2025-10-30 22:03

Oct 30 (Reuters) - Weyerhaeuser (WY.N) , opens new tab reported an increase in third-quarter profit on Thursday, helped by higher sales and a recovery in its timberlands and real estate segments. Housing activity has been recovering amid hopes that easing mortgage rates would stimulate demand for new construction, boosting sales at companies such as Weyerhaeuser, which sells timber and other wood products. Sign up here. The company's net sales rose more than 2% to $1.72 billion during the third quarter. Adjusted core profit from its timberlands segment came in at $148 million, compared with $122 million a year earlier, while that of the real estate unit jumped more than 18% to $91 million. The results come after the Trump administration imposed tariffs of 10% on imported timber and lumber. Weyerhaeuser owns or controls about 10.5 million acres of timberlands in the U.S., primarily in the West, South and Northeast. The company said it completed two acquisitions totaling $459 million during the third quarter, while also advancing three divestiture packages of non-core timberlands worth $410 million. It posted a profit of $80 million, or 11 cents per share, for the quarter ended September 30, compared with $28 million, or 4 cents per share, a year earlier. https://www.reuters.com/business/timber-firm-weyerhaeusers-quarterly-profit-rises-higher-sales-2025-10-30/

2025-10-30 21:43

Oct 31 (Reuters) - Australia's Origin Energy (ORG.AX) , opens new tab on Friday posted a sequential first-quarter revenue drop from its LNG joint venture in Queensland, weighed down by lower volumes and prices, which sent shares lower. Shares of Sydney-based company fell as much as 6.3% to A$11.81, marking its weakest trading session since early April. The stock also fell to its lowest level in more than two months. Sign up here. The power producer reported revenue from the APLNG project — a joint venture with U.S. oil and gas major ConocoPhillips (COP.N) , opens new tab and China's state-owned Sinopec (600028.SS) , opens new tab — of A$482 million ($313.20 million) for the three months ended September 30, compared with A$547 million in the June quarter. Overall revenue of the joint venture has also dipped 5% sequentially in the September quarter, largely guided by lower sales volumes due to LNG inventory movements and timing of contracted cargoes, with lagging realised oil prices. Liquefied natural gas prices hit multi-week lows over the quarter as lackluster demand across Asia persisted, especially from major LNG consumer and Australia's largest trading partner, China, while production remained healthy alongside ample stockpiles. Origin realised $10.08 per metric million British thermal units (mmBtu) in the quarter for its LNG product from the APLNG project in Queensland, compared with $10.26 per mmBtu in the June quarter. The energy retailer's total production share from the project remained stable in the three months compared to the previous quarter, while total sales slipped 1% sequentially to 44.4 petajoules. ($1 = 1.5389 Australian dollars) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/australias-origin-energy-logs-12-sequential-fall-first-quarter-aplng-revenue-2025-10-30/

2025-10-30 21:35

SAO PAULO, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Vale (VALE3.SA) , opens new tab, one of the world's largest iron ore miners, posted on Thursday a third-quarter net profit that landed above analysts' estimates, while also cutting its full-year cost projections for copper and nickel. Rio de Janeiro-headquartered Vale posted a $2.69 billion net profit for the July-September period, up 11% year-over-year and above the $2.10 billion expected by analysts polled by LSEG. Sign up here. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) stood at $4.4 billion in the period, a 21% increase, also beating estimates of $4.1 billion. Vale released its sales and output data last week, with iron ore production reaching the highest since the fourth quarter of 2018 at 94.4 million metric tons. "Overall, Vale posted strong results, driven by better realized prices in iron ore and byproducts, robust iron ore and copper sales volumes, and lower cost and expense," Santander analysts led by Yuri Pereira wrote in a note to clients. The analysts said they expected a positive share reaction on Friday. The results were released after the market closed on Thursday. Third-quarter net revenue rose 9% to $10.4 billion, with Vale's main iron ore business rising 6%, while its base metals unit - mostly copper and nickel - jumped 26%. Analysts had projected $10.3 billion of revenue for the miner. Vale also cut its estimate for all-in copper costs this year to between $1,000 and $1,500 per ton, attributing the move to higher gold prices, as gold is a byproduct of Vale's copper production. The previous projection was between $1,500 and $2,000 per ton. The company also projected its all-in nickel costs between $13,000 and $14,000 per ton, down from a previous range of $14,000-$15,500 per ton, citing solid operational performance and strong metals prices. https://www.reuters.com/business/brazilian-miner-vale-posts-11-rise-q3-net-profit-2025-10-30/

