2025-07-14 12:59

BRASILIA, July 14 (Reuters) - Brazil's economic activity unexpectedly fell in May, central bank data showed on Monday, dragged down by a sharp drop in the farm sector along with declines in tax revenue and industrial output. The IBC-Br index, a leading indicator of gross domestic product (GDP), fell 0.7% in May from April on a seasonally adjusted basis, well below the flat reading expected in a Reuters poll. Sign up here. The decline was driven by a 4.2% drop in agricultural output, which is typically stronger in the earlier months of the year in Latin America's largest economy. Even excluding the farm sector, activity remained in negative territory, down 0.3% on the month, reflecting the impact of the central bank's aggressive monetary tightening to curb inflation. Since last September, policymakers have raised interest rates by 450 basis points to a near 20-year high of 15%. While services, the main engine of Brazil's economy, were flat in May, tax revenue fell 1.0% and industrial output declined 0.5%, according to the IBC-Br breakdown. On a year-over-year basis, the index rose 3.2%, and was up 4.0% in the 12 months through May. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazil-economic-activity-posts-unexpected-drop-may-2025-07-14/

2025-07-14 12:19

India urges China for resolution of border tensions India says avoiding trade restrictions is key for cooperation Chinese Vice President says two countries must respect each other’s concerns BEIJING/NEW DELHI, July 14 (Reuters) - India and China must resolve friction along their border, pull back troops and avoid "restrictive trade measures" to normalise their relationship, India's foreign minister told his Chinese counterpart in Beijing on Monday. India's Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met Wang Yi in Beijing during his first trip to the country since 2020, when a deadly border clash between their troops led to a four-year military standoff and damaged ties until a thaw began in October, when they agreed to step back. Sign up here. "Good progress" made by the countries in the past nine months for normalisation of relations is a result of the resolution of friction along their border, Jaishankar told Wang. India and China share a 3,800 km (2,400 miles) border that is poorly demarcated and has been disputed since the 1950s. They fought a brief but brutal border war in 1962 and talks over the decades to settle the border dispute have made slow progress. Last month, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told his Chinese counterpart that the two countries should seek a "permanent solution" to the border dispute, seen as a new push by New Delhi for a conclusive outcome. "It is now incumbent on us to address other aspects related to the border, including de-escalation," Jaishankar said, adding that it was also critical that restrictive trade measures and roadblocks be avoided to foster mutually beneficial cooperation. The minister was speaking in the backdrop of Beijing's restrictions in recent months on supplies of critical minerals such as rare earth magnets and machinery for manufacturing of high-tech goods. India holds the world's fifth-largest rare earth reserves but its domestic output remains underdeveloped. There was no immediate Chinese readout of the talks between Jaishankar and Wang. Jaishankar, who is in China to attend the meeting of foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, met Chinese Vice President Han Zheng earlier in the day, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported. India and China should steadily advance practical cooperation and respect each other's concerns, Han told Jaishankar, Xinhua said. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-india-should-continue-practical-cooperation-chinese-vp-tells-indian-2025-07-14/

2025-07-14 12:11

Trump says he is open to talks with EU, other trading partners EU trade chief says "still potential to continue negotiations" EU exports facing 30% import tariff from August 1 South Korea seeks in-principle trade deal with US by deadline Trump tariff tactics weigh on European auto, alcohol stocks BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) - The European Union on Monday accused the U.S. of resisting efforts to strike a trade deal and warned of countermeasures if no agreement is reached to avoid the punishing tariffs President Donald Trump has threatened to impose starting on August 1. Trump, meanwhile, said he was open to further discussions with the EU and other trading partners before new 30% tariffs kick in next month and that EU officials would be coming to the United States for negotiations. Sign up here. "They would like to do a different kind of a deal and we're always open to talk, including to Europe," he told reporters in the Oval Office. "In fact, they're coming over. They'd like to talk." Trump stepped up his trade war on Saturday, saying he would impose a 30% tariff on most imports from the EU and Mexico next month, following similar warnings for other countries including Asian economic powerhouses Japan and South Korea. The EU has so far held off on retaliatory measures to avoid a spiralling tit-for-tat escalation while there remains a chance of negotiating an improved outcome. But EU ministers emerging from a meeting in Brussels on Monday appeared closer to striking back. Speaking at a news conference following the meeting, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen called the tariff threat "absolutely unacceptable." EU Trade Chief Maros Sefcovic said he believed there was "still a potential to continue the negotiations" but voiced frustration with Washington's failure to agree to a deal with its largest trading partner. "As I said before, it takes two hands to clap," he said, adding that EU member states agreed that the 27-nation bloc would need to take countermeasures if the trade negotiations with the U.S. fail. Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani earlier said the EU had already prepared a list of tariffs worth 21 billion euros ($24.5 billion) on U.S. goods if the two sides fail to reach a deal. Meanwhile, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday that she believed the two sides would reach a deal on security ahead of the August 1 deadline. The White House has clarified that the 30% tariffs on Mexico, which Trump has blamed for not doing more to stem the flow of fentanyl into the U.S., would not apply to goods shipped under the USMCA trade agreement, which covers the vast majority of goods shipped from Mexico to the U.S. Sheinbaum said any agreement would not involve U.S. forces entering Mexican territory, as previously floated by Trump. EUROPEAN STOCKS DIP White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said trade talks were still under way with the European Union, Canada and Mexico. Canada is facing a tariff of 35% starting in August. The threatened duties have sounded alarm bells in Europe, notably in Germany, the EU's biggest economy. After Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday that a 30% tariff would "hit the German export industry to the core", the head of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry called for swift action. "The escalating tariff conflict with the USA poses a serious threat to many German companies," Volker Treier said on Monday. "Tough negotiations are now needed to avert a collapse of transatlantic trade." European industries, meanwhile, are preparing for the worst. Producers of Italy's renowned Chianti wine in Tuscany, for example, have demanded a new export strategy backed by the EU targeting alternative markets such as South America, Asia and Africa. Since returning to the White House earlier this year, Trump has sought to use an array of tariffs to boost the U.S. economy, push companies to invest in the United States and revitalise manufacturing. His initial "Liberation Day" tariff announcement in April, which set a baseline tariff of 10% on all imports and higher duties on certain products or countries, raised fears of global supply chain disruptions, sending shockwaves through markets. But subsequent U-turns and delays, including a 90-day pause on most duties aimed at allowing time for trade deal negotiations, have left investors largely inured to Trump's chaotic policy rollouts. European stocks fell on Monday, while U.S. indices were little changed in response to the latest salvo. European autos and alcohol stocks were among those hardest hit. SCRAMBLE FOR DEALS The looming August 1 deadline has set off a scramble by governments around the world to seal trade agreements. South Korea's top trade envoy said on Monday it may be possible to strike a deal "in principle" by the deadline and signalled that Seoul may be open to allowing the U.S. greater access to its agriculture markets, local media reported. Minister for Trade Yeo Han-koo, who held high-level talks with U.S. officials last week, said South Korea was seeking to avoid "unfair" U.S. tariffs on key sectors that would undermine industrial cooperation with its main security ally and trading partner, media reports said. "I believe it's possible to reach an agreement in principle in the U.S. tariff negotiations, and then take some time to negotiate further," the Newsis news agency quoted Yeo as telling local media reporters. "Twenty days are not enough to come up with a perfect treaty that contains every detail," he added. South Korea is in a race to reach a compromise trade pact in the hope of avoiding a 25% tariff slapped on its exports, the same level faced by Japan. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/eu-south-korea-seek-us-trade-deals-soften-tariff-blow-2025-07-14/

