2025-06-27 07:03

Spot gold down over 2% for the week US PCE data due at 1230 GMT Fed's Barkin says tariffs will start pushing up inflation Platinum falls nearly 6% after hitting highest level since 2014 June 27 (Reuters) - Gold fell more than 1% to its lowest level in nearly a month on Friday due to easing geopolitical and trade tensions and as investors awaited U.S. inflation data for clues on the future trajectory of interest rates. Spot gold lost 1.4% to $3,282.68 per ounce by 1055 GMT, its lowest since late May. Prices have fallen by over 2% this week and more than $200 from a record high scaled in April. Sign up here. U.S. gold futures fell 1.6% to $3,294.50. The Iran-Israel ceasefire, brokered earlier this week by U.S. President Donald Trump, is holding for now. A White House official said on Thursday that the U.S. has reached an agreement with China on how to expedite rare earths shipments to the U.S. July 9 is the deadline for Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs as nations rush to get an agreement. "The loss of haven demand has meant that despite the latest leg down in the dollar, gold has not benefited from this at all," said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at City Index and FOREX.com. "A bit of a pullback would not be too bad an outcome as that will allow long-term technical overbought conditions on higher time frames to work off, allowing the metal to shine again when macro conditions are more favourable once more." The immediate focus is the U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditure data, an inflation gauge, scheduled for release at 1230 GMT. Fed Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin said tariffs are very likely to push inflation up over the coming months. Despite its reputation as a hedge against inflation and uncertainty, zero-yield bullion loses appeal in a high interest rate environment. Spot silver fell 1.8% to $35.96. Platinum dropped 5.9% to $1,334.63, after hitting its highest since 2014. Palladium fell 1.2% to $1,117.96. The main reason for the price increase in platinum was likely to be the high discount to gold, which is apparently considered too expensive, said Commerzbank in a note. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/gold-heads-second-weekly-loss-investors-eye-us-inflation-data-2025-06-27/

2025-06-27 06:52

Sources say OPEC+ planning 411,000 bpd output boost in August Brent, WTI down 12% this week, most since March 2023 No major supply disruption from Middle East crisis, analysts say HOUSTON, June 27 (Reuters) - Oil prices edged up slightly on Friday, recovering from a midday drop into negative territory following a report that OPEC+ was planning to hike production in August, but tumbled about 12% in the week in their biggest drop since March 2023. Brent crude futures settled at $67.77 a barrel, up 4 cents, or 0.1%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude finished up 28 cents, or 0.4%, at $65.52 a barrel. Sign up here. Four delegates from OPEC+, which includes allies of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, said the group was set to boost production by 411,000 barrels per day in August, following a similar-size output increase already planned for July. "The report about an OPEC increase came out and prices cratered," said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst with Price Futures Group, about the midday slide. Crude prices were already headed for a 12% decline for the week following the cease-fire between Israel and Iran. During the 12-day war that started after Israel targeted Iran's nuclear facilities on June 13, Brent prices rose briefly to above $80 a barrel before slumping to $67 a barrel after U.S. President Donald Trump announced an Iran-Israel ceasefire. "The market has almost entirely shrugged off the geopolitical risk premiums from almost a week ago as we return to a fundamentals-driven market," said Rystad analyst Janiv Shah. Flynn said expectations of higher demand in the coming months gave crude a boost earlier on Friday. "We're getting a demand premium on oil," Flynn said. Prices had also been supported earlier in Friday's session by multiple oil inventory reports that showed strong draws in middle distillates, said Tamas Varga, a PVM Oil Associates analyst. U.S. government data on Wednesday showed crude oil and fuel inventories fell last week, with refining activity and demand rising. Meanwhile, data on Thursday showed that independently held gasoil stocks at the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub fell to their lowest in over a year, while Singapore's middle distillates inventories declined as net exports climbed week on week. Additionally, China's Iranian oil imports surged in June as shipments accelerated before the Israel-Iran conflict and demand from independent refineries improved, analysts said. China is the world's top oil importer and biggest buyer of Iranian crude. It bought more than 1.8 million barrels per day of Iranian crude from June 1-20, according to ship-tracker Vortexa, a record high based on the firm's data. The U.S. oil and natural gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, fell for a fourth straight month to its lowest since October 2021, Baker Hughes said. The number of oil rigs fell by six to 432 this week, also the lowest level since October 2021. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-set-weekly-loss-fading-mideast-supply-risks-2025-06-27/

