2024-12-03 20:37

LISBON, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Portugal's government plans to launch a long-delayed tender of lithium prospecting licenses in 2025 as it seeks to make the country a top European supplier of critical metals for the green transition, it said on Tuesday. The center-right government, which took over in April, said that the international tender for lithium prospecting will target six areas in the north and center of the country. The previous Socialist administration initially planned an auction in 2018 but concerns about the environmental and social impact of lithium mining have led to multiple delays to the auction. Environment Minister Maria da Graca Carvalho said that the tender is part of Portugal's plans to meet Europe's goals to ensure greater security and reduce dependence on imports of critical materials from countries such as China. "Our intention is to move forward with the tender in 2025," she told journalists, adding that the government wants to speed up the licensing processes for projects, "but will be demanding in assessing the environmental impacts." With some 60,000 tonnes of known reserves, Portugal is Europe's biggest lithium producer but its miners sell almost exclusively to the ceramics industry and are only now preparing to produce the higher-grade lithium for use in electric vehicles. Portugal's environmental agency APA has already given its initial approval to lithium extraction at the Barroso mine, owned by London-based company Savannah Resources, and at the Montalegre mine of the local firm Lusorecursos, both in the north of the country. The start of exploration in both mines is scheduled for 2027 as they still need licensing authorizations for the concrete projects. Lithium miners around the globe are struggling with low prices (EUR.AX) , opens new tab for this ore, which have fallen by more than 45% so far this year, largely due to overproduction from China and a drop in demand for EVs. China supplies two-thirds of processed lithium globally and, according to International Energy Agency data, it has also taken a huge lead in powering EVs, controlling 85% of global battery cell production. Carvalho also said that the government intends to launch tenders for new copper and gold prospecting licenses next year. Portugal already has the sixth-largest copper mine in Europe, operated by Toronto-based Lundin Mining (LUN.TO) , opens new tab. It had stopped actively exploring for gold more than 30 years ago. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/portugal-plans-hold-delayed-lithium-tender-2025-2024-12-03/

2024-12-03 20:31

Daly, Kugler see inflation progress, solid job market Goolsbee: rates need to come down a fair amount over next year Daly says policymakers need open mind on rate-cut timing All three say too early to make judgments on Trump policies Dec 3 (Reuters) - U.S. central bankers on Tuesday said they continue to believe inflation is heading down to their 2% target and signaled support for further interest rate cuts ahead, but none pushed strongly for or against doing so when they next meet to set rates in two weeks. "We have to continue to recalibrate policy - now, whether it will be in December or sometime later, that's a question we'll have a chance to debate and discuss in our next meeting," San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said on Fox Business Network. "I think we need to have an open mind here." Speaking at a Crain's "Power Lunch," Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee similarly gave little away on his view of the likely outcome of the central bank's upcoming Dec. 17-18 meeting. "Over the next year it feels to me like rates come down a fair amount from where they are now, but we meet every six weeks because the conditions change," Goolsbee said. Fed officials have been wary of giving too much guidance about how policy is likely to evolve, particularly since President-elect Donald Trump's victory in last month's U.S. election. Trump's promises of import tariffs, tax cuts and an immigration crackdown could change the economic outlook in the coming months. Still, as Daly, Goolsbee and Fed Governor Adriana Kugler, who also spoke on Tuesday, said, the Fed can't react to policies that haven't yet been promulgated. They all they are following the incoming data closely as they weigh upcoming decisions The next two weeks are chock full of key reports, including the monthly job market report on Friday and a read on November consumer inflation a week from Wednesday. "I view the economy as being in a good position after making significant progress in recent years toward our dual-mandate goals of maximum employment and stable prices," Kugler told the Detroit Economic Club. "The labor market remains solid, and inflation appears to be on a sustainable path to our 2% goal." On Monday, Fed Governor Christopher Waller said he was leaning toward another rate cut this month. Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday will give what are expected to his last public remarks before the meeting. Financial markets are pricing in about a 70% chance of a quarter-of-a-percentage point interest-rate cut this month, which would bring the policy rate to the 4.25%-4.50% range. They are betting on another two rate cuts by the end of next year, a slower pace than Fed officials had projected in September. Fed officials will update those rate-path projections in two weeks at the close of their final policy-setting meeting of the year. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/feds-kugler-says-inflation-path-2-target-job-market-is-solid-2024-12-03/

