2024-11-27 06:55

BERLIN, Nov 27 (Reuters) - German industrial conglomerate Thyssenkrupp (TKAG.DE) , opens new tab has not drawn up a detailed proposal on how it aims to cut some 40% of jobs in its steel division, the Handelsblatt newspaper reported, raising questions on the viability of its restructuring plans. Under the plans announced this week, Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe (TKSE), which has a workforce of 27,000, said it would cut 11,000 jobs in total - 5,000 of which would be eliminated by 2030 and another 6,000 shed through spin-offs or divestitures. Beyond the figure of 11,000 jobs, however, it is unclear how Thyssenkrupp plans to implement the job cuts or reduce steel production capacities, Handelsblatt reported on Tuesday evening, citing sources familiar with the restructuring proposals. Handelsblatt suggested that the approach, credited to a small team led by Thyssenkrupp CEO Miguel Lopez, leaves unanswered questions about the practicality of the proposed restructuring. A spokesperson for the steel unit did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on Wednesday. Workers have promised fierce resistance to the cuts at Germany's largest steelmaker, which has been under pressure from cheaper Asian competitors, high power prices and a weakening global economy. The steel unit's works council and union IG Metall are scheduled to hold an extraordinary meeting with board members behind closed doors on Wednesday afternoon, followed by a press conference. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/thyssenkrupp-lacks-detailed-plan-11000-steel-unit-job-cuts-handelsblatt-reports-2024-11-27/

2024-11-27 06:51

GDANSK, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Poland's biggest utility PGE (PGE.WA) , opens new tab reported a near 24% year-on-year fall in its third-quarter net profit on Tuesday, amid continued weakness in its coal-based conventional power generation segment. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT PGE, along with other Polish utilities, is under pressure from falling profitability in its coal-fired power generation segment, having to cope with the cost of carbon emission rights and the growing share of electricity output being taken by renewables. The Polish government is working on a plan to spin off coal-fired power plants from utilities to increase the focus on green energy, as banks seek to avoid financing coal-dependent companies. BY THE NUMBERS PGE'S net profit for the quarter slid to 0.73 billion zlotys ($177.84 million) from 0.95 billion in 2023, confirming its earlier estimates. Revenue fell 28% to 15.56 billion zlotys on the year, primarily due to a decrease in revenue from the sale of electricity in the conventional generation segment. CONTEXT In late September, the company announced plans to cease electricity production in the remaining coal-fired units at one of the five power plants comprising its conventional power generation segment by the end of 2025. ($1 = 4.1047 zlotys) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/polish-utility-pge-posts-lower-q3-net-profit-dragged-by-coal-segment-2024-11-27/

2024-11-27 06:51

NAIROBI, Nov 27 (Reuters) - The Kenyan shilling was unchanged on Wednesday, with some dollar sales by the central bank helping to match importer demand, one trader said. The shilling traded at 129.00/130.00 at 0641 GMT, according to LSEG data, the same as Tuesday's closing rate. The central bank selling dollars this and last week has helped hold the shilling at its current level, the trader said. The bank says it only intervenes to smooth out volatility in the foreign exchange market in either direction and has no preferred level for the shilling. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/kenyan-shilling-unchanged-some-central-bank-dollar-sales-match-importer-demand-2024-11-27/

2024-11-27 06:36

SINGAPORE, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Oil prices are undervalued due to a market deficit, with the potential risk to Iran's supply from possible sanctions under U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, according to the heads of commodities research at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. "We think that oil prices are about $5 per barrel undervalued relative to the fair value based on the level of inventories," Daan Struyven, co-head of global commodities research at GS told reporters on Wednesday. The oil market is estimated to be in a deficit of about half-a-million barrels per day over the past year, Struyven said, adding that China and the U.S. are likely to continue restocking strategic reserves for energy security. He said these factors, along with lower output from OPEC+ producers and a potential tightening of sanctions on Iran that could cut supply by around 1 million barrels per day, could push oil prices higher in the short term. Brent is projected to peak at about $78 a barrel by next June, before easing to $71 by 2026, as there is significant spare capacity available to address supply shortages whenever needed, Struyven said. Brent crude futures are trading under $73 a barrel on Wednesday after Israel agreed to a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah while OPEC+ is discussing a delay in unwinding of production cuts. Martijn Rats, chief commodity strategist at Morgan Stanley, told Reuters last week that oil prices should be a couple of dollars higher as inventories are low. "We can point at some of this to demand weakness, but there's also been some supply weakness and in many ways this story about this looming surplus, is a story for next year," he said. While the oil supply surplus is expected to reach 1 million bpd next year, driven by non-OPEC+ output, there is no historical precedent for such a surplus, as producers typically cut output and demand increases when prices drop, Rats noted. "We're talking about the balance like a year out so, I think the price of oil today is already a little bit over anticipatory of what lies ahead." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-undervalued-market-faces-deficit-irans-supply-risk-analysts-warn-2024-11-27/