2025-06-27 06:43

Smelter losses could lead to production cuts, market participants say Copper concentrate deficit at 1.1 mln t in 2025, 2.6 mln t in 2026, BMI forecasts China's 2025 refined copper output to grow by 12% y/y, Mysteel says BEIJING/SINGAPORE, June 27 (Reuters) - Some Chinese smelters have agreed to process copper from Chilean miner Antofagasta (ANTO.L) , opens new tab for no charge, a record low for the industry, but the outcome was better than expected for the smelters, already suffering losses. Antofagasta has agreed to set copper concentrate processing fees at $0 per metric ton and 0 cents per pound, four sources with the knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Friday. Sign up here. The agreement reflects a shortage of copper concentrate supply for the smelters that produce the metal increasingly in demand in the transition to clean energy, including for electric vehicles and power lines. The fees agreed with Antofagasta are regarded as a benchmark for the industry and compare with the 2025 annual charges at $21.25 a ton and 2.125 cents per pound agreed between the Chilean company and Chinese smelters. One smelter and two analysts speaking on condition of anonymity described it as "better than expected". Antofagasta did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside of their office hours. The zero processing fee is a win for smelters, given spot charges are hovering around the negative $43 mark - implying smelters would have to pay copper miners for processing their concentrate. Typically, miners must pay smelters to convert copper concentrate into metal. The concentrate supply shortage has intensified this year due to new smelter capacity coming online in China and slower-than-expected supply growth. Miner Ivanhoe Mines (IVN.TO) , opens new tab cut its output guidance after its copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo was affected by seismic activity. Consultancy Benchmark Mineral Intelligence pegged the global supply deficit for copper concentrate at 1.1 million tons in 2025 and 2.6 million tons in 2026, respectively. The contracts will deepen smelter losses in China, the world's largest refined copper producer and consumer, as the fees are a key source of revenue. In time the new low could force some smelters to cut production, analysts, smelters and traders said. That said, Chinese smelters, however, have not yet trimmed output much as revenue from byproducts such as gold, silver and sulfuric acid partially offsets the loss from copper. Refined copper output in China jumped by 8% year-on-year to a record high of 6.05 million tons from January to May, official data showed, and consultancy Mysteel forecast the total output in 2025 to climb by 12% from the prior year to 13.29 million tons. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-copper-smelters-win-better-than-expected-0-tcrc-deal-antofagasta-sources-2025-06-27/

2025-06-27 06:29

MUMBAI, June 27 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee edged higher on Friday as the dollar grappled with concerns over the future independence of the Federal Reserve and heightened expectations of cuts to U.S. benchmark interest rates. However, dollar bids from foreign and state-run banks put a lid on the rupee's gains after it managed to rise above the 85.50 mark in early trading. Sign up here. The currency was last quoted at 85.5375 against the dollar, up 0.2% on the day. The dollar index was at 97.4, hovering close to an over three-year low, while Asian currencies were trading mixed. India's benchmark equity indexes, the BSE Sensex (.BSESN) , opens new tab and Nifty 50 (.NSEI) , opens new tab, logged slight gains. Speculation that U.S. President Donald Trump may make an earlier-than-usual announcement of the next Federal Reserve chair, who is expected to be more dovish, has raised wagers on policy easing by the Fed. That, in turn, has weighed on the greenback, which is already under pressure over concerns about U.S. trade and fiscal policies this year. The dollar index is down over 10% year-to-date and is on track for its biggest first-half fall since the start of the era of free-floating currencies in the early 1970s. BofA Global Research holds a bearish view on the dollar over the medium to longer term due to U.S. economic uncertainty, the overhang of eventual Fed cuts, alongside a push from global real money investors, who are in the early stages of increasing FX hedging of U.S. assets. Meanwhile, the dollar-rupee overnight swap rate nudged higher on Friday, with traders pointing to sell/buy swaps from foreign banks, likely spurred by dollar inflows related to a large domestic IPO. Bidding for Indian lender HDB Financial's $1.5 billion IPO is set to close on Friday. The issue was subscribed by nearly two times as of 11:30 a.m. IST. (This story has been refiled to fix the dateline to June 27) https://www.reuters.com/world/india/rupees-upside-capped-by-dollar-bids-foreign-state-run-banks-2025-06-27/

2025-06-27 05:59

SINGAPORE, June 27 (Reuters) - A liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessel called Iris that has been sanctioned by the U.S. berthed at Russia's Arctic LNG 2 plant on Thursday, shiptracking data from LSEG and Kpler showed. If the vessel picks up gas, it would mark the ninth LNG cargo to be offloaded from the Arctic LNG 2 project, according to Kpler data. The last shipment was picked up by the Arctic Metagaz vessel on October 5. Sign up here. In October, the U.S. state department imposed sanctions on registered owners and managers of several LNG vessels including Iris, which was previously known as North Sky. The Iris vessel changed its ship or commercial manager on April 25 to Elegest OOO, which has a registered address in Moscow, according to shipping database Equasis. The vessel's registered owner is listed as LNG Gamma Shipping. Reuters was not able to find contact information for LNG Gamma Shipping. The Arctic LNG 2 project owned by Russia's Novatek (NVTK.MM) , opens new tab is also subject to Western sanctions over Russia's conflict with Ukraine. A source said in May that the project had started production from its second train, even though it has been unable to sell LNG from its first train. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/sanctioned-lng-vessel-berths-russias-arctic-lng-2-data-shows-2025-06-27/

