2025-03-17 19:51

SAO PAULO, March 17 (Reuters) - Tests in Brazil exploring the viability of increasing the proportion of anhydrous ethanol mixed with gasoline to 30% showed "consistent performance" and "real environmental benefits," Brazilian Minister of Mines and Energy Alexandre Silveira said on Monday. "With E30 we will become, once and for all, independent from gasoline imports, something that has not happened since 2010," he said during a presentation to highlight the test results. Sign up here. Currently, gasoline in Brazil includes 27% anhydrous ethanol. A mandated raise in that proportion to 30% - known as E30 - would increase demand for ethanol in the South American country. Anhydrous ethanol contains a minimum water content - less than 0.1% - and is mixed with gasoline. Hydrous ethanol contains more water and is used as a fuel in its own right. Following the successful test results, the ministry will take the proposal to increase the ethanol proportion in gasoline to the National Energy Policy Council, Silveira added. However, while Silveira said the ministry will take the proposal to the council this year, he did not give an exact date or shorter time frame, citing prudence out of concern for prices of sugar, corn and soy. The move to E30 will result in some 9 billion reais ($1.59 billion) investments, the minister said. In a statement, the Ministry of Mines and Energy estimated that E30 would result in a reduction of up to 0.13 reais per liter of gasoline at the pump. ($1 = 5.6727 reais) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/raising-ethanol-mix-gasoline-30-shows-consistent-performance-tests-brazil-2025-03-17/

2025-03-17 19:24

March 17 (Reuters) - Wall Street's top regulator is considering changing or scrapping regulations proposed under the prior administration that would require investment advisors keeping custody of cryptocurrencies and other assets to meet stricter standards, the agency's interim chief said on Monday. Mark Uyeda, acting chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, also said the agency was developing possible changes to a recent rule that requires mutual and exchange-traded funds to report portfolio holdings on a monthly rather than a quarterly basis. Sign up here. His address to an investment industry conference in San Diego laid out plans for a sharp divergence from the way former President Joe Biden's administration oversaw Wall Street. Uyeda said the SEC "needs to prioritize effective and cost-efficient regulations that respect the limits of our statutory authority," according to a copy of his prepared remarks. In proposing changes to the custody rule two years ago with Uyeda's support, former SEC Chair Gary Gensler said they would help ensure investment advisers did not "use, lose or abuse" their clients' assets. Since then, however, comments submitted by the public had criticized its "broad scope," according to Uyeda. Meanwhile, the rule requiring more frequent reporting, adopted in August, was among many introduced by Gensler that faced legal challenges from industry. Gensler had said at the time it would promote greater transparency but Uyeda said public commenters had since said advances in artificial intelligence heightened their concerns about the increased frequency in required reporting. The deadline for coming into compliance may also be extended, according to Uyeda. Former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins, whom President Donald Trump nominated in December, is due to take over as SEC Chair from Uyeda but Senate confirmation hearings have not yet been scheduled. The agency is facing White House calls for sharp staff reductions but plans have not yet been made public. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/sec-may-scrap-biden-era-crypto-asset-custody-proposal-acting-chief-says-2025-03-17/

2025-03-17 19:14

Canadian dollar gains 0.6% against the greenback Touches an 11-day high at 1.4276 Home sales tumble 9.8% in February Bond yields ease across the curve TORONTO, March 17 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar strengthened to an 11-day high against its U.S. counterpart on Monday as equity markets rallied and investors cheered China's plan to stimulate consumption. The loonie was trading 0.6% higher at 1.4280 per U.S. dollar, or 70.03 U.S. cents, after touching its strongest intraday level since March 6 at 1.4276. Sign up here. "A strong bounce in equities has boosted risk sentiment today, which has weakened the USD across the board," said George Davis, chief technical strategist at RBC Capital Markets. "There hasn't been much news on the tariff front today, which is also helping sentiment." Wall Street rallied as some investors took advantage of the recent selloff to buy stocks at cheaper prices. China's State Council unveiled on Sunday what it called a "special action plan" to boost domestic consumption. "The market has been waiting for a deal for Chinese consumer stimulus for six months," Adam Button, chief currency analyst at ForexLive. "There are some seeds of global growth being planted and the market is feeling a bit better about tariffs." U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff hikes will drag down growth in Canada, Mexico and the United States while driving up inflation, the OECD forecast. Canada is a major producer of commodities, including oil, so the loonie tends to be sensitive to prospects for the global economy. The price of oil settled 0.6% higher at $67.58 a barrel after the United States vowed to keep attacking Yemen's Houthis until the Iran-aligned group ends its assaults on shipping. Canadian home sales tumbled 9.8% in February, the biggest decline in nearly three years, as the onset of a trade war kept buyers on the sidelines. Canadian bond yields moved lower across the curve. The 10-year was down 4.7 basis points at 3.019%. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/canadian-dollar-posts-11-day-high-investor-sentiment-improves-2025-03-17/

