2025-04-25 11:20
BERN, April 25 (Reuters) - The Swiss National Bank does not have the right tools or the mandate to tackle climate changes or threats to biodiversity, Chairman Martin Schlegel told shareholders at the central bank's annual general meeting on Friday. "I understand this topic is of great importance for our society and all humanity and it is of personal concern for me," Schlegel said. Sign up here. "But our foreign currency reserves are there to serve our mandate. Climate goals or biodiversity are not part of our mandate," he added, referring to the SNB's main goal of ensuring price stability. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/cop/swiss-national-bank-rules-out-following-climate-goals-with-investments-2025-04-25/
2025-04-25 11:17
Iran, Russia tighten cooperation in face of Western sanctions Iran seeks to improve ties with Russia in banking, agriculture Tehran and Moscow eye 'gas hub' in Iran Russia may ship 1.8 bcm of gas to Iran in 2025, price not agreed Russia may fund construction of a nuclear power plant in Iran MOSCOW, April 25 (Reuters) - Moscow and Tehran have reached a deal on 55 billion cubic metres of Russian gas supplies a year, though prices are yet to be agreed, while Russia also pledged to fund construction of a new nuclear power plant in Iran, officials said on Friday. The preliminary agreements came as the United States is looking to isolate Iran from the rest of the world unless Tehran agrees to a new deal for inspections of its nuclear facilities. Sign up here. Russia has deepened ties with Iran since the start of the military conflict in Ukraine and signed a strategic partnership treaty with Tehran in January. Both countries are under Western sanctions and Moscow's oil and gas exports to Europe have drastically declined. Russia has a long history of cooperation with Iran and helped build a nuclear reactor at Bushehr in the south of the country, Iran's first. Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad has been on a visit this week in Moscow. On Friday he met Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev at an intergovernmental commission. Shana News Agency, citing Paknejad, said both countries agreed on a 55 bcm gas transfer agreement, while a new nuclear power plant in Iran would be constructed with financing from Moscow's credit line. Despite holding the world's second-largest gas reserves after Russia, Iran imports gas, including from Turkmenistan, due to severe under-investment caused in part by U.S. sanctions. Tsivilev, speaking alongside Paknejad, said that Russia may supply 1.8 billion bcm of natural gas to Iran this year, at a price yet to be agreed. Russian President Vladimir Putin, at a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian in January in the Kremlin, already said Russia may eventually supply up to 55 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas per year to Iran, though starting from lower volumes of up to 2 bcm. A figure of 55 bcm would be similar to the throughput of the Nord Stream 1 undersea pipelines to Europe that were damaged by blasts in 2022 and have not delivered any gas since then. Speaking on state TV earlier on Friday, Paknejad said Iran will sign a $4 billion agreement with Russian companies to develop seven Iranian oilfields. He and the Russian minister signed a final document of bilateral agreements after a meeting of a Russo-Iranian economic cooperation commission, but the details were not disclosed. Russian gas giant Gazprom (GAZP.MM) , opens new tab signed a memorandum last June with the National Iranian Gas Company to supply Russian pipeline gas to Iran. Possible routes for the pipeline have not been disclosed. Paknejad said Iran would implement the agreements with Gazprom, including on a regional hub for distribution of gas. The two countries have long discussed setting up such a hub in Iran, with the possible participation of Qatar and Turkmenistan. OPEC+ On Thursday Paknejad met Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, Putin's point man on relations with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Paknejad said on Friday there were a lot of uncertainties on the global oil market, including over the impact of tariff wars. U.S. President Donald Trump announced hefty tariffs , opens new tab on most other nations in April, shaking business and consumer confidence and leading to a rapid selloff of U.S. assets. Paknejad also said that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies led by Russia, a group known as OPEC+, would take decisions to ensure market stability. He did not elaborate on what these might entail. Several members of OPEC+ have suggested the group should accelerate oil output hikes in June for a second consecutive month, three sources familiar with OPEC+ talks told Reuters. OPEC+ will gather in early May to decide on its policy. Trump has called for OPEC to lower oil prices as he pursues a policy of "maximum pressure" on Iran, whose oil exports Washington wants to reduce to zero. https://www.reuters.com/world/iranian-oil-minister-moscow-seeks-bolster-ties-with-russia-2025-04-25/
2025-04-25 11:10