2025-06-27 05:44

Dollar gains on risk aversion after Trump raises trade concerns U.S. consumer spending unexpectedly fell in May Traders pricing in more dovish Federal Reserve NEW YORK, June 27 (Reuters) - The dollar retraced earlier losses against the euro on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States was ending trade talks with Canada and that he would consider bombing Iran again, denting risk appetite and sending stocks lower. "Taken together, both messages highlight how erratic Trump is and that any assumptions built into markets can be instantly undermined," said Adam Button, chief currency analyst at ForexLive. Sign up here. "The knee-jerk has been to buy the U.S. dollar but once the smoke clears, that's likely to retrace. The trade war has been a dollar drag all year," Button said. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier on Friday the Trump administration's various trade deals with other countries could be done by the Sept. 1 Labor Day holiday. The Canadian dollar extended losses on the day, however, after Trump said the U.S. is immediately ending trade talks with Canada in response to the country's digital services tax on technology companies. It was last down 0.5% versus the greenback at C$1.37 per dollar. Trump also sharply criticized Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, dropped plans to lift sanctions on Iran and said he would consider bombing Iran again if Tehran is enriching uranium to worrisome levels. The dollar dropped to a three-and-a-half-year low against the euro earlier on Friday as traders bet that the Federal Reserve will cut rates more times and possibly sooner than previously expected as some U.S. data points to a weakening economy. A report on Friday showed that U.S. consumer spending unexpectedly fell in May as the boost from the pre-emptive buying of goods like motor vehicles ahead of tariffs faded, while monthly inflation increases remained moderate. A weekly jobs report on Thursday showed that continuing unemployment claims rose to the highest level since November 2021 while gross domestic product figures for the first quarter reflected a sharp downgrade to consumer spending. “Some of the data that we've had has not been particularly good over the last few days,” said Lou Brien, strategist at DRW Trading in Chicago. Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony to U.S. Congress this week was interpreted as dovish after he noted that rate cuts are likely if inflation doesn’t increase this summer as he expects. Reports that U.S. President Donald Trump could also appoint a replacement for Powell in the coming months have added to dollar weakness. The new Fed chair is expected to be more dovish and an early appointment could undermine Powell’s influence by acting as a shadow chair before Powell’s term ends in May. Trump has not decided on Powell’s replacement and a decision isn't imminent, a person familiar with the White House's deliberations said on Thursday. Fed rate cuts would reduce the interest rate advantage of the dollar relative to peers. Traders are pricing in 65 basis points of cuts by year end, up from 46 basis points a week ago. The dollar index was little changed on the day at 97.36 and is on pace for a 1.40% weekly decline, the worst since May 19. The euro was last up 0.05% at $1.1705 and reached $1.1754, the highest since September 2021. It is on track for a 1.57% weekly gain, the best since May 19. Sterling weakened 0.19% to $1.3701 and was on track for a 1.85% weekly gain, its best week since May 19. The dollar fell 0.06% to 0.8 Swiss franc and is heading for a 2.26% weekly drop, the largest since April 7. Top U.S. Republicans also confronted a yawning budget hole in their sprawling tax-cut and spending bill on Friday, signaling that they could miss Trump's July 4 deadline as they rewrite dozens of elements rejected by a nonpartisan referee. The long-term outlook for the dollar is seen as challenging as foreign investors reevaluate the “American exceptionalism” that has drawn investment to the country. Brien said that the impact of the Biden administration’s policies was also still weighing on the currency. Former President Joe Biden cut off Russia’s access to the U.S. dollar, froze its assets and imposed sanctions following the country’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which analysts say led other countries to accelerate shifts away from U.S. dollar reliance. “The Biden administration weaponized the dollar as it really had not been weaponized before,” Brien said. “That aspect of it is still in the back of people's heads.” Against the yen , the dollar strengthened 0.19% to 144.65. It is headed for a 0.94% weekly decline against the Japanese currency, the largest since May 19. Core consumer inflation in Japan's capital slowed sharply in June due to temporary cuts to utility bills but stayed well above the central bank's 2% target, keeping alive market expectations for further interest rate hikes. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin fell 0.86% to $106,879. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/dollar-lingers-near-3-12-year-low-traders-bet-us-rate-cuts-2025-06-27/