2025-02-12 21:37
BRASILIA, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Brazil's Vice President Geraldo Alckmin on Wednesday called for "caution" and said the South American country would seek dialogue with the United States after President Donald Trump's decision to impose a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports. Speaking to reporters in Brasilia, Alckmin said that Brazil was open to dialogue and would reach out to the Trump administration. He suggested that quotas could be a good alternative. The South American country is one of the largest sources of U.S. steel imports, but Alckmin highlighted that overall the U.S. runs a trade surplus with Brazil, saying that it meant Latin America's largest economy was "not the problem." Trump, who took office last month for his second non-consecutive term, first targeted steel and aluminum for tariffs in 2018 under a Cold War-era national security law. But he later granted several countries exemptions, including Canada, Mexico and Australia, and struck duty-free quota deals for Brazil, South Korea and Argentina based on pre-tariff volumes. "In the past, when tariffs were increased quotas were set. That's a smart mechanism," said Alckmin, who also serves as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's minister of development, industry and trade. The United States has run a trade surplus with Brazil since 2008, which reached $253 million last year on more than $80 billion of bilateral trade. Brazilian steelmakers lobby group Aco Brasil on Tuesday had already said it was surprised by Trump's tariffs, which are due to start in March, and that such measure would not benefit either of the countries. In 2024, Brazil's steel exports totaled 9.6 million tons, a drop of 18% compared to 2023, according Aco Brasil data. Of this volume, 3.4 million tons of steel slabs went to the U.S. Aco Brasil head Marco Polo de Mello Lopes told Reuters on Wednesday he was optimistic about the possibility of dialogue between Brazil and the U.S., but noted that the Brazilian government has limited time to reach an agreement with Washington to maintain the current quota system. "This (current) agreement has now been in effect for about six years, and if it lasted that long, it's because it was beneficial for both parties," said Lopes. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/brazil-calls-dialogue-with-us-trade-suggests-steel-quotas-2025-02-12/
2025-02-12 21:28
Eighth project Longtail aims to add 250,000 bpd oil, 1 bcfd of gas in 2030 Oil output capacity to hit 1.7 mln bpd with seventh project in 2029 Exxon-led group completes appraisal of gas resources FPSO for fourth project on track to arrive in coming weeks GEORGETOWN, Feb 12 (Reuters) - A consortium led by Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab has requested environmental permits from Guyana for its eighth project, the first that will generate gas not linked to oil production, and to explore another well at its massive offshore block, the head of the U.S. oil major in Guyana said on Wednesday. Exxon plans to boost output capacity this year to 940,000 barrels per day (bpd) versus the 616,000 bpd it produced in 2024 after upgrades at two of its three floating oil facilities and the arrival of a fourth vessel, Alistair Routledge, president of Exxon Guyana, said at a press conference. The consortium, which includes Hess (HES.N) , opens new tab and CNOOC (600938.SS) , opens new tab, is responsible for all production in Guyana. It aims to lift production capacity to more than 1.7 million bpd by the end of 2029 once its first seven offshore projects are online, Routledge said. In 2030, the eighth project, Longtail, is expected to add up to 250,000 barrels per day of crude output capacity and 1 billion cubic feet per day of gas production, he added. Guyana has been pressing Exxon to produce and deliver more natural gas, part of the government's strategy to rely on the fuel for power generation, to industrialize the country and begin petrochemical and liquefied natural gas (LNG) businesses that can expand revenue. The consortium recently completed a long-awaited appraisal of its gas resources, which will allow a more accurate calculation of total resources available for output, said Routledge. "All of that data is now being put back into the geologic models, reservoir models, in order to inform us of what sort of upstream development might be possible," he said. The study could help integrate Exxon's efforts with a large development awarded by Guyana to Fulcrum LNG last year, aimed at designing and building the country's first LNG project. Routledge said Exxon has not had recent conversations with the company. Guyana's economy achieved its fifth consecutive year of double-digit growth in 2024, expanding 43.6%, driven by crude production. Oil output rose 58% from 391,000 bpd in 2024. PROJECTS IN A ROW The Exxon group's fourth project, Yellowtail, is on track to start up soon upon arrival of a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) facility from Singapore, built by SBM Offshore (SBMO.AS) , opens new tab, the company said. Exxon expects to start pumping oil from its fifth, sixth and seventh projects - Uaru, Whiptail and Hammerhead- between 2026 and 2029. "This year, we'll actually be undergoing installation activities, which have started for Uaru. We'll be doing some for Whiptail, as well as completing the work on the Yellowtail project," Routledge said. (This story has been refiled to correct the spelling of 'Uaru' in paragraphs 12 and 13) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/exxon-expand-oil-gas-output-guyana-seeks-permit-longtail-project-2025-02-12/