2025-03-17 18:52

Spot gas prices at Waha Hub in Texas turn negative US gas output on track to hit record high in March US LNG export feed gas on track to hit record high in March March 17 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures slid about 2% to a two-week low on Monday on record output, negative spot prices at the Waha Hub in West Texas and forecasts for mild weather through early April, which should keep the amount of gas utilities pull from storage to heat homes and businesses lower than usual for this time of year. Gas stockpiles, however, remained about 12% below normal levels after extreme cold in January and February forced energy firms to pull massive amounts of gas out of storage, including record amounts in January. [EIA /GAS] Sign up here. Front-month gas futures for April delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 8.6 cents, or 2.1%, to settle at $4.018 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), their lowest close since February 28. That futures price decline occurred despite record gas flows to U.S. liquefied natural gas export (LNG) plants and forecasts for more demand this week than previously expected. In the spot market, gas prices at the Waha Hub in the Permian shale in West Texas turned negative for the first time since November 2024 due to pipeline maintenance that trapped gas associated with oil production in the basin. Traders talked of maintenance on U.S. energy firm Kinder Morgan's (KMI.N) , opens new tab El Paso Natural Gas pipe from Texas, New Mexico and Colorado to California and Arizona and WhiteWater, MPLX (MPLX.N) , opens new tab and Enbridge's (ENB.TO) , opens new tab Whistler pipeline from West Texas to the Texas Gulf Coast. With Permian oil production hitting record highs every year since at least 2016, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, energy firms have had a hard time building gas pipes fast enough to keep up with soaring associated gas output. Permian gas production has also hit record highs every year since at least 2018. Those pipeline constraints caused next-day gas prices to turn negative a record 49 times in 2024. Waha prices first averaged below zero in 2019. It happened 17 times in 2019, six times in 2020 and once in 2023. SUPPLY AND DEMAND Financial firm LSEG said average gas output in the Lower 48 U.S. states rose to 105.9 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in March, up from a record 105.1 bcfd in February. Meteorologists projected weather in the Lower 48 states would remain mostly warmer than normal through April 1. LSEG forecast average gas demand in the Lower 48, including exports, will rise from 107.2 bcfd this week to 107.7 bcfd next week. The forecast for this week was higher than LSEG's outlook on Friday. The amount of gas flowing to the eight big U.S. LNG export plants rose to an average of 15.7 bcfd so far in March, up from a record 15.6 bcfd in February, as new units at Venture Global's (VG.N) , opens new tab 3.2-bcfd Plaquemines LNG export plant under construction in Louisiana enter service. The U.S. became the world's biggest LNG supplier in 2023, surpassing Australia and Qatar, as surging global prices fed demand for more exports, due partly to supply disruptions and sanctions linked to Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Gas was trading at a one-week low of around $13 per mmBtu at the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) benchmark in Europe and a 12-week low of $13 at the Japan Korea Marker (JKM) benchmark in Asia. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-natural-gas-prices-ease-2-week-low-record-output-negative-waha-prices-2025-03-17/

2025-03-17 18:22

BRASILIA, March 17 (Reuters) - Brazil's finance minister said on Monday he believes the country's income tax exemption proposal will not cost the government as much as initially forecast. Minister Fernando Haddad told journalists in Brasilia on Monday that the projected cost of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's proposal is 27 billion reais ($4.75 billion) per year, lower than a prior estimate of 35 billion reais. Sign up here. Haddad said the figure was recalculated taking into account a correction of this year's tax table. Lula's government unveiled a proposal late last year to increase the level of earnings exempted from income taxes for those earning from 2,824 reais a month - or twice the minimum wage - to 5,000 reais per month as of 2026. The proposal, which must still be sent to Congress, led local markets to a sell-off in the final weeks of 2024, when it was announced alongside a package of expense-cutting proposals. The minimum wage increased this year to 1,518 reais from 1,412 reais, and the government intends to maintain the income tax exemption for those earning up to two times the minimum wage in 2025 before the new 5,000-real threshold would take effect in 2026. Haddad has previously said that the fiscal impact of the higher tax exemption would be fully neutralized by compensatory measures, including raising taxes on the wealthiest. The minister added on Monday that President Lula will meet Senate and lower house chiefs on Tuesday to discuss the exemption proposal, which is expected to be sent to lawmakers that same day. ($1 = 5.6886 reais) https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazils-haddad-sees-proposed-tax-exemption-having-475-billion-fiscal-impact-2025-03-17/

2025-03-17 17:10

ABUJA, March 17 (Reuters) - Nigeria's annual headline inflation (NGCPIY=ECI) , opens new tab eased to 23.18% in February, the country's statistics agency said on Monday, a month after it rebased its Consumer Price Index to reflect changes in consumption patterns. The National Bureau of Statistics said the headline inflation rate had dropped from 31.7% a year earlier and was down 1.3% percentage points from January. Sign up here. Food inflation, a key driver of the headline rate, stood at 23.51% year on year (NGFINF=ECI) , opens new tab in February compared with 26.08% the month before. Annual inflation fell sharply from 34.80% in December to 24.48% in January, the first major drop in over a decade, after the NBS made 2024 its base year instead of 2009 previously. Inflation was at its highest in 28 years in 2024, after President Bola Tinubu's moves to end costly subsidies and devalue the naira currency . At its first rate-setting meeting of the year last month, the central bank left its key interest rate at 27.5% after six hikes last year, citing falling inflation. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/nigeria-inflation-eases-2318-yy-february-stats-office-says-2025-03-17/