2025-04-16 11:19

MUMBAI, April 16 (Reuters) - India's wheat stocks in government warehouses surged 57% to a three-year high at the start of the new crop year this month, official data showed, easing supply concerns that drove domestic prices to an all-time peak earlier this year. Higher opening stocks will help the federal government tame any price spikes later this year, even if the Food Corporation of India (FCI), the state stockpiler, struggles to meet its domestic wheat procurement target. Sign up here. Wheat reserves in state granaries stood at 11.8 million metric tons on April 1, well above the government's target of 7.46 million tons, the data showed. Wheat stocks are more than 4 million tons higher than at the same time last year. "Even if they miss this year's wheat buying target like they did last year, they'll still have plenty to sell in the open market," said a New Delhi-based dealer at a global trading firm. The FCI aims to buy 31 million tons of wheat from farmers in 2025. Last year, it targeted 30–32 million tons but managed to procure only 26.6 million tons. Disappointing harvests in the past three years and lower purchases by the FCI pushed up prices of the staple grain and raised expectations that India may be forced to import wheat for the first time in seven years. The government has so far resisted calls for imports. This year, the wheat procurement period is off to a strong start with FCI purchases well ahead of where they were during the same period in 2024. State reserves of rice, including unmilled paddy, totalled a record 63.09 million tons as of April 1, far exceeding the government's target of 13.6 million tons. The higher rice stocks would enable India to increase exports without compromising domestic supply, trade and industry officials said. "The FCI is holding far more rice than needed. The government will now try to encourage exports to avoid buying more from the new season crop," said a leading exporter based in the eastern city of Kolkata. India is the world's biggest exporter of rice and accounts for around 40% of global rice exports. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/indias-wheat-stocks-highest-3-years-rice-hits-record-2025-04-16/

2025-04-16 11:15

PARIS, April 16 (Reuters) - French agrifood group Avril posted increased earnings for 2024 on Wednesday, but said the volatility caused by U.S. tariffs would be challenging even as local sourcing should shelter it to an extent. Founded by French oilseed and protein crop growers, Avril is France's biggest producer of biodiesel and animal nutrition, and a major player in cooking oils such as consumer brand Lesieur and plant-based chemicals. Sign up here. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation rose to 370 million euros ($420 million), up 8% from 2023, despite a 2% decline in revenue to 7.7 billion euros, largely due to falling commodity prices. Net income fell 36% to 25 million euros, weighed down by higher depreciation linked to recent investments. The group is targeting EBITDA of 550 million euros by 2030. Avril already sources most of its oilseeds locally and expects to curb imports from Europe for its oleochemical operations in Texas to protect itself against tariffs. Avril's CEO Jean-Philippe Puig, however, said: "The impact on prices and volatility will make it challenging in the year ahead." A near-ban on Canadian canola that could push demand toward the European Union, for instance, drove EU rapeseed prices sharply lower after Trump's announcement of tariffs on Canada. Following four acquisitions in the animal feed and chemical sectors in 2024, Avril is considering more deals this year, with several targets identified, Puig said. He declined to provide further details. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/french-agrifood-group-avril-braces-challenging-2025-tariffs-loom-2025-04-16/

2025-04-16 11:03

HOUSTON, April 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. government's energy statistics arm is set to lose dozens of employees after the Trump administration's latest round of resignation offers, putting at risk some of the most closely watched energy reports globally, five sources told Reuters. The U.S. Energy Information Administration publishes weekly, monthly and annual data that includes figures on oil and gas output, crude and fuel inventories, and price forecasts - all of which are used by traders and energy companies as indicators for future supply and demand, and which can move prices. Sign up here. One of the sources told Reuters that as many as one-third of the EIA's roughly 300 to 350 employees had left or had accepted buyouts since the start of the year. Other sources, including three employees of the EIA, said the departures amounted to dozens. "As far as continuing publication, it's hard to say. I can't envision how, over time, they'll continue," one of the sources said about the weekly energy data. New project developments at the EIA have been put on hold or delayed, three of the sources said, without specifying what those projects involved. The EIA did not respond to a request for comment. The departures at EIA come as more than 2,600 U.S. Department of Energy staffers have opted to take resignation offers, with offices on power grid stability and loans for high-tech energy projects hit hard. The DOE is conducting a department-wide review of its organizational structures, a DOE spokesperson said in response to a request for comment for this article. "No final decisions have been made and multiple plans are still being considered," the spokesperson said. The EIA is perhaps the only government agency in the world to report such detailed statistics, so market participants closely track its publications to inform trading decisions. It also puts out smaller write-ups for the general public, narrating trends in the energy sector and helping breakdown jargon. Industry analysts use EIA data to build their own models and or to corroborate their models. The agency's data, analyses, and forecasts are independent of approval by any other officer or employee of the U.S. government by law, according to its website, freeing it from bias. "The EIA data contributed greatly to price discovery and it leveled the playing field. It would be very damaging to not have that data," said John Kilduff, a partner with Again Capital who has looked at the data weekly and used it as an input for every model in more than 20 years. "This is information that will be closely held by companies that I don't think would be necessarily shared with the industry," Kilduff added. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/dozens-employees-leaving-us-eia-putting-crucial-energy-data-risk-sources-say-2025-04-16/

