2025-03-10 17:16

Canadian dollar falls 0.3% against the greenback Touches five-day low at 1.4440 Price of US oil decreases 1.1% Bond yields ease across the curve TORONTO, March 10 - The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart on Monday as investors bet that the Bank of Canada would continue its easing campaign this week to support an economy threatened by U.S. trade tariffs. The loonie was trading 0.3% lower at 1.4425 to the U.S. dollar, or 69.32 U.S. cents, after touching its weakest intraday level since last Wednesday at 1.4440. Members of the ruling Liberal party in Canada have bet on former central banker Mark Carney as the man best placed to take on U.S. President Donald Trump, who has threatened annexation as well as launching a trade war and punishing tariffs on Canada. Economic confidence will suffer even if tariffs continue to be delayed, keeping the Canadian dollar "on the weak side," said Aaron Hurd, senior portfolio manager in the currency group at State Street Global Advisors. "If you're an exporter or a U.S. company with production in Canada, you're not going to do any capex (capital expenditure) until you've a lot more certainty." Investors see an 87% chance that the BoC will cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday, after the central bank lowered the rate by two percentage points since June to a level of 3%. "That expected rate cut is going to help keep a lid on CAD as well," Hurd said. The price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, was trading 1.1% lower at $66.28 a barrel on tariff uncertainty and rising output from OPEC+ producers. Canadian government bond yields moved lower across the curve, tracking moves in U.S. Treasuries, as investors grew more concerned about the prospects of a U.S. recession. The 10-year was down 5 basis points at 2.983%. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/canadian-dollar-weakens-ahead-expected-interest-rate-cut-2025-03-10/

2025-03-10 14:38

Macro outperforms in volatile markets Multi-strategy funds mixed Stock pickers struggle as markets drop in March LONDON, March 10 (Reuters) - Macro hedge funds taking advantage of volatile markets have enjoyed outsized results so far in 2025, while stock picking and multi-strategy funds have produced mixed returns. Numbers from hedge fund research firm PivotalPath show that the broader hedge fund industry is up 1.3% this year, but some funds which trade on macroeconomic signals have delivered returns far higher. Hedge fund EDL Capital, which trades assets such as currencies and bonds based on global macroeconomic outlooks, has returned nearly 17% from the start of the year to March 7, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Monday. The $1.3 billion fund run by star trader Edouard de Langlade, previously at Moore Capital, finished February up 5.9% bringing its year-to-date performance to 6.7% at that time, said the source. But the fund then returned another 10% in a so far volatile March. Last week, German 10-year bonds suffered their largest weekly sell-off since 1990 and the euro jumped by the most since March 2009 as Germany moved to step up defence and infrastructure spending, while the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab saw its biggest weekly fall in six months as concerns about the U.S. economic outlook grew. Macro hedge funds returned on average 2.3% to the end of February, according to PivotalPath. Hedge fund Rokos Capital Management's return on investment was down 0.29% over the first 21 days of February but up 0.57% for 2025 so far, a source with knowledge of the matter said. Rokos declined to comment. British financier Andrew Law's macro fund Caxton returned 4% in February, bringing gains for the first two months of the year to 7%, said another source with knowledge of the matter on Friday. Caxton did not immediately respond to requests for comment. STRUGGLES Stock picking hedge funds struggled in February and the trend has continued in March. Hedge funds were caught in crowded trades that sold off last week, with global stock pickers giving up half of their gains this year so far. Global fundamental stock pickers ended the week with a 1% average return on the year so far, Goldman Sachs said in a note sent to clients on Thursday. U.S. stock pickers finished down 1.4% amid last week's selloff, taking their year-to-date performance to negative 0.5%, the note said. Hedge funds that employ different kinds of trading strategies also had "a challenging day", Goldman data showed. This kind of hedge fund, which for the last three years has produced consistently positive returns, has lost money on 18 out of 29 days since January 27, said Goldman. February left some of the biggest of these funds with mixed returns for the year so far. D.E. Shaw's Oculus Fund returned a negative 4.3%, taking its year to negative 2.8% so far, a source said. D.E. Shaw declined to comment. Millennium Management, which has roughly $75 billion of assets under management, was down 1.3% in February taking year-to-date returns to a negative 0.8%, said sources with knowledge of the matter. Citadel was down 1.7% in February, leaving the $66 billion firm 0.3% lower for the year to date. Balyasny's February return was up 0.9%, with the $24 billion firm up 3.5% so far this year. Balyasny, Citadel and Millennium's results were first reported by Bloomberg. * Estimate of returns as of March 7 Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/macro-hedge-fund-edl-capital-returns-nearly-17-so-far-2025-says-source-2025-03-10/

