2024-12-24 04:26

Price fluctuations expected due to holiday market inactivity US crude and fuel stocks expected to have fallen, market sources say China's fiscal stimulus plan supports oil prices NEW YORK/LONDON, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose more than 1% on Tuesday, reversing the prior session's losses on a brightening short-term outlook tied to the prospect of slightly tightening supplies as trade thinned ahead of the Christmas and Hanukkah holidays. Brent crude futures settled at $73.58, rising 95 cents, or 1.3%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled at $70.10, rising 86 cents, or 1.2%. FGE analysts said they expect the benchmark prices will fluctuate around current levels in the near term "as activity in the paper markets decreases during the holiday season and market participants stay on the sidelines until they get a clearer view of 2024 and 2025 global oil balances." Supply and demand changes in December have been supportive of their current less-bearish view so far, the FGE analysts said in a note. "Given how short the paper market is on positioning, any supply disruption could lead to upward spikes in structure," they added. Some analysts also pointed to signs of greater oil demand over the next few months. "The year is ending with the consensus from major agencies over long 2025 liquids balances starting to break down," Neil Crosby, Sparta Commodities' assistant vice president of oil analytics, said in a note. "The EIA's short-term energy outlook recently shifted their 2025 liquids to a draw, despite continuing to bring back some OPEC+ barrels next year," Crosby said. U.S. crude oil and distillate stocks were seen falling last week by 3.2 million barrels and 2.5 million barrels, respectively, while gasoline stocks were seen rising last week, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute figures. Gasoline inventories were seen rising by 3.9 million barrels. The figures come ahead of data from the Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Energy, at 1 p.m. EST (1800 GMT) on Friday. Also supporting prices was a plan by China, the world's biggest oil importer, to issue 3 trillion yuan ($411 billion) worth of special treasury bonds next year, as Beijing ramps up fiscal stimulus to revive a faltering economy. China's stimulus is likely to provide near-term support for WTI crude at $67 a barrel, said OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong. Markets will also be watching the U.S. economy, the world's largest oil consumer, which released a mixed bag of data. While consumer confidence weakened in December, new orders for key U.S.-manufactured capital goods surged in November amid strong demand for machinery and new home sales rebounded, suggesting the U.S. economy was on a solid footing as the year closes out. U.S. markets will be closed on Wednesday, Dec. 25, and there will be no global oil market report for the day. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-prices-up-thin-pre-christmas-trade-2024-12-24/

2024-12-24 04:13

MUMBAI, Dec 24 (Reuters) - The Indian central bank was likely selling dollars to limit the rupee's losses after it hit a record low on Tuesday on higher U.S. bond yields and dollar demand from local oil companies. The rupee was quoted at 85.16 to the U.S. dollar as of 9:20 a.m. IST after dipping to a low of 85.1625 in early trade. State-run banks were spotted offering dollars, mostly likely on behalf of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), traders said. Dollar offers from state-run banks were present near 85.16-85.17 levels but they are "not very heavy," a trader at a private bank said. The rupee could drift lower towards 85.20 during the day with RBI "likely keeping a check on any sharp declines," the trader said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/indian-central-bank-likely-selling-dollars-cap-rupee-depreciation-traders-say-2024-12-24/

2024-12-24 04:04

Dec 23 (Reuters) - Stellantis unit FCA US agreed to pay $4.2 million to resolve a California investigation into excess emissions, the state said on Monday. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) said the vehicles covered by the settlement for violations of air quality regulations include 2014 through 2016 Ram ProMaster 1500, 2500 and 3500 vehicles equipped with 3.0L diesel engines. The state said the vehicles had an unapproved device that circumvented emissions control and resulted in nearly 55 tons of excess oxides of nitrogen being released into the air. Stellantis in 2022 paid a $5.6 million settlement to California for similar allegations involving gas-powered vehicles. Stellantis did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company agreed as part of the settlement to recall the vehicles to modify the emission control system to be compliant with state regulations. The settlement includes a more than $2 million civil penalty that will go to the state's Air Pollution Control Fund and $2.1 million that will fund a project to provide incentives for ocean-going cargo vessels to slow down in certain areas during peak whale and ozone seasons to provide wildlife and air quality benefits. In a separate federal emissions probe, FCA US in June 2022 pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy and agreed to pay about $300 million in a plea agreement to resolve a U.S. Justice Department diesel emissions fraud investigation. In 2019, California settled with FCA over allegations it used "defeat device software" to circumvent emissions testing on more than 100,000 diesel vehicles nationwide. California received more than $78 million of the $500 million settlement. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/stellantis-unit-pay-42-million-resolve-california-emissions-probe-2024-12-24/