2024-12-03 20:16

WASHINGTON, Dec 3 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has awarded over $100 billion in grants created by its signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, Biden senior advisor for international climate policy John Podesta said. The administration hopes the spending milestone will help to continue the deployment of clean energy even after President-elect Donald Trump, a climate change skeptic who has pledged to rescind all unspent IRA funds, takes office. “Crossing the milestone of $100 billion awarded shows just how quickly we’re getting these funds out the door and into communities so they can make a real difference for the American people,” Podesta told Reuters. Another senior Biden administration official said the administration is on track to exceed its goal of "obligating" over 80% of available IRA grant funding by the end of Biden's term next month. "When funds are obligated, they are protected," the official told Reuters. "They are subject to the terms of the contract, so when those contracts are signed and executed, this becomes a matter of contract law more than a matter of politics." The IRA also offers a decade's worth of tax incentives for clean energy projects, including for wind and solar installations, and ending those subsidies would likely require an act of Congress. The IRA's grants and subsidies have driven billions of dollars to renewable-energy projects across the country, with Republican-led states getting the bulk of the benefits. In August, 18 Republican House members wrote to House Speaker Mike Johnson asking him not to gut the law's incentives because it would jeopardize major investments. Some of Trump's close allies have also benefited from the IRA, particularly its provisions boosting carbon capture and sequestration, as well as clean hydrogen. Among the recent awards that pushed the grant funding over the $100 billion milestone are a $119 million contract issued by the General Services Administration to electrify five federal buildings in the D.C. region; $147 million to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for science and data collection to account for the effects of climate change on fisheries; and an additional $256 million in Rural Energy for America Program grants and loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/biden-pushes-out-over-100-billion-clean-energy-grants-term-winds-down-2024-12-03/

2024-12-03 19:43

NEW YORK, Dec 3 (Reuters) - This winter is forecast to bring sudden bouts of extreme cold to Texas that could test the state's electric grid in early 2025, the grid operator's chief meteorologist said on Tuesday, reviving memories of crippling Storm Uri four years ago. "We're in a pattern that supports something like a Uri this winter," Chris Coleman, chief meteorologist at the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, said during an ERCOT board meeting. "The more I look at this winter, the more cold potential I see." Storm Uri caused blackouts to millions of homes and businesses in Texas and led to the deaths of more than 240 people. The power crisis also prompted Texas to begin overhauling its grid to increase reliability. Coleman cited factors including ocean and atmospheric patterns that point to winter weather similar to early 2021. As winter weather becomes more extreme, demand on Texas' grid is rising. On Jan. 16, Texas saw its biggest winter spike in demand, with a peak of more than 78,400 megawatts. Five of the last eight winters in Texas saw severe cold periods while in the previous 25 years, only three winters logged similar extreme cold bouts, Coleman said. While spikes in cold weather are increasing in Texas, average winter temperatures are generally warmer, Coleman said. Last winter was the 11th warmest since 1895, according to data collected since that year. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/texas-extreme-winter-cold-could-challenge-power-grid-early-2025-2024-12-03/

2024-12-03 19:41

Canadian dollar falls 0.1% against the greenback Trades in a range of 1.4011 to 1.4075 Price of U.S. oil rises 3% Ten-year yield rises 1.8 basis points TORONTO, Dec 3 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar edged lower against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday and posted larger declines against some other major currencies as political uncertainty in South Korea rattled investor sentiment. The loonie weakened 0.1% to 1.4060 per U.S. dollar, or 71.12 U.S. cents, after moving in a range of 1.4011 to 1.4075. It was the only G10 currency to lose ground against the greenback as the euro clawed back some of Monday's sharp decline, which was driven by political turmoil in France. "We are seeing some broad-based CAD weakness on the crosses today," said George Davis, chief technical strategist at RBC Capital Markets. "Weaker U.S. equities amidst news of martial law in South Korea has dented risk sentiment a bit, which is also a negative factor at the moment." The Korean won plunged against the U.S. dollar (.DXY) , opens new tab after South Korea's president declared martial law in an unannounced late-night address on television. Canada is a major producer of commodities, including oil, so the currency tends to be sensitive to shifts in investor sentiment. U.S. crude futures rose 3% to $70.15 a barrel as Israel threatened to attack the Lebanese state if its truce with Hezbollah collapses, and as investors positioned for OPEC+ to announce an extension of supply cuts this week. Canada's employment report for November, due on Friday, could help guide expectations for additional interest rate cuts by the Bank of Canada. Economists expect a gain of 25,000 jobs. Canadian government bond yields were mixed across a steeper curve. The 10-year was up 1.8 basis points at 3.101%, after touching on Monday its lowest intraday level in nearly two months at 3.053%. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/canadian-dollar-lags-g10-peers-amid-geopolitical-drama-2024-12-03/

2024-12-03 19:15

NEW YORK, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Consumption of renewable diesel on the U.S. East Coast has been on the rise, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday, but the upcoming Clean Fuel Production Tax Credit could shift trade dynamics and weigh on importers that supply over half of the fuel to the region. Renewable diesel is primarily consumed on the West Coast in states with active clean fuel programs like California, Oregon, and Washington. The East Coast relies heavily on imports and interregional shipments to meet demand. However, the Clean Fuel Production Tax Credit (PTC), a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 that will take effect next year, would make biofuel imports ineligible for tax credits. More than half of the fuel supplied to the East Coast this year has come from imports, notably from overseas plants operated by Neste (NESTE.HE) , opens new tab, the world’s largest producer of renewable diesel. Of the renewable diesel imported into the East Coast, about two-thirds has been destined for New Jersey. Consumption of renewable diesel on the East Coast from May to September was within the range of 5,000-7,000 barrels per day, the EIA said, above the previous record high. The East Coast now holds almost 10% of renewable diesel inventories in the United States and attracts almost 10% of U.S. imports, the EIA said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/us-east-coast-becomes-consistent-destination-renewable-diesel-eia-says-2024-12-03/