2025-04-09 21:58
SANTIAGO, April 9 (Reuters) - Peru's copper output is expected to grow between 2% and 4% this year, said the head of The National Society of Mining, Oil and Energy (SNMPE), Julia Torreblanca. That would put Peru's copper production between 2.79 million and 2.85 million metric tons, compared to 2.74 million tons last year. Sign up here. Torreblanca said in an interview with Reuters, on the sidelines of the CESCO and CRU copper conferences in Chile, that the government was working to streamline the permitting process so that miners could ramp up production more quickly. Peru is the world's third-biggest producer of the red metal, after being displaced as number two by the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2023. Torreblanca also said Peru was looking to mitigate the impact of 10% tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, and could seek other markets besides the U.S. if his administration were to put a tariff on copper. "If our product or sales prices are going to be impacted, we will have to evaluate if there are other economies where we can sell our product without harming ourselves," Torreblanca added. Her comments echoed remarks earlier on Wednesday to Reuters by Chilean Mining Minister Aurora Williams, who said countries in a lower tariff range could potentially look more attractive than others hit with higher rates, if the U.S. were to apply tariffs to copper. "If China is being taxed so highly ... If you have to decide who to buy from, I would buy from Chile or Peru," Torreblanca said. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/peru-mining-chamber-sees-2025-copper-production-up-2-4-2025-04-09/
2025-04-09 21:54
April 9 (Reuters) - Brewer Constellation Brands (STZ.N) , opens new tab on Wednesday forecast fiscal 2026 profit below analysts' estimates, expecting steep levies imposed by the Trump administration to hit its beers and spirits business. Shares of the Corona beer maker fell about 4% in extended trading as it also lowered its medium-term projections for net sales. Sign up here. For the fiscal year 2026, it forecast adjusted profit per share in the range of $12.60 to $12.90, compared with estimates of $13.97, according to data compiled by LSEG. The outlook included an anticipated impact of the tariffs announced by the U.S. on April 2 and the Canadian government in March. The liquor maker also announced the sale of several of its wine brands such as Cook's and Meiomi to California-based The Wine Group for an undisclosed amount, and said it will review its organizational structuring. The second-largest U.S. beer company has struggled with persistently muted demand across its wines and spirits categories as price-sensitive consumers have cut back on liquor. President Donald Trump has slapped a 25% levy on all beer imports and added beer cans to existing aluminum tariffs, hitting labels such as Mexican-made Corona and Dutch Heineken (HEIN.AS) , opens new tab. The levies went into effect on April 4. The move would potentially drive up prices of cocktails, champagne and foreign beers and wipe out jobs in the spirits industry, according to drinks industry bodies and analysts. Late on Wednesday, Trump said he would temporarily lower the hefty duties he had just imposed on dozens of countries while further ramping up pressure on China. Constellation Brands also projected annual enterprise organic net sales between a 2% decline and 1% growth, while forecasting wine and spirits income to slump up to 100%. Beer sales made up nearly 82% of total fiscal 2024 revenue for Constellation Brands, while wine was about 16%. It posted fourth-quarter net sales of $2.16 billion, beating estimates of $2.13 billion. https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/corona-beer-maker-constellation-forecasts-annual-profit-below-estimates-tariff-2025-04-09/
2025-04-09 21:35
Trump on Monday had directed fresh look at Nippon Steel bid Nippon Steel's made a $14 billion bid for U.S. Steel in 2023 Biden rejected the deal in January WASHINGTON, April 10 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he does not want U.S. Steel Corp (X.N) , opens new tab to go to Japan, suggesting he does not support Nippon Steel's (5401.T) , opens new tab $14 billion bid for the American steel producer. The comment appeared to contradict recent actions by the Trump administration. On Monday, Trump directed a national security panel to take a fresh look at Nippon Steel's all-cash bid for U.S. Steel to help determine if "further action" is appropriate, raising hopes the deal could gain an elusive green light. Sign up here. Shares of U.S. Steel fell 12% in premarket trading to $39.77 on Thursday. They remained well below Nippon Steel's $55 a share offer price. "We don't want to see it go to Japan," Trump said, adding "We love Japan." "We don't want it to go to Japan or any other place, and we're working with them," Trump said. U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The comment shows the future of the deal remains uncertain given sudden changes in thinking at the White House. White House officials gave no details about Trump's comments or whether they contradicted Monday's action. "Everything's always on the table with the president," one official said. Outgoing President Joe Biden had blocked the merger in January on national security grounds. After Biden's decision, the two companies sued the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which scrutinizes foreign investments for national security risks, alleging Biden had prejudiced the committee's decision and violated the companies' right to a fair review. The deal was announced in December 2023 and almost immediately ran into opposition across the political spectrum ahead of the November 5 U.S. presidential election. Both then-candidates Trump and Biden vowed to block the purchase of the storied American company. The companies had argued that Biden opposed the deal when he was running for reelection to win support from the United Steelworkers union in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, where U.S. Steel is headquartered. The Biden administration had defended the review as essential to protecting security, infrastructure, and supply chains. Last month, the Trump administration filed a motion to extend two deadlines in the lawsuit to give the government more time to wrap up merger talks with the firms. Late on Monday, the Trump administration and the companies asked an appeals court to pause their litigation until June 5 while CFIUS reviews the tie-up again, noting that the process has the potential to "fully resolve" the companies' claims. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/trump-says-he-does-not-want-see-us-steel-go-japan-2025-04-09/
2025-04-09 21:29