2024-12-24 03:04

MUMBAI, Dec 24 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee may open near its all-time low on Tuesday and continue to trade with a mild depreciation bias, pressured by a rise in U.S. bond yields, with traders expecting the domestic central bank to intervene to keep a lid on sharp declines. The one-month non-deliverable forward indicated that the rupee will open at 85.10-85.11 to the U.S. dollar, compared with 85.1175 in the previous session. The rupee had weakened to its lifetime low of 85.12 on Monday. The domestic currency hit an all-time for the fifth consecutive trading session, inching past its previous record low of 85.10 hit on Friday. U.S. Treasury yields rose overnight, with the 10-year yield reaching its highest level in nearly seven months, after additional supply of debt at a time when many traders are inactive. The dollar is buoyed by U.S. economic exceptionalism, a widening interest rate gap and elevated tariffs, setting the stage for more gains possibly next year, a traders with a brokerage said. "We maintain our view of further US dollar strength in Q1 as Trump tariff announcements coincide with an economic backdrop that reinforce a dollar-supportive divergence in monetary policy," MUFG Bank said in a note. The Reserve Bank of India's frequent interventions have supported the rupee in the face of multiple headwinds, including a hawkish shift in the Federal Reserve's outlook for policy rates in 2025, concerns about India's slowing economic growth and tepid capital flows. KEY INDICATORS: ** One-month non-deliverable rupee forward at 85.31; onshore one-month forward premium at 20 paisa ** Dollar index up at 108.1 ** Brent crude futures up 0.4% at $72.9 per barrel ** Ten-year U.S. note yield at 4.58% ** As per NSDL data, foreign investors sold a net $220.1 million worth of Indian shares on Dec. 20 ** NSDL data shows foreign investors bought a net $130 million worth of Indian bonds on Dec. 20 Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/rupee-hover-near-record-low-amid-rise-us-treasury-yields-2024-12-24/

2024-12-24 01:46

TOKYO, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Japan Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato reiterated Tokyo's discomfort over excessive foreign exchange moves and put speculators on notice that authorities are ready to act to stabilise a faltering yen. "There is no change to our stance," Kato said when asked about the yen's persistent weakness at a regular news conference. "I would repeat what I've said. It's important for currencies to move in stable manner reflecting fundamentals and the government has been alarmed by foreign exchange moves including those driven by speculators. We'll take appropriate action against excessive moves," he added. Kato last week explicitly described the currency market situation as alarming, signaling the government's heightened concerns over the sliding yen. The yen was pinned near a five-month low past 157 per dollar, having already fallen 4.7% this month into territory that is keeping traders on alert to any intervention from Japanese authorities. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/japan-finance-minister-repeats-warning-against-excessive-yen-selling-2024-12-24/

2024-12-24 00:31

Dollar up for fifth session in six Yen weak, near prior intervention levels NEW YORK, Dec 24 (Reuters) - The dollar edged higher on Tuesday in thin holiday trading as the expected slower path of interest rate cuts from the U.S. Federal Reserve compared with other global central banks continued to command market direction. The greenback has jumped more than 7% since the end of September, powered in part by growing expectations the U.S. economy will see accelerated growth under policies from President-elect Donald Trump, while sticky inflation has dampened expectations on how aggressive the Fed will be in reducing interest rates. Those expectations for the U.S. stand in contrast to growth forecasts and the interest rate views for other global economies and central banks, which have led to expanding interest rate differentials. The Fed last week projected a more measured path of rate cuts than the market had been anticipating, providing another boost to U.S. Treasury yields, with the benchmark 10-year note yield reaching a 7-month high of 4.629% on Tuesday. "The markets are all having a little bit of a Christmas bonus with the election and they're expecting positive things," said Joseph Trevisani, senior analyst at FX Street in New York. "Certainly that's true for the dollar because we've seen a pullback in the expectations for further rate cuts, and as we all know, the most important factor for the currency markets is the rate structure between the central banks." The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, rose 0.14% to 108.24, with the euro down 0.15% at $1.0389. The index is on track for its fifth gain in the past six sessions. Trading volumes are likely to be thin through next week as the year draws to a close, with the economic calendar very light, and analysts expect rates to be the main driver for the foreign exchange market until the U.S. employment report on Jan. 10. Sterling weakened 0.06% to $1.2527. Against the yen , the dollar strengthened 0.1% to 157.34 as the Japanese currency remains near levels that have recently prompted Japanese authorities to intervene in an effort to support it. Minutes from the Bank of Japan's meeting last week showed policymakers agreed in October to keep raising interest rates if the economy moves in line with their forecast, but some stressed the need for caution on uncertainty over U.S. economic policy. Trump's return to the White House has brought about uncertainty over how his expected policies for tariffs, lower taxes and immigration curbs might affect policy. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/dollar-firms-us-rates-outlook-dominates-2024-12-24/