2025-04-30 12:35
OTTAWA, April 30 (Reuters) - The Canadian economy contracted by 0.2% in February, on decreases in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction, as well as transportation and warehousing, Statistics Canada said on Wednesday. March GDP was most likely up 0.1%, while first quarter GDP was likely up 1.5% on an annualized basis, the agency said in a flash estimate. Sign up here. The goods-producing sector was down 0.6% in February, while the service-producing sector declined by 0.1%. (Changes in percent) Feb Jan(rev) Jan(prev) Feb yr/yr All industries -0.2 +0.4 +0.4 +1.6 Goods -0.6 +1.1 +1.1 +1.2 Services -0.1 +0.1 +0.1 +1.7 NOTE - All figures are seasonally adjusted. Analysts in a Reuters survey had forecast February GDP to be flat. (([email protected] , opens new tab)) Keywords: CANADA ECONOMY/GDP https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canada-economy-down-02-february-most-likely-up-01-march-2025-04-30/
2025-04-30 12:34
MOSCOW/SINGAPORE, April 30 (Reuters) - Freight rates for ESPO Blend crude shipped from the Russian port of Kozmino to China eased further in April to the lowest since mid-January on higher availability of tankers, three traders said. Lower rates mean Russian exporters will spend less on freight and earn more for their oil. Sign up here. Freight rates on the route have eased to levels of around $2 million-3 million for April-loading cargoes from $4 million-5 million for February and March volumes as more non-sanctioned tankers have joined the ESPO market, they added. Russia's ESPO Blend oil price fell below the $60 per barrel Western price cap level for the first time ever early in April as the international Brent benchmark plummeted to the lowest levels in years, Reuters calculations based on three trading sources showed. The price has been changing since then, but remains around the $60 per barrel cap, the traders said. "ESPO Blend hovers around $60 (per barrel). Higher oil prices and lower freight rates may bring its price back above the cap again", complicating the process of finding a vessel, one of the traders said. The cost of transporting ESPO Blend to China jumped to $6 million-$7.5 million after U.S. sanctions were placed on vessels involved in Russian oil shipments on January 10, as many vessels working at Kozmino port were targeted. U.S. sanctions on Russia's oil industry targeted major oil companies Surgutneftegaz and Gazprom Neft, as well as more than 180 vessels. Before the latest round of U.S. sanctions, shipping oil from Kozmino to ports in northern China used to cost less than $1.5 million. Traders said those levels might be achieved again this year if no additional restrictions on Russian oil transportation emerge. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russian-espo-blend-oil-freight-rates-hit-lowest-since-january-traders-say-2025-04-30/
2025-04-30 12:16
FRANKFURT, April 30 (Reuters) - Euro zone consumers are happy to ditch U.S. products if they are hit by tariffs in the course of a tit-for-tat trade war with U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, a European Central Bank survey showed. The ECB's Consumer Expectations Survey, conducted in March before Trump had even announced, and later paused his tariff blitz, unexpectedly showed a change in preference regardless of any price increase. Sign up here. The 19,000 consumers were asked if they would look for alternatives to U.S. products if an import tax of 5%, 10% or 20% was imposed by the United States and, in retaliation, by the European Union. "Results show that consumers are very willing to actively move away from U.S. products and services," the ECB said in a blog post. The median substitution score was 80 on a scale where zero indicates no willingness to buy alternatives to U.S. products and 100 signifies a strong one. When asked for their motivations, 43.7% of respondents cited a change in preference, a bigger share than the 38.1% who said this was down to prices. Accordingly, the willingness to substitute was greater for higher-income households. "Our findings indicate that, in the current context, consumers’ reactions could therefore considerably deviate from standard textbook consumption patterns in response to higher tariffs," the ECB said. Only 8.9% of respondents said there was a lack of alternatives, which could prove a sore point if EU tariffs were actually imposed on products such as digital services. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/euro-zone-consumers-happy-ditch-us-products-if-hit-by-tariffs-study-finds-2025-04-30/
2025-04-30 12:08
April 30 (Reuters) - Construction supplies company Vulcan Materials (VMC.N) , opens new tab on Wednesday beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit, helped by price hikes on supplies such as sand, gravel and crushed stone. These supplies are part of Vulcan's construction aggregates business, its largest. The segment's gross profit rose 18% in the quarter, while margins expanded 320 basis points to 26.7%. Sign up here. The Birmingham, Alabama-based company has been raising prices in the past few quarters to combat inflationary pressure and sustained high interest rates that have impacted customer affordability and softened residential construction activity. On an adjusted basis, Vulcan reported a profit of $1 per share in the quarter, ahead of analysts' average estimate of 78 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG. The company's total revenues rose 5.8% year-over-year to $1.64 billion. Analysts, on average, had expected $1.65 billion. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/vulcan-materials-beats-profit-estimates-higher-prices-sand-other-construction-2025-04-30/
2025-04-30 12:00