2025-02-12 21:25
Feb 12 (Reuters) - Albemarle (ALB.N) , opens new tab, the world's largest producer of lithium, said on Wednesday it swung to a quarterly profit as cost cuts helped offset plunging prices for the metal used to make electric vehicle batteries. The company posted a profit for the fourth quarter ended December 31 of $33.6 million, or 29 cents per share, compared to a quarterly loss of $617.7 million, or $5.26 per share, in the year-ago period. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/albemarle-swings-quarterly-profit-cost-cuts-offset-lithium-price-drop-2025-02-12/
2025-02-12 21:01
CVS Health rises after beating profit estimates Lyft falls as Q1 bookings forecast misses estimates January CPI at 3% YoY vs 2.9% estimate S&P 500 -0.27%, Nasdaq +0.03%, Dow -0.50% Feb 12 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 ended down on Wednesday after a hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation reading added to worries that the Federal Reserve would not cut interest rates anytime soon, while CVS Health and Gilead Sciences rallied after upbeat quarterly reports. Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab and Amazon (AMZN.O) , opens new tab dipped more than 1%, with the two AI computing heavyweights weighing on the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab. U.S. consumer prices increased in January by the most in nearly a year and a half, reinforcing the Fed's message that it was in no rush to resume cutting rates. The surge in prices offered a cautionary note to President Donald Trump's push for tariffs on imported goods, which economists have panned as inflationary. Interest rate futures now suggest traders see about a 70% chance the Fed will reduce rates by another 25 basis points by the end of 2025, down from about an 80% chance on Tuesday, according to CME Fedwatch. "The market is digesting that the Fed may not cut at all. That's why the stock market is down, said Jake Dollarhide, CEO of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The S&P 500 declined 0.27% to end the session at 6,051.97 points. The Nasdaq gained 0.03% to 19,649.95 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.50% to 44,368.56 points. Of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes, nine declined, led lower by energy (.SPNY) , opens new tab, down 2.69%, followed by a 0.91% loss in real estate (.SPLRCR) , opens new tab. CVS Health (CVS.N) , opens new tab surged 15% after the healthcare conglomerate beat fourth-quarter profit estimates, hinting at improved performance under new CEO David Joyner. Gilead Sciences (GILD.O) , opens new tab jumped 7.5% after the biotech company forecast 2025 earnings above analyst estimates. Fed Chair Jerome Powell also began his second day of testimony before Congress on Wednesday. On Tuesday, he reiterated to the Senate Banking Committee that the U.S. central bank was in no rush to cut rates again. January's reading is the last inflation reading before any direct impact from Trump's tariff measures, which went into effect this month. Trump's trade advisers are finalizing plans for the reciprocal tariffs on every country that charges duties on U.S. imports. The Cboe Volatility Index (.VIX) , opens new tab, known as Wall Street's "fear gauge," jumped to its highest in a week. Treasury yields shot up after the inflation data, with the one on the 10-year note hitting its highest in over two weeks. Lyft (LYFT.O) , opens new tab dropped 8% after the ride-hailing company forecast current-quarter gross bookings below estimates. In extended trade, Robinhood Markets (HOOD.O) , opens new tab surged 5% after the stock trading platform reported quarterly revenue above analysts' expectations, fueled by frenetic trading activity following Trump's presidential election victory in November. In Wednesday's session, declining stocks outnumbered rising ones within the S&P 500 (.AD.SPX) , opens new tab by a 2.2-to-one ratio. The S&P 500 posted 24 new highs and 24 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 75 new highs and 210 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was relatively light, with 14.8 billion shares traded, compared to an average of 14.9 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/futures-subdued-lead-up-latest-inflation-test-2025-02-12/
2025-02-12 20:59