2025-10-30 21:32

BOGOTA, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Colombia's state-run energy company Ecopetrol and Brazil's state-run oil firm Petrobras announced on Thursday a partnership for the joint marketing of natural gas from Colombia's Sirius project. The Sirius block is owned by Ecopetrol, which holds a 55.6% stake, while Petrobras owns the remaining 44.4% and acts as the project's operator. The project, which has an estimated 6 billion cubic feet of gas and a projected investment of $5 billion, is expected to begin operation between 2029 and 2030. Sign up here. Ecopetrol President Ricardo Roa said the two companies have agreed to market up to 249 million cubic feet per day for a period of up to six years. "This mechanism seeks to guarantee the efficient, public, and objective allocation of natural gas from the Sirius field," he added. The project is key to increasing Colombia's limited gas reserves, as the country has been forced to increase fuel imports to meet domestic demand. Development of the project is ongoing. In mid-October, Petrobras Colombia's president, Alcindo Moritz, stated that about 50% of the required "prior consultations" had been completed. The number of these consultations increased from an initial 116 to 120 in September. In Colombia, a prior consultation is a fundamental right that allows ethnic communities to participate in decision-making on projects that may directly affect their territories, culture and rights. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/ecopetrol-petrobras-announce-joint-venture-market-natural-gas-colombias-sirius-2025-10-30/

2025-10-30 21:05

ORLANDO, Florida, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Tech shares on Wall Street took a beating on Thursday after some megacap earnings reports, while the dollar and U.S. bond yields rose further following the Fed's "hawkish" rate cut as investors also digested the outcome of the U.S.-China leaders' summit. In my column today, I consider one overlooked reason why the Fed may not cut rates again in December. If cheaper credit is aimed at supporting the labor market, and the labor market is softening due to supply rather than demand issues, then rate cuts won't work. Sign up here. If you have more time to read, here are a few articles I recommend to help you make sense of what happened in markets today. Today's Key Market Moves Today's Talking Points * Trump-Xi meeting reality U.S. President Donald Trump said his 100-minute meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping was a "12" out of 10 score. But with little being announced that wasn't flagged in advance or generally expected, the reality may be rather less rosy. Underwhelming, even. The "truce" does de-escalate tensions for now and buys time for further talks on a more lasting deal. But Eurizon's Stephen Jen sums up the bigger picture well: "Make no mistake, the two countries are drifting apart and are frantically building their own autonomous economic ecosystems." * Monitoring U.S. money markets The Fed has said its QT program will end on December 1, as scrutiny intensifies on money market liquidity, the plumbing of the financial system - interbank rates, repo, bank reserves - and the Fed's ability to keep the policy rate within its target range. Bank reserves are declining and the "SOFR" overnight rate has spiked above the upper limit of the Fed's target range, indicating that money market liquidity is tightening. Keen to avoid a repeat of the late 2019 liquidity crunch, the Fed could be ready to provide liquidity as and when and how it sees fit. * Big Tech and the pAIn trade With Apple and Amazon releasing earnings after the bell on Thursday, six of the "Magnificent Seven" U.S. tech megacaps have now reported. Nvidia, which this week became the world's first $5 trillion company, will report in three weeks. It's a mixed picture so far, with investors desperately seeking a clearer sense of how the massive - and still growing - capex binge around artificial intelligence will boost future earnings. Is Meta's 11% slump on Thursday a warning that the extraordinary AI-led boom may be about to lose steam? The cuts don't work - why the Fed may pause in December Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell surprised many market-watchers on Wednesday when he declared that another interest rate cut in December was not a slam dunk. Perhaps even more surprising was his apparent suggestion that if boosting the labor market is the goal, rate cuts might not be that useful. In the press conference after the central bank lowered its fed funds policy target range by 25 basis points, Powell cited several reasons why a similar move in December is "far from" a done deal. These included "strongly different" views among rate-setters, limited data visibility due to the government shutdown, above-target inflation, and doubts about how quickly the labor market is slowing. He also noted that policy may be close to neutral after 150 basis points of easing. But perhaps the most telling reason was the most simple: cutting rates won't work. At least, doing so won't address the current problem, which is supporting the softening labor market. Alluding to this, Powell admitted that the job market is weakening primarily because of shrinking labor supply rather than cooling demand for workers. But lower borrowing costs are designed to boost demand for workers. If the job market's problems are "mostly" a function of labor supply, as Powell said, then cutting interest rates is akin to pushing on a string. "So the question then is what does our tool do, which supports demand? Some people argue that this is supply, and we really can't affect it much with our tools. But others argue, as I do, that ... we should use our tools to support the labor market when we see this happening," Powell told reporters. "It's a complicated situation." 'K-SHAPED' ECONOMY The current U.S. economic picture is indeed complicated. Job growth has slowed in the U.S. over the past year, but this has been offset by a steep decline in the number of people looking for work. That's a result of the tighter immigration controls, increased deportations, and both young people and retirees leaving the labor force. In the last official monthly jobs report, which was for August, the unemployment rate climbed to a four-year high of 4.3%. But that's only one tenth of a percentage point up on the previous year, and is still ultra-low by historical standards. Powell also said there's no evidence of a worrisome deterioration in the broader labor market, though the recent announcement of some high-profile corporate layoffs may suggest otherwise. At the same time, economic indicators such as business investment and retail sales still appear fairly healthy. Both are strongly linked to the booming stock market - big companies' rising share price and profits fund their capex, and the asset-owning top 10% continue to drive around half of all U.S. consumer spending. What we appear to see taking shape is a so-called 'K-shaped' economy: the rich are getting richer from the asset price boom, while the rest are struggling. This curious balance is new for the Fed and a tricky one to navigate, especially with the government shutdown reducing visibility even further. Just as the Fed's blunt interest rate tool doesn't fix supply-side issues in the jobs market, it may not do much to support lower-income households and individuals either, even though ensuring a stronger labor market is the "best thing" the Fed can do for the American people. Cheaper money is also likely to benefit the richest cohorts by inflating asset prices even more, which may also push already lofty valuations to unsustainable levels. Six weeks is a long way off, but a third successive rate cut in December is suddenly in the balance. If the subtext of Powell's press conference is anything to go by, that may be for the best. What could move markets tomorrow? Want to receive Trading Day in your inbox every weekday morning? Sign up for my newsletter here. Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles , opens new tab, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-trading-day-graphic-2025-10-30/