2024-11-27 06:27

Japan's yen strengthens to roughly five-week high vs dollar US PCE data roughly in line with expectations Oil settles near flat with gasoline build, ceasefire in focus Nov 27 (Reuters) - MSCI's global equities index edged lower and the dollar slipped with Treasury yields on Wednesday as investors digested the latest economic data and the potential impact of policies from the incoming U.S. administration, including tariff threats. Oil prices settled close to flat after a large, surprise build in U.S. gasoline stockpiles and worries about the outlook for U.S. interest rates in 2025 countered easing supply concerns from a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah. Equities lost some ground after data showed U.S. consumer spending increased solidly in October, suggesting the economy kept a strong growth pace but progress dampening inflation has stalled recently. In the 12 months through October core inflation, which the Federal Reserve tracks for monetary policy, increased 2.8% after climbing 2.7% in September. "This was no earth-shattering news for the markets. We all expected that inflation would pop up a little bit, but inflation is not getting out of hand. And that's the key,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities. "This paves the way for a 25 basis point cut in December and then probably a pause." After the data, traders were betting on a 70% probability for a Fed rate cut in December compared with a roughly 59% probability on Tuesday, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool , opens new tab. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab fell 138.25 points, or 0.31%, to 44,722.06, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab fell 22.89 points, or 0.38%, to 5,998.74 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab fell 115.10 points, or 0.60%, to 19,060.48. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) , opens new tab fell 0.84 points, or 0.10%, to 858.24, while Europe's STOXX 600 (.STOXX) , opens new tab index closed down 0.19% earlier in the day. Investor reactions to the data took into account President-elect Donald Trump's late Monday threat to immediately put a 25% tariff on all products from Mexico and Canada when he takes office in January, and impose an additional 10% tariff on goods from China. The threat already drew warnings of retaliation. "Today’s data shouldn’t change views of the likely path for disinflation, however bumpy. But a lot of observers, probably including some at the Fed, are looking for reasons to get more hawkish on the outlook given the potential for inflationary policy change like new tariffs,” said David Alcaly, lead macroeconomic strategist at Lazard Asset Management in an email. Wednesday's market moves were likely magnified by lower liquidity before Thursday's U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, according to Alex Atanasiu, portfolio manager at Glenmede Investment Management. Thursday's market close will be followed by a shorter trading day on Friday. In Treasuries, the yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes fell 5.4 basis points to 4.248%, from 4.302% late on Tuesday while the 30-year bond yield fell 5 basis points to 4.4298% from 4.48% late on Tuesday. The two-year note yield fell 3.1 basis points to 4.223%, from 4.254% late on Tuesday. In currencies, the dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, fell 0.73% to 106.06. Against the Japanese yen , the dollar weakened 1.3% to 151.11 with the yen touching its strongest level versus the greenback in five weeks. The euro was up 0.75% at $1.0565 while sterling strengthened 0.85% to $1.2675. After falling on Tuesday, the Mexican peso strengthened 0.3% versus the dollar, and the Canadian dollar strengthened 0.21% against the greenback. The largest cryptocurrency, bitcoin , attempted to find its feet after a four-day retreat from a record high of $99,830. It was last up 5.34% at $96,544.00. Oil prices flitted between red and green having fallen on Tuesday on confirmation of the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire after selling off more sharply on Monday in anticipation of such an agreement. U.S. crude settled down 0.07% at $68.72 a barrel, while Brent ended at $72.83 per barrel, up 0.03% on the day. In precious metals, spot gold rose 0.17% to $2,636.35 an ounce. U.S. gold futures rose 0.61% to $2,637.20 an ounce. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/global-markets-wrapup-1-2024-11-27/