2025-03-10 12:45

Over 221,000 hectares of plantations in corruption probe World's top producer aiming to clean up palm oil's image Defence minister heading task force on illegal plantations JAKARTA, March 10 (Reuters) - Indonesian prosecutors on Monday handed over more than 221,000 hectares (546,000 acres) of illegal palm oil plantations seized as part of an on-going corruption probe to a new state-owned company that will manage them. Indonesia, the world's biggest producer of palm oil, is working to improve the edible oil's global public image in the face of criticism that plantations are a major driver of deforestation. The confiscated plantations are located in protected forest areas on Sumatra and Borneo islands. They had been managed by units of the privately-owned Duta Palma Group, which is currently being investigated by the attorney general's office. They will be taken over, at least temporarily, by Agrinas Palma Nusantara, a state firm previously involved in construction that was converted into a palm oil company this year. "We have limitations to be able to manage this evidence," said prosecutor Febrie Adriansyah, referring to the plantations during a handover ceremony in the capital Jakarta. "Business must continue." Indonesia's highest court handed Duta Palma's founder Surya Darmadi a 16-year prison sentence last year after he was convicted of bribery, managing plantations in designated forest areas and money laundering, according to media reports. The seizure of the plantations transferred to Agrinas took place as part of an investigation that grew out of that prosecution. Duta Palma was not immediately reachable for comment. Monday marked the first time Indonesian authorities have handed over management of confiscated plantations to Agrinas, and it was unclear how long the company was expected to manage them. Indonesia's ministry of state-owned enterprises did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Febrie, however, said that legal proceedings against Duta Palma could take a significant amount of time. Earlier this year, President Prabowo Subianto assigned Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin to head a task force to issue fines or take over palm oil plantations discovered in designated forest areas. Sahat Sinaga, head of the Indonesia Palm Oil Board, said he backed the idea of Agrinas managing seized plantation land as it would maintain production and ease concerns within Indonesia's palm oil industry. "We hope that, with the coming in of Agrinas, there will be peace of mind in doing business," he said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/indonesia-hands-over-confiscated-palm-oil-plantations-state-firm-agrinas-2025-03-10/