MOSCOW, April 25 (Reuters) - The Russian central bank maintained its key interest rate at 21% on Friday, with inflation starting to decline but new risks facing the Russian economy because of global economic turbulence triggered by U.S. trade tariffs. "A further decrease in the growth rate of the global economy and oil prices in case of escalating trade tensions may have proinflationary effects through the rouble exchange rate dynamics," the central bank said in a statement. Sign up here. The decision was in line with the results of a Reuters poll of 25 analysts. The central bank is keeping the key rate at the highest level since the early 2000s as it struggles to combat inflation. The rouble, which has surged by 37% against the dollar this year, has helped this effort by making imported goods cheaper. "Current inflationary pressures, including underlying ones, continue to decline, although remaining high," the regulator said. It maintained its 2025 inflation forecast at 7.0–8.0%, predicting inflation will return to the target of 4.0% in 2026. The regulator also left some room for further rate hikes saying that it expected the average key rate in the range of 19.5–21.5% in 2025, compared with the previous estimate of 19-22%. Russia's economy has performed better than expected during the three years of the conflict in Ukraine, despite sanctions. However, the country is now preparing for a prolonged period of lower oil prices and declining budget revenues. "This decision means that the central bank is creating predictable conditions within the economy in order to reduce the uncertainty currently associated with trade wars and instability in oil prices," said Alfa Bank's Natalya Orlova. The central bank noted that economic activity has been slowing in the first quarter of 2025, compared with the fourth quarter of 2024. It said the share of enterprises experiencing labour shortages is also declining. The central bank maintained the 2025 growth forecast at 1-2%, below the government's forecast of 2.5%. It said that it will hold the next meeting on June 6. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/russian-central-bank-keeps-key-rate-hold-21-2025-04-25/
2025-04-25 11:04
LONDON, April 25 (Reuters) - Britain's domestic energy price cap is expected to fall around 9% in July after wholesale energy prices tumbled amid warmer weather and as U.S. tariff announcements stoked fears for economic growth. A fall in the cap would be welcome news for the government, under pressure to meet a pledge to curb household energy costs. Sign up here. Benchmark British gas prices have tumbled around 40% since February as warmer weather curbed demand, the EU parliament backed weaker gas storage rules and fears of a global trade war rose that could hamper economic growth and industrial output. “We have all seen markets go up as fast as they go down, and the very fact the market dropped so quickly shows how vulnerable it is to geopolitical and market shifts,” said Craig Lowrey, Principal Consultant at Cornwall Insight. British energy regulator Ofgem sets a cap on household energy bills each quarter using a formula that reflects wholesale energy prices and also takes into account suppliers' network costs and environmental and social levies. Cornwall Insight forecasts Ofgem’s price cap will fall in July to 1,683 pounds ($2,238.89) a year based on average use, from 1,849 pounds a year in April. Lowrey said high volatility in the market means the cap forecast could change again before being set by Ofgem towards the end of May. ($1 = 0.7517 pounds) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/britains-energy-price-cap-set-fall-9-july-cornwall-insight-says-2025-04-25/
2025-04-25 10:29
LONDON, April 25 (Reuters) - British retail sales data that exceeded expectations offered some support to sterling on Friday though not enough to keep it in positive territory against the dollar's mini bounce-back across the board. The pound was last down 0.22% against the dollar at $1.3309, hoisted off its session lows by the data that showed retail sales volumes rose by 0.4% in March alone, compared to the 0.4% decline expected by a Reuters poll of economists. Sign up here. For the first quarter as a whole, retail sales rose by 1.6% - the strongest reading in four years. "Sterling has got a little bit of comfort from this. I wouldn't overstate it, but it had a decent run and was threatening to fall back and got a little bit of help from the data, temporarily at least," said Kit Juckes, chief FX strategist at Societe Generale. The dollar was stronger against nearly all developed market currencies on Friday, helped by signs of easing trade tensions between the U.S. and major partners, including China. The U.S. currency remains significantly weaker than before President Donald Trump's tariff announcements on April 2, however. Sterling, which has been roughly in the middle of the pack, is up 3.25% on the dollar in April, which would be its biggest monthly gain since November 2023. The euro is up a chunky 5.3% on the dollar in April, and has gained nearly 2% on the pound, in what would be its biggest monthly advance since December 2022. On Friday, the pound and euro were largely moving in tandem, with the euro last at 85.35 pence. Traders this week have also been digesting remarks from Bank of England policymakers. Governor Andrew Bailey said on Thursday he was focused on an expected shock to economic growth from Trump's tariffs and retaliatory measures by other countries, but did not foresee a recession in Britain. Another BoE rate setter, Megan Greene, is due to speak later in the day. Earlier in the week, she said tariffs would put downward pressure on British inflation. Such remarks have been supporting bets on BoE rate cuts. Markets are currently pricing two rate cuts across the BoE's next three meetings, and at least one further move by year-end. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/pound-finds-some-footing-retail-sales-amid-dollar-rebound-2025-04-25/
