2025-05-14 11:34
BRUSSELS, May 14 (Reuters) - The European Union needs to create funds of more than 10 billion euros ($11.4 billion) to spur investment in exploration, mining and recycling of critical raw materials, the head of an EU-funded agency for key minerals said on Wednesday. The bloc has set 2030 targets for 34 minerals such as lithium and copper required for its green transition - to meet 10% of its annual needs from mining and 25% from recycling, and process 40% of its consumption in Europe. Sign up here. It also specified that a single third country should not supply more than 65% of a given mineral. For many minerals, the EU's reliance on China surpasses this amount. Bernd Schaefer, CEO of EIT RawMaterials, said the bloc needed to set aside money in its next seven-year budget from 2028 to promote mining and recycling. "It should be probably start with at least a billion or 2 billion euros and have the potential to grow considerably," he told Reuters in an interview. Schaefer also said the bloc needed an exploration fund of around 10 billion euros to determine what minerals the EU could mine. Combined with private funds, investment could rise to around 100 billion euros. Schaefer said the bloc needed to assess future consumption and supply for each mineral and convert general alliances with international partners into tangible volumes at a time of increased geopolitical tensions. "The Americans are very much hands on in getting things down the road," Schaefer said. "It should be a wake-up call for Europe to act now." He also said EU countries' plans for increased defence spending, not considered when the EU set its raw material targets, meant Europe would need even more minerals such as vanadium, titanium, molybdenum and chromium. "The volumes are not huge, but there is a greater sensitivity in terms of sourcing and the sense of urgency is superseding that for energy or mobility raw materials." ($1 = 0.8905 euros) https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/eu-must-set-aside-over-10-billion-euros-key-minerals-says-agency-head-2025-05-14/
2025-05-14 11:24
Q1 net profit rises 91% year on year Foxconn confident on AI server demand, but currency, tariffs cloud outlook Foxconn looking to expand EV footprint, no new projects announced TAIPEI, May 14 (Reuters) - Taiwan's Foxconn (2317.TW) , opens new tab, the world's largest contract electronics maker, downgraded its full-year outlook on Wednesday citing recent appreciation of the Taiwan dollar, even as it struck an upbeat note about booming demand for AI servers. Foxconn, Apple's (AAPL.O) , opens new tab top iPhone assembler and Nvidia's (NVDA.O) , opens new tab AI server maker, has ridden the crest of the wave for artificial intelligence demand, but is also vulnerable to changes in U.S. trade and tariff policy given its large manufacturing footprint in countries like China and Mexico. Sign up here. Chairman Young Liu said on an earnings call that U.S. tariffs will bring more challenges and his outlook for the full year was more cautious than previously, after the company predicted significant growth for 2025 compared with a previous outlook of strong growth. He said the reason for the change in the outlook was the recent changes in the value of the Taiwan dollar against the greenback, which has risen in value on speculation - denied by Taiwan's government - that Washington asked Taipei to allow its appreciation as part of tariff talks. "Because of the exchange rate, it may affect the performance of the revenue amount after conversion into Taiwan dollars. Therefore, compared to March, our outlook for this year is a bit more cautious, so we slightly adjusted our outlook for this year to significant growth," Liu added. "Over the past month, rapid changes in U.S. tariff policies have considerably impacted the global supply chain. With recent exchange rate fluctuations adding to the uncertainty, we are taking a more cautious outlook for the near future." While Washington and Beijing on Monday agreed to slash tariffs for at least 90 days, the cheer over the temporary truce was tempered by caution given a more permanent trade deal needs to be struck, while higher tariffs overall could still weigh on the global economy. Most of the iPhones Foxconn makes for Apple are assembled in China. Foxconn is also building a large manufacturing facility in Mexico - another target of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs - to produce AI servers for Nvidia. Nvidia said in April it would produce AI servers worth $500 billion in the U.S. over four years, working with companies like TSMC (2330.TW) , opens new tab and Foxconn in Houston. In its earnings report, Foxconn said it should see significant on-year growth in the second quarter, with high double-digit growth year-on-year for AI servers and an accelerating volume production ramp-up. The manufacturer does