2025-10-30 20:59

China also to buy 25 million tons annually over next three years, Bessent says Other SE Asia nations to buy 19 million tons of US soybeans CBOT soybeans reverse earlier losses to trade higher Deal returns Chinese demand to level of recent years, analyst says CHICAGO, Oct 30 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday that China has agreed to buy 12 million metric tons of American soybeans during the current season through January, down from 22.5 million tons in the prior season after a months-long tariff battle halted all purchases of the current U.S. harvest. China also committed to buying 25 million tons annually for the next three years as part of a larger trade agreement with Beijing, Bessent said, following a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea. Sign up here. The drop in Chinese demand cost U.S. farmers - a key pillar of Trump's political base - billions of dollars in lost sales and the deal would represent a return to normalcy in trade with the top U.S. soy importer, which averaged purchases of 28.8 million tons over the past five September-to-August crop seasons. "Our great soybean farmers, who the Chinese used as political pawns - that's off the table, and they should prosper in the years to come," Bessent told Fox Business Network's "Mornings with Maria" program. The agreement negotiated in Malaysia over the weekend could be signed as soon as next week, he said. Bessent said other countries in Southeast Asia have agreed to buy another 19 million tons of U.S. soybeans, but did not specify a timeframe for those purchases or the nations involved. Asian importers other than China have imported between 8 million and 10 million tons annually in recent years, according to U.S. Census Bureau trade data. The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade reversed losses and closed 1.2% higher at a 15-month high of $11.07-3/4 per bushel. U.S. soybean export prices jumped by $20 to $30 per metric ton this week as exporters anticipated the Trump-Xi meeting would spark fresh demand. Three , or about 180,000 tons, were sold to Chinese state-owned importer COFCO on the eve of the summit. "These (Chinese purchase agreements) are not numbers that are unattainable, but they're also not numbers that are really supporting the idea of expansion for our U.S. soybean export program," said Ted Seifried, chief market strategist for Zaner Ag Hedge. RELIEF IN THE U.S. FARM BELT U.S. farm groups cheered the agreements after Trump's bruising trade war eroded soy exports valued at $24.5 billion last year. Growers have nearly finished harvesting what is expected to be the fifth-largest U.S. crop on record. The lack of Chinese demand has squeezed U.S. farm incomes as crop prices hovered near multi-year lows for months amid rising costs for fertilizer, seeds, labour and equipment. "This is a meaningful step forward to reestablishing a stable, long-term trading relationship that delivers results for farm families and future generations," said American Soybean Association President and Kentucky farmer Caleb Ragland. The agreement with China came after Trump secured agricultural trade deals or framework agreements with other Asian nations. "Expanding markets and restoring purchases by China will provide some certainty for farmers who are struggling just to hold on," said American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall. CHINA DIVERSIFYING SOYBEAN PURCHASES Trump wrote in a social media post overnight after his meeting with Xi that the Chinese leader had authorized China to begin the purchase of massive amounts of soybeans, sorghum and other farm products. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins applauded Trump's comments on soybeans and sorghum in a post on X. But Even Rogers Pay, director at Beijing-based Trivium China, said the agreement effectively constituted a return to business as usual in terms of U.S. soybean exports to China. "It targets a level of trade that has been pretty consistent with the past few years," she said. Johnny Xiang, founder of Beijing-based AgRadar Consulting, said commercial buyers were still awaiting details such as whether China would reduce the tariff on U.S. soybeans from 20% to 10%, or remove it entirely. "If the tariff is not completely lifted, commercial buyers will have little incentive to purchase U.S. soybeans," he said. China, the world's biggest soybean buyer and the top market for U.S. farmers, had turned its vast appetite for U.S. crops into a powerful trade war bargaining chip. Facing import duties of 23% on soybeans after rounds of tit-for-tat tariffs, Chinese buyers largely shunned the U.S. autumn harvest, turning instead to South American supplies. Since the trade war of the first Trump administration, China has diversified its sources of soybean imports. In 2024, China bought roughly 20% of its soybeans from the United States, down from 41% in 2016, customs data shows. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-buy-12-million-metric-tons-soybeans-this-season-bessent-says-2025-10-30/