiscal challenges". The now-cancelled 5 billion-pound-a-year of mainly disability allowance cuts would have amounted to 0.2% of 2025 GDP, by 2029. That compares with last year's headline government deficit of 5.9% of GDP - equivalent to almost 170 billion pounds. "Getting the deficit down to the pre-pandemic five-year average of 3% of GDP would require a roughly 70 billion pound consolidation effort," said S&P, which is next due to review Britain's rating on October 10. "We expect that the UK's fiscal consolidation will remain a slow process," it added. ($1 = 0.7321 pounds) https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/welfare-cuts-u-turn-shows-extent-uks-fiscal-challenges-sp-says-2025-07-04/

2025-07-04 14:49

SAO PAULO, July 4 (Reuters) - Brazil's producer price index (PPI) fell 1.29% in May, reaching the lowest level since 2023, statistics agency IBGE said on Friday. Producer prices in May contracted from a 0.12% drop in the previous month, IBGE said in a statement, marking the sharpest fall this year and the biggest decline since a 2.72% drop in June 2023. May's data also marks a fourth straight month in the negative. Sign up here. May saw a downward trend across most of the industry, according to IBGE, which added that so-called intermediate goods - products used in production such as iron ore and sugar - were the main driver in May. IBGE's producer price index manager Murilo Alvim noted that lower commodity prices had contributed, resulting a lower cost of production, while a stronger Brazilian real had also helped reduce costs in some sectors for goods traded in U.S. dollars. Since the start of 2025, producer prices in Latin America's largest economy shrank 1.97%, while in the accumulated reading for the 12 months through May hit 5.78%. Brazil's central bank targets inflation at 3% plus or minus 1.5 percentage points. Despite slowing down more than expected in May, inflation in the country still remains at 5.32% in the 12 months through May, IBGE data showed. Even as prices have dipped, Brazil's central bank last month hiked its benchmark interest rate to 15% - its highest level in almost 20 years. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/producer-prices-brazil-fall-lowest-almost-two-years-2025-07-04/

2025-07-04 12:37

PARIS, July 4 - French agrifood group Avril said on Friday it had signed an exclusivity agreement with U.S.-based Valtris Specialty Chemicals to acquire a rapeseed processing plant in eastern France, amid growing consolidation among European rivals. The facility processes around 400,000 metric tons of rapeseed annually, focusing on crushing, refining, and biodiesel production, Avril said in a statement. Sign up here. The plant's activities lie at the heart of Avril's core business, with a highly complementary geographic location, the group said. Avril declined to disclose the financial terms of the deal, which remains subject to consultations with employee representatives and approval from competition authorities. Valtris will retain operations for its specialty chemical production at the same site, ensuring continuity for its core business activities. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/frances-avril-signs-deal-buy-rapeseed-plant-valtris-2025-07-04/

2025-07-04 12:24

PRAGUE, July 4 (Reuters) - A major power outage that hit parts of the Czech Republic on Friday, briefly halting underground trains in the capital Prague, was probably the result of a technical outage, with no signs of a cyber or terrorist attack, authorities said. The incident is likely to add to concerns about the resilience of Europe's power grids and infrastructure after Spain suffered the worst blackout in its history in April and a fire knocked out the power supply to London's Heathrow airport in March. Sign up here. "Part of the transmission system is without voltage; the event affected also a larger part of transmission system substations," grid operator CEPS said in a statement. CEPS later said that five out of eight affected substations had resumed operation and the causes of the outage were being investigated. It affected the Liberec, North-Bohemia, East-Bohemia and Central Bohemia regions, as well as Prague, CEPS said. Speaking on Czech Television, Interior Minster Vit Rakusan said the authorities had no information to suggest there had been a cyber or terrorist attack. Czech Transport Minister Martin Kupka said on X trains were halted on a number of lines and five out of 14 regions of the country were affected. Prague transport company DPP said it had restored operations after underground trains were briefly halted and tram traffic stopped on the right bank of the capital. Czech media reported a number of people trapped in elevators in parts of Prague and central Bohemia. E.ON (EONGn.DE) , opens new tab, which operates part of the grid in south and south-eastern Czech Republic, said its supply area was not affected. Neighbouring Poland's power grid operator also said its systems were unaffected. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/czech-republic-hit-by-major-power-outage-2025-07-04/