2025-04-16 10:53

TSX ends up 0.2% at 24,106.79 Energy adds 2% as oil settles up 1.9% Mining shares rise as gold hits record high Bank of Canada pauses interest rate cuts April 16 (Reuters) - Canada's resource-linked main stock index rose on Wednesday to a near two-week high as higher commodity prices, including a continuation of gold's record-setting run, offset concerns that the global trade war could trigger a recession. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX Composite Index (.GSPTSE) , opens new tab ended up 38.86 points, or 0.2% at 24,106.79, its fourth straight day of gains and its highest closing level since April 3. Sign up here. In contrast, Wall Street posted steep declines as Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab warned of steep charges from new U.S. curbs on its chip exports to China and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that economic growth appears to be slowing. The Bank of Canada paused its interest rate cutting campaign and said that a that a long-lasting global trade war could trigger a significant recession in Canada and lead to inflation temporarily rising above 3%. "We are in an area now where bad news is bad again and recession fears are coming up and that's why we've got gold up," said Greg Taylor, a portfolio manager at Purpose Investments. The materials group, which includes metal mining shares, rose 1.3% as gold surged to a fresh record high above $3,300 an ounce. The price of oil also rose, settling 1.9% higher at $62.47 a barrel. Energy added 2% and consumer staples ended up 0.9%, with grocery retailer Loblaw Companies Ltd (L.TO) , opens new tab notching a new record high. Among the sectors that lost ground was industrials. It declined 0.9% while consumer discretionary ended 0.7% lower, weighed by declines for auto parts stocks. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/tsx-futures-flat-ahead-bank-canadas-rate-decision-2025-04-16/