ACCRA, April 30 (Reuters) - Ghana has reached a deal with nine more mining companies to purchase 20% of their gold production, a government body said on Wednesday, aiming to consolidate a gold purchase programme meant to boost the country's gold reserves and stabilise its currency. Africa's top gold producer signed an agreement with members of an industry group that included Gold Fields (GFIJ.J) , opens new tab, Newmont (NEM.N) , opens new tab, AngloGold Ashanti (AU.N) , opens new tab, and Asanko Mining in 2022 to purchase 20% of their annual output for the central Bank of Ghana. Purchases are settled in the Ghanaian cedi currency. Sign up here. Bank of Ghana's gold holdings rose to 30.8 metric tons in February from 8.77 tons in 2022, helping its gross reserves to hit $9.4 billion this year. The new deal covers mining companies not participating in the central bank's arrangement, according to a statement on X from GoldBod, a government body set up to streamline gold purchases from small-scale miners, increase their earnings, and reduce the impact of smuggling. The companies are Golden Team Mining Company Limited, Akroma Gold Limited, Adamus Resources Limited, Cardinal Namdini Mining Limited, Goldstone Akrokeri Limited, Earl International Group (GH) Limited, Xtra Gold Mining Limited, Prestea Sankofa Gold Limited and Gan He Mining Resource Development Limited. Gold mining countries have sought increased value from the precious metal as prices rose 29% this year, boosted by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and geopolitical uncertainty. "Under the agreement, the mining companies will deliver 20% of any gold they seek to export out of the country to the GoldBod in the form of doré bars," the GoldBod statement said. "This agreement represents a significant step toward optimising national benefits from Ghana's gold resources." The mining companies will receive payment in Ghanaian cedis, discounted at one percent of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) spot price. The nine gold miners produce approximately 200 kilograms of gold monthly, GoldBod's spokesperson told Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/ghana-secures-deal-with-nine-more-gold-miners-buy-20-their-output-2025-04-30/
2025-04-30 11:50
Deal positions two countries to boost Ukraine's recovery Ukraine official says US may provide new assistance Signing follows months of negotiations, frayed ties Ukraine official says Kyiv decides what, where to mine KYIV/WASHINGTON, April 30 (Reuters) - Ukraine and the U.S. on Wednesday signed a deal heavily promoted by U.S. President Donald Trump that will give the United States preferential access to new Ukrainian minerals deals and fund investment in Ukraine's reconstruction. The two countries signed the accord in Washington after months of sometimes fraught negotiations, with uncertainty persisting until the last moment with word of an eleventh-hour snag. Sign up here. The accord establishes a joint investment fund for Ukraine's reconstruction as Trump tries to secure a peace settlement in Russia's three-year-old war in Ukraine. The agreement is central to Kyiv's efforts to mend ties with Trump and the White House, which frayed after he took office in January. Ukrainian officials have hoped that the deal would ensure continued U.S. support for Ukraine's defence against Russia. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko were shown signing the agreement in a photo posted on X by the Treasury, which said the deal "clearly signals the Trump Administration's commitment to a free, sovereign, prosperous Ukraine." Svyrydenko wrote on X that the accord provides for Washington to contribute to the fund. "In addition to direct financial contributions, it may also provide NEW assistance - for example air defense systems for Ukraine," she said. Washington did not directly address that suggestion. The U.S. has been Ukraine's single largest military donor since Russia's 2022 invasion with aid of more than 64 billion euros ($72 billion), according to the Kiel Institute in Germany. Before the signing, Trump repeated on Wednesday that the U.S. should get something for its aid to Kyiv, thus the effort to secure a deal for Ukraine's plentiful deposits of rare earth minerals. In announcing the deal, the U.S. Treasury said the partnership recognized "the significant financial and material support that the people of the United States have provided to the defense of Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion." UKRAINE CONTROLS EXTRACTION DECISIONS Svyrydenko said the accord allowed Ukraine to "determine what and where to extract" and that its subsoil remains owned by Ukraine. Ukraine is rich in natural resources including rare earth metals which are used in consumer electronics, electric vehicles and military applications, among others. Global rare-earth mining is currently dominated by China, which is locked in a trade war with the U.S. after Trump's sharp tariff increases. Ukraine also has large reserves of iron, uranium and natural gas. Svyrydenko said Ukraine has no debt obligations to the United States under the agreement, a key point in the lengthy negotiations between the two countries. The deal also, she said, complied with Ukraine's constitution and Ukraine's campaign to join the European Union, key elements in Ukraine's negotiating position. The minerals deal and U.S. peace efforts have been negotiated separately but reflect Washington's approach to Ukraine and Russia. Trump has upended U.S. policy by softening the U.S. stance toward Russia and sometimes falsely blaming Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for the war. U.S. peace proposals have called for recognition of Russia's claim to Crimea, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014, and potentially four other Ukrainian regions. Zelenskiy has said Kyiv would never do so because it would contravene Ukraine's constitution. "Importantly, the Agreement sends a signal to global partners that long-term cooperation with Ukraine - over decades - is not only possible but reliable," Svyrydenko said on X. A draft of the U.S.-Ukraine agreement seen by Reuters earlier on Wednesday showed Ukraine secured the removal of any requirement for it to pay back the U.S. for past military assistance, something Kyiv had staunchly opposed. The draft did not provide any concrete U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine, one of its initial goals. Separately, Ukraine has discussed with European allies the forming of an international force to help ensure Ukraine's security if a peace agreement is reached with Russia. https://www.reuters.com/world/kyiv-is-ready-sign-resources-deal-with-us-ukraine-government-source-says-2025-04-30/