2025-04-25 10:17
April 25 (Reuters) - What matters in U.S. and global markets today, by Alun John, EMEA Breaking News Correspondent, finance and markets Wall Street looks set for another up day, thanks to above-expectations earnings from Google, which sent its shares around 6% higher in out-of-hours trading, and further signs that deals will be done to avoid the most extreme trade war. Sign up here. South Korean and U.S. delegations gave positive signals after their first round of trade talks and Reuters, and others, reported China was considering exempting some U.S. imports from its 125% tariffs. S&P 500 futures were up around 0.6%, suggesting the index would build on what's already been a 3.8% gain for the week, and the U.S. dollar too was rising on nearly all developed market currencies. Mike Dolan is enjoying some well-deserved time off this week, but the Reuters markets team is here to provide you with all the information you need to start your day. Today's Market Minute * China is considering exempting some U.S. imports from its 125% tariffs and is asking businesses to identify goods that could be eligible. * Google parent Alphabet reassured jittery tech investors that its AI investments were powering returns at its crucial ad business. * South Korea and the United States agreed to craft a trade package aimed at removing new U.S. tariffs before the pause on reciprocal tariffs is lifted in July. * Republicans in the U.S. Congress plan to introduce a sweeping $150 billion defense package that will give an initial $27 billion boost to President Donald Trump's controversial Golden Dome missile defense shield, according to a document and a congressional aide. * Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Thursday the central bank would continue to raise interest rates if underlying inflation converges toward its 2% inflation target as projected, but said the central bank would scrutinise how U.S. tariffs could affect this. Whoah, we're halfway there The S&P 500, after three straight days of gains, closed Thursday down "only" around 10.7% from its February closing high. That's not a bad little comeback, given that it was down more than 20% at one point a couple of weeks ago, even if it did not close below that symbolic level. And with futures pointing to a higher open, the benchmark is set for further gains on Friday - though one would not want to make too many firm predictions with a whole day of trading still to come. A major part of the bounceback has been driven by the U.S. administration walking back some of its more "out there" positions on Fed independence and tariffs, and getting some positive signs back from the rest of the world too. Investors have spent weeks agonising about whether the tariff announcement on April 2 was a negotiating tool or a genuine belief, and while we still do not know what the plan was at the time, there's enough going on to give traders hope that the outcome will be a series of deals that see the worst of the duties negotiated away. After a first round of trade talks in Washington on Thursday, a delegation from Seoul said that South Korea and the United States agreed to craft a trade package aimed at removing new U.S. tariffs before the 90-day pause is lifted in July. And after some encouragement from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this week, China is considering exempting some U.S. imports from its 125% tariffs, Reuters and others have reported. Some numbers are also helping the mood, with no real sign of a recession in hard economic data, as opposed to surveys, Thursday's initial jobless claims were the latest to come in fine. Again, it does not tell us anything much about the future, but strong earnings from Alphabet are also helping. The next, and harder, question is how much further things can go. The first bit of a market move is normally the easiest, as there are plenty of people who can stop selling and start buying - not the case when things are more balanced. "My view is that the damage to U.S. exceptionalism will be longer lasting, but that it’s understandable that there'll be a relief recovery after the U.S. has come back from the brink policy wise," says Jim Reid, global head of macro research at Deutsche Bank. It's also worth keeping an eye on the dollar, which gives a view of the U.S. on a relative basis. That's now stopped depreciating, and is stronger on the week against the euro, yen and Swiss franc, though that's sufficiently marginal in the case of the first two that it may have changed by the time you read this. The dollar certainly isn't halfway back to its position on April 2, let alone recent highs. Let's wait for that to happen to say things are halfway back to normal. Chart of the day Google's mainstay advertising revenue was one of the focuses of Alphabet's results late Thursday and saw an 8.5% rise, above analysts expectations' of a 7.7% increase. It also helped ease some concerns about whether big tech's ambitious AI build-out will bear fruit, as Alphabet reaffirmed its plans and said AI Overviews, the summaries that appear above traditional hyperlinks to relevant webpages, now have 1.5 billion users per month. Today's events to watch * University of Michigan sentiment index April * Corporate earnings, including from Aon and Colgate * Trade headlines (of course) * IMF-World Bank meetings https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/global-markets-view-usa-2025-04-25/