2025-04-16 10:36

LONDON, April 16 (Reuters) - What matters in U.S. and global markets today By Mike Dolan , opens new tab, Editor-At-Large, Financial Industry and Financial Markets Sign up here. The escalating U.S.-China trade war has expanded and moved beyond tariffs, now hitting everything from chips to planes and pharma. The tensions upended the week's fragile market stability while hitting the dollar again (.DXY) , opens new tab and spurring gold to new records. Speaking of gold, in today's column, I explore the rush for the precious metal this year and let you know which country has been dramatically ramping up imports. Now onto the market news. Today's Market Minute * Shares fell in Asia on Wednesday as AI darling Nvidia took a hit from U.S. curbs on chip sales to China, highlighting the damage to come in a tit-for-tat global trade war, while gold hit a record and the safe-haven currencies jumped. * Nvidia did not warn at least some major customers in advance about new U.S. export rules it was told about a week ago requiring it to obtain licenses to sell its China-focused artificial intelligence chip, according to two sources familiar with the matter. * China's first-quarter economic growth outstripped expectations, underpinned by solid consumption and industrial output, but analysts fear momentum could shift sharply lower given the risk posed by U.S. tariffs. * Prime Minister Narendra Modi's bid to transform India into a global factory floor has produced billions of dollars of low-cost iPhones and pharmaceuticals. Now he hopes to add missiles, helicopters and battleships to the shopping carts of foreign governments. * U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to strip Harvard of its tax-exempt status on Tuesday and said the university should apologize, a day after it rejected what it called unlawful demands to overhaul academic programs or lose federal grants. US-China trade war goes full throttle Investors fearful of facing endless more months of trade war-induced uncertainty were given a litany of new concerns overnight, while they also braced for a wave of retail and industrial reports and corporate earnings outlooks on Wednesday. Shares in chip giant Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab plunged 6% in after hours trading on news that the firm is facing a $5.5 billion charge related to its most advanced chip available for sale in China. Washington issued new export licensing requirements for both its H20 artificial intelligence chip and AMD's (AMD.O) , opens new tab's MI308 chip. In addition, Trump ordered a probe into potential new tariffs on all U.S. critical minerals imports, on top of reviews into pharmaceutical and chip imports. Emboldened by surprisingly brisk GDP growth numbers for the first quarter, Beijing is continuing to play hardball in the expanding conflict, reportedly ordering airlines to suspend deliveries of Boeing aircraft (BA.N) , opens new tab. Hongkong Post said it had suspended goods mail services by sea to the United States and will suspend its air mail postal service for items containing goods from April 27 due to "bullying" U.S. tariffs. And Tesla's (TSLA.O) , opens new tab plans to ship components from China for Cybercab and Semi electric trucks in the United States were suspended after the U.S.-China tariff spiral potentially disrupted the electric vehicle firm's plan to start mass production of the much-anticipated models. Wall Street stock index futures , were down again about 1% ahead of Wednesday's bell after closing marginally in the red on Tuesday. Gold, now up 26% for the year so far, topped $3,300 per ounce for the first time. And the dollar suffered a relapse, with the yen and sterling hitting six-month highs. Strengthening in the euro and Canadian dollar was likely held back by expectations of near-term policy easing. The European Central Bank could cut interest rates again as soon as Thursday, and the Bank of Canada is on deck later today. Both meetings were preceded by soft inflation numbers that clear the way for easing. Stocks around the world were in the red again on Wednesday, with European bourses (.STOXXE) , opens new tab hit by trade-related chip woes as ASML (ASML.AS) , opens new tab fell more than 6% following a warning that tariffs would hit its business this year. Only China's mainland shares (.CSI300) , opens new tab were higher. Wall Street now braces for another busy day ahead with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaking in Chicago and retail and industrial numbers for March coming out alongside another sweep of company earnings. U.S. banks were a bright spot on Tuesday as their Q1 updates showed their trading operations benefitted from market turbulence in the first three months. Finally, check out my column today, where I explore the drivers of gold's record run this year, including evidence of China's rapid accumulation of the precious metal as Beijing continues reshaping its foreign reserves. Chart of the day China's first quarter economic growth beat expectations, with a year-on-year GDP rise of 5.4%, matching the prior three months and topping consensus forecasts for a 5.1% expansion. The numbers likely reflect some feverish activity ahead of the U.S. tariff squeeze, with March retail and industrial numbers also beating estimates. The surge in exports last month is expected to tail off sharply in the months ahead. The country's property downturn also remained a drag, with investment in the sector falling 9.9% year-on-year in the first three months and new home prices flat in March. GDP forecasts for the full year anticipate growth slowing to a relatively subdued 4.5%. Today's events to watch * U.S. March retail sales, industrial production, February business/retail inventories, April NAB housing market index, February TIC data on foreign Treasury flows * Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks in Chicago; Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack and Kansas City Fed chief Jeffrey Schmid both speak * Bank of Canada policy decision, press conference from Governor Tiff Macklem * World Trade Organisation releases global trade outlook 2025 * U.S. corporate earnings: US Bancorp, Citizens Financial, Travelers, CSX, Progressive, Abbott Laboratories, Prologis, Kinder Morgan etc * U.S. Treasury sells $13 billion of 20-year bonds * German Chancellor Olaf Scholz meets Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles , opens new tab, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/global-markets-view-usa-2025-04-16/

2025-04-16 10:19

MUMBAI, April 16 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee ended higher for a third straight session on Wednesday, as U.S. tariff concerns pressured the dollar and lifted safe havens like gold and the Swiss franc. The rupee closed at 85.6775 against the U.S. dollar, up 0.1% on the day. Sign up here. The local unit hit an intraday high of 85.52 earlier in the day before paring gains on corporate hedging demand, traders said. The dollar index slipped 0.5% to 99.6, with Asian currencies were mostly higher. Gold hit a record high, while the Swiss franc rose 0.5% versus the dollar. Worries about the economic impact of U.S. tariffs have dragged the dollar index down nearly 4% so far in April. The latest round of weakness followed a decision to impose restrictions on U.S. chip exports to China, along with a U.S. probe into whether critical minerals should face tariffs. "Despite the dollar sell-off and renewed risk aversion, the UST bond market so far is trading as you’d expect with yields lower, although the 30-year yield is close to unchanged suggesting still fragile sentiment," MUFG Bank said in a note. Even as the latest tariff jitters weighed on most Asian and European equity indexes, India's benchmarks, the BSE Sensex (.BSESN) , opens new tab and Nifty 50 (.NSEI) , opens new tab ended in the green. Equity futures indicated that U.S. stocks would open lower as well. Indian benchmarks have outperformed regional peers since April 2, when U.S. President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs amid wagers that India's domestically oriented economy could be better placed to weather the impact of trade upheavals. Investors await remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and U.S. retail sales data, both due later on Wednesday. (This story has been corrected to change the Rupee closing level to 85.6775 from 85.6875 in paragraph 2) https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/rupee-ends-higher-us-tariff-worries-keep-dollar-backfoot-2025-04-16/