not provide numerical guidance. Net profit for January-March jumped an on-year 91% to T$42.12 billion ($1.39 billion), far exceeding the T$37.8 billion average of 13 analyst estimates compiled by LSEG. Foxconn, formally Hon Hai Precision Industry, last month said January-March revenue jumped 24.2% to a record for that quarter on strong sales of AI servers. Foxconn has been looking to expand its footprint in electric vehicles, which it sees as a major future growth generator. Subsidiary Foxtron Vehicle Technologies (2258.TW) , opens new tab and Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors (7211.T) , opens new tab last week announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding for the supply of an electric vehicle model. Foxconn has previously said it would consider taking a stake in Nissan (7201.T) , opens new tab for cooperation. Japan's third-biggest automaker is striving to make its business leaner and more resilient after weak sales in China and its biggest market the U.S. Liu said there was "of course some progress" in talks with Japanese carmakers, which he did not name, but that he had nothing to announce. Foxconn's shares have fallen 11.4% so far this year, hit by concerns about U.S. trade policy, compared with a 5.4% decline for the broader Taiwan index (.TWII) , opens new tab. They closed up 3.2% on Wednesday ahead of the earnings call. ($1 = 30.2680 Taiwan dollars) https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/foxconn-expected-post-strong-q1-profit-growth-ai-server-demand-2025-05-13/
2025-05-14 11:20
May 14 (Reuters) - Sterling slid against the euro on Wednesday after seven straight days of gains, while it rose against a weakened dollar as the market shed the initial optimism from a de-escalation in U.S.-China trade tensions at the beginning of the week. The euro was up 0.35% to 84.33 pence, after seven consecutive days of declines. Sign up here. It hovered around early April levels, halting a progressive slide against the pound from a peak at 87.38 pence on April 11. "It does seem that the 84 level is offering pretty good support," Rabobank's head of FX strategy Jane Foley said, adding that sterling may struggle to advance further against the euro unless growth data starts to significantly improve in Britain relative to market expectations. "There is a risk that growth could come in below the 1% level for 2025. If those risks increase, I think sterling will again be on the back foot against the euro." British GDP data for both March and the first quarter as a whole will be released on Thursday. It will give initial hints at where 2025 growth lands, but could also complicate the picture. Sanjay Raja, senior economist at Deutsche Bank, expects the quarterly data to show a significant jump, but a short-lived one, and that GDP will shrink in the second quarter. That adds additional uncertainty for investors trying to judge the Bank of England's policy path. Data published on Tuesday showed a fall in employment but economists said the drop appeared modest. Bank of England interest rate-setter Catherine Mann said on Wednesday that she voted to keep borrowing costs on hold last week - having sought a large 50-basis point cut in February - because Britain's labour market had been more resilient than she expected. The market is pricing in a around 50 basis points of easing by the end of the year, with no change in policy at the next BoE meeting in June, but a cut by a quarter of a point expected in August. The pound gained 0.38% on the dollar to $1.33535, as the greenback extended its losses against other currencies after weaker-than-expected U.S. consumer inflation data bolstered the case for Federal Reserve easing just as global trade tensions cool. "So much of what's happening in cable has been driven by the U.S. dollar," Foley said, referring to the sterling/dollar pair. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/sterling-snaps-seven-day-streak-gains-against-euro-2025-05-14/
2025-05-14 11:17
LONDON, May 14 (Reuters) - Turkey's finance minister said the country's economic transformation was on track and that the country was prepared to deal with slower growth. Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said that tighter financial conditions, lower oil prices and a weaker dollar were likely to be disinflationary, boosting the economy. Sign up here. "Growth is slower but we can live with that," he said during a panel at the annual meeting of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Simsek, since his 2023 appointment, had, alongside the central bank helped the country lure more investors, boost reserves and temper inflation by engineering a return to orthodox economic policies. But the detention of Istanbul mayor and main opposition leader Ekrem Imamoglu on March 19 triggered market turmoil that weakened the lira and drained central bank reserves, pushing it into a surprise interest rate hike in April. Simsek said the economic transformation programme was "on track, it is working, it is delivering". While revenue could underperform, continued fiscal consolidation could keep the current account deficit below the current 2% expectation, he said. He added that while geopolitical turmoil had, in recent years, been a drag on Turkey's economy, that was now shifting. "There are really strong signs that geopolitics may actually turn into a lifting factor, meaning a factor that is likely to help Turkey," he said, citing developments in Syria, efforts to broker a peace between Russia and Ukraine and the decision by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group to disband. Central Bank Deputy Governor Osman Cevdet Akcay, speaking on the same panel, said policy makers were committed to maintaining a tight policy stance, but that the country could avoid a hard economic landing. "The pricing behaviour is going to be changing more drastically if they (Turks) are afraid of a hard landing, which would provide a faster consolidation, which would help us," Akcay said. "Therefore what we are trying to push for...is through tight stance for low disinflation," he said, adding "the more they take that into account, the lower is the likelihood of hard landing." https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/turkey-finance-minister-simsek-says-economy-is-track-despite-slower-growth-2025-05-14/
2025-05-14 11:05
AMSTERDAM, May 14 (Reuters) - Gas prices around 25 euros ($28.13) per megawatt-hour, compared to 34 euros currently, could be needed to stimulate investment in the European economy going forward, a senior executive at Germany's utility Uniper (UN0k.DE) , opens new tab said on Wednesday. Since the energy crisis of 2022, when gas prices peaked at nearly 350 euros per megawatt hour (MWh), dozens of firms across Europe have closed factories and cut activity and jobs as high gas prices undermined their competitiveness. Sign up here. "I'm optimistic that gas prices around 25 (euros/MWH) might stimulate some investment in the European economy going forward, if you can prove that this is a price level that can be stable," Carsten Poppinga, Uniper's chief commercial officer said at the Flame gas conference in Amsterdam. Many businesses have maintained their reduced demand and lower manufacturing activity, with negative implications for Europe's sluggish growth. Poppinga said that Europe will continue to need liquefied natural gas (LNG) even if demand went down, adding that while trying to diversify, the continent is expected to get a large portion of its supplies from the United states. "U.S. LNG remains the most economic way to bring gas into the European Union," he said. ($1 = 0.8889 euros) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/gas-price-around-25-eurosmwh-could-boost-investment-uniper-executive-says-2025-05-14/
2025-05-14 10:55
KYIV, May 14 (Reuters) - Gas volumes in Ukrainian storage facilities are at the lowest level in at least 11 years, standing at 6 billion cubic metres (bcm) as of May 11, analytical company ExPro said on Wednesday. Ukraine has been forced to ramp up gas withdrawals from storage and increase imports this winter and spring after Russian missile attacks damaged production facilities in the east of the country. Sign up here. ExPro noted that storage facilities, whose capacity exceed 30 bcm, were less than 20% full, compared to 31.7% at the same date in 2024, when they held 8.8 bcm of gas. It said that since the beginning of the current injection season in mid-April, 610 million cubic meters of gas had been pumped into storage facilities, including 258 million in April. "Injection volumes in May 2025 are higher than in May last year. Overall, more than 350 million cubic metres of natural gas have been injected into storage facilities since the beginning of the month, 33% more than in the same period last year," ExPro said. The company forecast that Ukraine could have about 6.6 bcm of gas in reserve by the end of May. The former head of the Ukrainian gas transit operator, Serhiy Makogon, said last month that the country needed to import up to 6.3 billion cubic metres of gas for the 2025/26 winter season as reserves have fallen to a record low due to war-related damage to some facilities. He said Ukraine would need up to $3 billion for gas purchases. Ukraine's state oil and gas firm Naftogaz has said it was in talks with the government and international financial institutions to raise 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) to purchase over 2 bcm of gas for the 2025/26 heating season. Naftogaz has said it also contracted 300 mcm of American LNG with deliveries from Poland's Orlen (PKN.WA) , opens new tab. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/ukraine-gas-reserves-are-lowest-level-11-years-analyst-expro-says-2025-05-14/