2025-07-14 11:49

LONDON, July 14 (Reuters) - Hedge funds sold bank stocks for the second straight week and piled into consumer staples at the fastest pace in almost two years, a Goldman Sachs note seen by Reuters on Monday showed, just ahead of earnings announcements this week. Wall Street's march to record highs could be put to the test this week as major banks start to report second-quarter earnings and June's consumer price data for the U.S. is published on Tuesday. Sign up here. Hedge funds fled long positions in U.S. banks and global financial services companies for the second week in a row last week, data from Goldman Sachs prime brokerage desk showed. A long position expects an asset price to rise, whereas a short position bets it will fall. The cohort ditched long positions and added short positions on European financial stocks, said Goldman. Banks, financial services firms and insurance companies were all net sold while those in trading and consumer finance were net bought, said the investment bank. Meanwhile, speculators last week piled into the worst performing U.S. stock sector, consumer staples, the data showed. Consumer staples include products like beverages, food and tobacco which are often relatively shielded in economic downturns because they are essential items. The hedge fund buying comes as analysts expect these next set of quarterly reports to reveal the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on corporate balance sheets and the wider economy. "If the tariffs snap back higher on August 1, and we then get an underwhelming jobs report, that would easily resurrect fears around a U.S. recession," said Deutsche Bank analyst Henry Allen. Consumer staples has been the most net-bought stock sector at the Goldman Sachs prime brokerage desk in July, Goldman said. Global hedge funds trading stock markets systematically are down 1.8% for the month but still up just over 10% for the year. Stock pickers, largely flat for the month so far, have posted a 6.6% return this year. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/hedge-flow-hedge-funds-dump-banks-buy-dip-consumer-staples-goldman-sachs-says-2025-07-14/

2025-07-14 11:45

July 14 (Reuters) - U.S. shale producer Occidental Petroleum (OXY.N) , opens new tab said on Monday its Gulf of Mexico production in the second quarter was curtailed due to third-party constraints, extended maintenance, and schedule-related delays. The company said sales volumes from what it calls the "Gulf of America" — referring to the Gulf of Mexico — are expected to be about 125,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd). Sign up here. President Donald Trump issued an executive order in January 2025 calling on U.S. institutions to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. Previously, Occidental forecast its Gulf of Mexico production to range between 126,000 and 134,000 boepd in the second quarter. The company continues to expect annual production within its previously announced forecast of 1.38 million to 1.42 million boepd. Occidental said its average realized price for total oil output was $63.76 per barrel in the April-June quarter, down from $71.07 per barrel in the preceding quarter. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/occidental-petroleum-says-gulf-mexico-output-hit-by-curtailments-q2-2025-07-14/

2025-07-14 11:40

LONDON, July 14 (Reuters) - Britain's Thames Water announced a temporary "hosepipe ban" on Monday, aimed at cutting water usage across large parts of southern England, following the country's driest and warmest spring in over a century. Thames Water, Britain's biggest water supplier which has 16 million customers, said the ban would take effect on July 22, and apply to households across several counties including Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Berkshire, but not in London. Sign up here. Under the ban, customers are prohibited from using hosepipes for activities such as washing cars, watering gardens or allotments, filling paddling or swimming pools, and cleaning windows. Other water suppliers in England have also introduced bans this month, with Yorkshire Water and South East Water both announcing temporary restrictions last week. "This has been a challenging spring and summer," Nevil Muncaster, Thames Water's Strategic Water Resources Director, said. "Given the continued warm, dry weather we do not anticipate that the situation will improve any time soon so we have to take action now." The government said last month it would step up efforts to protect water resources ahead of the summer, as reservoirs across England are only 77% full, well below the seasonal average of 93%. Scientists say climate change is making droughts and drier summers more frequent. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/thames-water-imposes-hosepipe-ban-historic-drought-hits-england-2025-07-14/