2025-03-10 12:35

Tanker carrying jet fuel struck by container ship Incident occurred in busy waterway, no malicious activity suspected Risk of environmental harm due to spill near protected seabird colonies LONDON, March 10 (Reuters) - A tanker carrying jet fuel for the U.S. military was hit by a container ship off northeast England on Monday, with the collision igniting a blaze on both vessels, causing multiple explosions and forcing both crews to abandon ship. The tanker, which can carry tens of thousands of tons of jet fuel, was at anchor when the smaller container ship struck it, rupturing its cargo tank and releasing fuel into the sea, its operator said. Its owner Stena Bulk gave the same details. Two maritime security sources said there was no indication of any malicious activity or other actors involved in the incident. Britain's coastguard said in a statement that 36 crew members were taken safely ashore, with one person hospitalized. The coastguard said one crew member of the Portuguese-flagged cargo ship Solong remained missing and the search has ended. But there was still a risk of environmental damage, experts said. The tanker, the Stena Immaculate, operated by U.S. logistics group Crowley, was carrying Jet-A1 fuel when it was struck by cargo ship Solong while anchored near Hull, Crowley wrote on X. The tanker is part of a U.S. government programme , opens new tab designed to supply the armed forces with fuel when required. A U.S. military spokesperson told Reuters on Monday it had been on a short-term charter to the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command. The Solong's Hamburg-based owner Ernst Russ said separately that the vessel had been involved in a collision with the Stena Immaculate in an incident which took place at 1000 GMT whilst the vessel was transiting the North Sea, off the British coast of Humberside. "Both vessels have sustained significant damage in the impact of the collision and the subsequent fire," Ernst Russ said in a statement. "13 of the 14 Solong crew members have been brought safely shore. Efforts to locate the missing crew member are ongoing." The Solong is carrying 15 containers of sodium cyanide, a toxic chemical used mainly in gold mining, and an unknown quantity of alcohol, according to a casualty report from maritime data provider Lloyd’s List Intelligence. Emergency teams sent a helicopter, fixed-wing aircraft, lifeboats and nearby vessels with firefighting capability to the incident on Monday morning. "A fire occurred as a result of the allision and fuel was reported released," Crowley said. An allision is a collision where one vessel is stationary. Crowley said there had been multiple explosions on board. ENVIRONMENTAL RISK Martin Slater, director of operations at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, said East Yorkshire’s coast was home to protected and significant colonies of seabirds including puffins and gannets, with many offshore on the sea ahead of the nesting season. A Greenpeace spokesperson said any impact would depend on factors including the amount and type of oil carried by the tanker, the fuel carried by both ships, and how much of that, if any, had entered the water, plus the weather conditions. One insurance specialist said the pollution risk was lower than if the tanker had been carrying crude oil. "A lot depends really on cargo carried, how many tanks were breached and how bad the fire is," the insurance source said. The coastguard said British government officials were working with salvage and insurance companies, adding that both vessels remained on fire with aircraft monitoring the situation. Mark Sephton, professor of Organic Geochemistry at Imperial College London, added that the relatively small hydrocarbons of jet fuel could be degraded by bacteria more quickly than larger molecules. "The fact that we are moving into warmer temperatures will also speed up biodegradation rates," he said. The incident occurred in a busy waterway, with traffic running from the ports along Britain's northeast coast to the Netherlands and Germany, shipping industry sources said. Maritime analytics website MarineTraffic said the 183-metre (600 ft)-long Stena Immaculate was anchored off Immingham, northeast England, when it was struck by the 140-metre (460 ft)-long Solong, which was en route to Rotterdam. Ship insurer Skuld of Norway would only confirm that the Solong was covered with it for protection & indemnity (P&I), a segment of insurance that covers environmental damage and crew injuries or fatalities. Stena Immaculate's P&I insurer, which was listed as Steamship, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-coastguard-responds-ship-collision-off-northeast-coast-2025-03-10/