SANTIAGO, April 8 (Reuters) - Aurubis (NAFG.DE) , opens new tab will be ramping up its copper recycling smelter in the U.S. this year, the German company's CEO Toralf Haag told Reuters on Wednesday, adding Aurubis sees more potential for investment in future years. Aurubus has invested $800 million building the project, which took four years. Haag said it will process 180,000 metric tons of complex copper scrap and produce 70,000 tons of refined metal annually. Sign up here. "North America is an attractive market. There is no large recycling facility in North America up to now, the majority of the scrap is exported," Haag said in an interview on the sidelines of the CESCO and CRU copper conferences. The U.S. exported nearly 960,000 tons of copper scrap last year, according to information provider Trade Data Monitor (TDM), of which 41% was shipped to China, 11% to Canada and 10% to Thailand. U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered an investigation on the potential for import tariffs on copper including scrap, aiming to encourage more local production of the metal used in the power and construction industries. "The decision to invest in a recycling operation could play an even more important role now, having a facility in the U.S. is beneficial for us," Haag said, adding that the site in Richmond was Aurubis' only operation in the U.S. Aurubis could invest in further recycling capacity in the U.S. "Currently Aurubis focuses on delivering on the Richmond project," Haag said. Sources of copper scrap include the auto industry and cables from telecoms companies. Aurubis expects data centres to be a source of scrap in the future. "Copper in data centres lasts three to five years, then it needs to be replaced because the technology is moving so fast." Data centres for artificial intelligence are expected to be a major source of future copper demand. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/germanys-aurubis-ramp-up-new-us-copper-recycling-facility-2025-04-09/
2025-04-09 21:23
April 9 (Reuters) - U.S. pipeline operator Energy Transfer (ET.N) , opens new tab said on Wednesday it entered into a nonbinding agreement with MidOcean Energy to jointly develop the Lake Charles LNG export facility in Louisiana. MidOcean will pay for 30% of the construction costs of the facility and receive 30% of the LNG production, or roughly 5.0 million metric tonnes per annum (MTPA). Energy Transfer is the developer and operator of the plant. Sign up here. The agreement is nonbinding because it depends on Energy Transfer making the final investment decision to go ahead with the plant. Energy Transfer now has final sales agreements and nonbinding sales agreements for 16 million metric tonnes per annum of the 16.5 million MTPA capacity for the plant. The agreement should move Energy Transfer closer to making the final decision on the plant. LNG developers typically use sales and purchase agreements when they make their case to banks to borrow the money they need to develop production facilities. Lake Charles was the first LNG project impacted by the Biden administration's refusal to grant an extension to Energy Transfer's license to export to countries other than those that have free trade agreements with the United States. Former President Joe Biden subsequently declared a moratorium on new export licenses for LNG plants pending an environmental impact study. Non-FTA licenses are important for LNG project developments because they allow U.S. producers to sell LNG to most importing countries, and not just those that have free trade agreements with the U.S. The administration of President Donald Trump has issued several non-FTA licenses since it lifted Biden's moratorium, but has yet to grant an extension or a new license to Energy Transfer. Under the agreement, MidOcean Energy will have the option to arrange for its own gas supply for its share of LNG production from the plant, and will commit to long-term gas transportation on Energy Transfer pipelines, the companies said. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/energy-transfer-enters-preliminary-agreement-lake-charles-lng-project-2025-04-09/
2025-04-09 21:15
WASHINGTON, April 9 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday abruptly paused part of his tariff assault on global trading partners, dialing back duty rates on goods from many countries for 90 days to allow room to negotiate lower trade barriers, even as he hiked new tariffs on Chinese goods to 125%. The move, following a week of market turmoil that has wiped out trillions of dollars in stock values, was the latest course reversal in Trump's hastily rolled out tariff agenda, sowing confusion about its objectives. Sign up here. Here are key details of Trump's latest move: 'RECIPROCAL' TARIFFS PAUSED The net effect of Trump's move is that many goods from most countries will be subject to a 10% U.S. import tariff for the next 90 days. Trump's higher reciprocal tariffs imposed on Wednesday for 57 trading partners are paused for 90 days. These partners, which include the European Union, Japan, South Korea and, will instead revert to a 10% duty rate. "Baseline" 10% tariff rates that took effect on April 5 for most other countries, including Brazil, Australia, Britain and Colombia, will remain in place for the 90-day period. CHINA TARIFF RAISED TO 125% After several tit-for-tat tariff escalations including China's 84% tariff on U.S. goods announced in Beijing on Wednesday, Trump hit back again with higher duties, raising the total new duties imposed since he took office in January to 125%. These are in addition to tariffs he had already imposed on many Chinese goods during his first term. NO CHANGE FOR CANADA, MEXICO Trump's tariff announcement last week spared Canada and Mexico, but only because their goods are still subject to 25% fentanyl-related tariffs if they do not comply with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement's rules of origin. These duties remain in place for the moment, with an indefinite exemption for USMCA-compliant goods. AUTOS, METALS TARIFFS REMAIN Trump's pause does not apply to the 25% tariffs that he levied on steel and aluminum in March and on autos that started on April 3. The 25% tariff on auto parts does not come into effect until May 3. SECTORAL CARVE-OUTS STAY Trump's initial order exempted copper, lumber, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and critical minerals from broad global tariffs. But these sectors are expected to be the subject of future trade investigations that are expected to lead to separate tariffs, in much the same manner as autos. Separately, Trump's order exempted oil, gas and other energy products from the tariffs. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/whats-trumps-partial-tariff-pause-2025-04-09/