HOUSTON, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab will lay off 15% to 20% of its global workforce by the end of 2026, the U.S. oil company said on Wednesday as it seeks to cut costs, simplify its business, and complete a major acquisition. The No. 2 U.S. oil producer has faced production challenges including cost overruns and delays in a large Kazakhstan oilfield project. Meanwhile, its $53-billion deal to acquire oil producer Hess and gain a foothold in Guyana's lucrative oilfield is in limbo due to a court battle with larger rival Exxon Mobil, which has outperformed it with production growth, achieving record production in Guyana and the biggest oilfield in the United States. Chevron has said it is targeting up to $3 billion in cost cuts through 2026 from leveraging technology, asset sales and changing how and where work is performed. At the end of 2023, Chevron employed 40,212 people across its operations. A layoff of 20% of total employees would be about 8,000 people. Those figures exclude another roughly 5,400 employees of Chevron service stations. Weak margins in the production of gasoline and diesel also hurt Chevron's fourth quarter earnings, as its refining business posted a loss for the first time since 2020, raising pressure on CEO Mike Wirth. Shares of Chevron declined 1.3% in afternoon trading. The broader S&P 500 Energy Sector index fell 2.4%. Chevron's shares are up 5.6% year-to-date. “Chevron is taking action to simplify our organizational structure, execute faster and more effectively, and position the company for stronger long-term competitiveness," said Mark Nelson, vice chairman of Chevron, in a statement. "We do not take these actions lightly and will support our employees through the transition." The company told employees during an internal town hall that they can begin opting for buyouts now through April or May, according to a source familiar with the matter. Chevron will reorganize its business and announce a new leadership structure in the next two weeks, the source said. The oil industry has been consolidating in recent years, focusing on mergers and operational efficiency more than drilling new wells. Exxon, the No. 1 U.S. oil company, bought Pioneer Natural Resources last year to become the largest producer in the Permian Basin. Exxon also has the largest stake in a Guyana oil joint venture that has discovered more than 11 billion barrels of oil. If Chevron fails to close the Hess acquisition, it would be the second deal to slip through Wirth's fingers. In 2019, Chevron abandoned its bid to buy Anadarko Petroleum Corp after Occidental Petroleum raised its offer. The company's oil and gas reserves have declined to their lowest point in at least a decade, further raising concerns about Chevron's long-term prospects without Hess. Chevron moved its headquarters from San Ramon, California to Houston last year and replaced several long-standing managers to renew its leadership. Last year, it also announced a new hub in India that will be its largest tech center outside the United States. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/chevron-announces-15-20-layoff-global-workforce-source-says-2025-02-12/
2025-02-12 20:35
Loonie touches its strongest since Dec. 17 Price of U.S. oil settles 2.7% lower 10-year yield rises 8.3 basis points TORONTO, Feb 12 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar steadied against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, with the currency unable to sustain a move out of its recent trading range as the Bank of Canada worried about the economic impact of a trade war. The loonie was trading nearly unchanged at 1.4284 per U.S. dollar, or 70.01 U.S. cents, after touching its strongest intraday level since Dec. 17 at 1.4256. "We are all sitting on pins and needles at this point and waiting to see what comes at the end of the moratorium on tariffs and to see whether or not the actions taken by Canada to address all the U.S. concerns with respect to the northern border have been enough," said Bipan Rai, head of ETF and structured solutions strategy at BMO Global Asset Management. "Until we get there, I suspect the dollar-CAD is going to be in this holding pattern." U.S. President Donald Trump has delayed a 25% tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada for a month until March 4 to allow negotiations over steps to secure U.S. borders and halt the flow of the drug fentanyl. The Trump administration will announce reciprocal tariffs on every country that charges duties on U.S. imports by Thursday, the White House said, a move that will ratchet up fears of a widening global trade war. The Bank of Canada's governing council felt that a protracted trade conflict with the U.S. would permanently shrink the level of domestic GDP, the minutes of a policy decision meeting showed. Canada sends about 75% of its exports to the United States, including oil , which settled 2.7% lower at $71.37 a barrel. The Canadian 10-year was up 8.3 basis points at 3.181%, tracking moves in U.S. Treasuries after data showed that U.S. consumer prices increased by the most in nearly 1-1/2 years in January. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/canadian-dollar-steadies-near-8-week-high-tariff-risk-lingers-2025-02-12/