2025-03-10 12:26

HOUSTON, March 9 (Reuters) - In one of his first meetings with oil and gas executives since being confirmed as U.S. energy secretary, Chris Wright said he intended to speed up permitting and support the industry, attendees told Reuters. His comments, made at a dinner ahead of the world's largest energy industry gathering in Houston, were in line with President Donald Trump's push to maximize U.S. oil and gas production. "They're in a hurry," said Bob Dudley, former CEO of British oil major BP (BP.L) , opens new tab, told Reuters as he exited the dinner. "They don't want things to be slowed by years and years and years of permitting. The world needs to move fast, and the United States is known as being a very slow country." Dudley, who now chairs the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, an industry-led organization that aims to accelerate the response to climate change, added he anticipated an emphasis on nuclear development and faster permitting from Wright. The world's energy industry leaders are gathering against the backdrop of plummeting oil prices that may undermine the administration's "drill, baby, drill" policy agenda. Top U.S. energy companies have already announced thousands of job cuts this year. U.S. oil and gas output was already at record levels before Trump took power, and there is little incentive to pump more with prices hovering near their lowest in three years. It has become a tradition in recent years for executives from the U.S. shale industry to meet for a private dinner as the conference gets underway. Sunday's dinner included U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, as well as CEOs from Baker Hughes (BKR.O) , opens new tab, Occidental Petroleum (OXY.N) , opens new tab, TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) , opens new tab, Williams Companies (WMB.N) , opens new tab, Petrobras (PETR4.SA) , opens new tab, EQT Corp (EQT.N) , opens new tab and Gunvor Group Ltd (GGL.UL). In the past, those dinners had included representation from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Wright, who formerly ran a Denver, Colorado-based hydraulic fracturing company, declined to comment when leaving the dinner. He will address the conference on Monday. The discussion at the dinner also focused on energy production and the structure of the new government energy dominance council, said Dan Brouillette, who was the U.S. energy secretary during Trump's first term. Tariffs, which have roiled oil markets as Trump has implemented and then paused levies on neighboring Canada and Mexico, were not discussed, said several attendees. Trump's protectionist trade policies have shaken markets due to concern the policies will impact economic growth and lower demand for oil. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/ceraweek-us-energy-secretary-promises-executives-faster-industry-development-2025-03-10/

2025-03-10 12:01

ERG lacks cobalt stocks outside Congo, unlike other producers Congo considering plans to introduce cobalt export quotas during suspension LONDON, March 6 (Reuters) - (This Mar. 6 story has been corrected to fix the unit to lb from metric ton in paragraph 5) Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) has declared force majeure on deliveries of battery material cobalt from its Metalkol operation due to the Democratic Republic of Congo's temporary export ban, two sources familiar with the matter said. ERG is the third largest cobalt producing company in Congo, which itself is the world's top producer of the mineral used to make the lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles. The Luxembourg-based company has had to declare force majeure - a status that shows unexpected circumstances prevents them from meeting contract obligations - because it has no cobalt stocks outside Congo, unlike other producers, one of the sources said. ERG did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Last month, Congo's government suspended cobalt exports for four months to rein in oversupply and large surpluses, which had seen prices crash to nine-year lows around $10 a lb or $22,000 a metric ton , . The central African country, the world's largest cobalt producer is also considering introducing cobalt export quotas. ERG's Metalkol operation which processes tailings is estimated by Darton Commodities to have produced around 19,200 metric tons of cobalt in hydroxide or around 9% of total production in Congo last year. Metalkol's cobalt production amounts to 7% of the global total at more than 280,000 last year, according to Darton, a specialist supplier of cobalt metal products. It was not known when exactly the force majeure was invoked, but cobalt prices in China, the world's top cobalt consumer, have jumped as buyers have become increasingly worried about supplies, cobalt industry sources said. Prices of cobalt, used to make electric vehicle batteries, as assessed by Shanghai Metals Markets (SMM) have jumped to 200,000 yuan a metric ton, up more than 20% since before Congo imposed an export ban. The ban, announced by Congo's Authority for the Regulation and Control of Strategic Mineral Substances' Markets (ARECOMS) will be reviewed in three months and could either be modified or terminated, depending on its results. Congo's government eventually plans to introduce quotas on exports of the metal, which are going to be negotiated during the export suspension period, according to sources. China's CMOC Group (603993.SS) , opens new tab is the largest cobalt producing company in the DRC, accounting for 114,165 tons last year, more than double the amount it produced in 2023. Miner and commodity trader Glencore (GLEN.L) , opens new tab is the second largest producer in the DRC with 38,200 tons in , opens new tab 2024 down 8% from the previous year. CMOC, Glencore and ERG are also the world's top three cobalt producers. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/erg-declares-force-majeure-cobalt-deliveries-congo-sources-say-2025-03-06/