2024-11-27 06:15

NEW YORK, Nov 27 (Reuters) - The dollar fell broadly on Wednesday in thin pre-holiday trade, digesting a slew of indicators that underscored U.S. economic resilience while investors assessed the risk that President-elect Donald Trump will start a tariff war no one will win. The decline further unwound the dollar's recent rally. Few traders were interested in building or holding positions before a long Thanksgiving weekend for many of them that dovetails with month end. Markets are closed Thursday and exchanges close early on Friday. Moreover, revised data showing gross domestic product rose at a 2.8% rate in the third quarter, as expected and the same as last month's first estimate, did not much bolster the case for the Federal Reserve to ease again next month, although traders still leaned that way, lifting odds a bit to 67%. Neither did consumer spending data that showed progress on lowering inflation appears to have stalled in recent months while the economy retained much of its solid growth momentum early in the fourth quarter. "We all expected that inflation would pop up a little bit, but inflation is not getting out of hand. And that's the key,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York. “This paves the way for a 25 basis point cut in December and then probably a pause. But the pause won't likely be due to inflation data, but because of uncertainties over Trump's tariffs. I think the Fed will grow cautious.” The Commerce Department's personal consumption expenditures price index climbed 0.2% in October, matching September's unrevised gain. In the 12 months through October, the PCE price index increased 2.3% after advancing 2.1% in September. While October durable goods orders rose a smaller-than-expected 0.2%, applications for unemployment benefits at 213,000 were a bit lower than last week's upwardly revised 215,000 jobless claims, indicating a solid labor market. Dollar/yen fell to its lowest in about five weeks, and was down 1.43% at 150.91 as trading wound down. The weakening dollar lifted the euro 0.74% to $1.0564. The euro/dollar pair hit its highest in a week, while the dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, fell to its lowest since Nov. 13 and in afternoon trade was off 0.74% at 106.06. That put it down 1.9% from a two year high hit on Friday. "Today may be a bit more about some profit taking, at least for the U.S. for a long weekend. "It's had, like I said, a phenomenal run here and still remains very, very robust," said Amo Sahota, executive directors of Klarity FX in San Francisco. Trump's vows on Monday of big tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, the United States' three largest trading partners, knocked their currencies lower and have left investors jittery. Some analysts argued that inflation risks from tariffs and proposed tax cuts could prevent Trump from ushering in more disruptive measures. "The recent sharp dollar appreciation largely decreases the asset values in dollars outside U.S. and hence increases the rebalancing need to sell the dollar at the month-end," said Sheryl Dong, forex strategist at Barclays. The outperforming yen has benefited from bets for a December rate hike in Japan, and position adjustments. The dollar's sell-off accelerated on Wednesday after the pair fell below the 200-day moving average at 151.99. "That I would deem that as being fairly significant in today's marketplace as well, just technically," Sahota said. Analysts noted that there was some relief that the country is not in the firing line of Trump's possible tariffs. "Japan has a strong hand in dealing with U.S. trade concerns," said Jane Foley, senior forex strategist at RaboBank. It "is the U.S.'s largest overseas holder of U.S. Treasuries and the largest provider of foreign direct investment into the U.S.," she added. A ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed group Hezbollah came into effect on Wednesday under a deal that aims to end hostilities across the Israeli-Lebanese border. While not a big factor on Wednesday, the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine have been a support for the dollar as a safe haven. Against its Canadian counterpart, the greenback slipped 0.18% to C$1.4027 , after touching a 4-1/2-year high of $1.4177 on Tuesday. The dollar was little changed against the Mexican peso near Tuesday's top that was its highest against since July 2022 , fetching 20.622 pesos. Sterling strengthened 0.81% to $1.267, the Australian dollar strengthened 0.34% to US$0.6494 and the kiwi strengthened 1.06% to US$0.5896. The Chinese yuan steadied after drooping on Tuesday's tariff news. The dollar was 0.15% lower at 7.245 per dollar. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin was up 5.19% at $96,414, digesting its run up to almost $100,000 last week. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/major-currencies-consolidate-market-regroups-ahead-us-inflation-measure-2024-11-27/