2025-10-23 06:47

US mulls new controls on tech exports to China US inflation data due on Friday Silver up more than 1.5% Oct 23 (Reuters) - Gold prices rose on Thursday, as U.S. sanctions against Russia and possible new export controls on China added to geopolitical risks, buoying demand for safe-haven assets. Spot gold was up 0.5% at $4,114.06 per ounce, as of 1121 GMT. Bullion fell to a near two-week low in the previous session. Sign up here. U.S. gold futures for December delivery climbed 1.6% to $4,128.40/oz. "Gold is attempting to find its footing following the healthy and sorely-needed technical pullback (and while) stubborn geopolitical risks should preserve safe-haven bids ... it has been less inclined to produce wild swings in reacting to such (news)," said Han Tan, chief market analyst at Nemo.money. Donald Trump's administration is considering a plan to curb an array of software-powered exports to China, from laptops to jet engines, to retaliate against Beijing's latest round of rare earth export restrictions. Meanwhile, U.S. President Trump imposed Ukraine-related sanctions on Russia for the first time in his second term, targeting oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft. Gold prices have gained about 57% this year, reaching an all-time peak of $4,381.21 on Monday, bolstered by geopolitical and economic uncertainties, rate-cut bets and sustained central bank buying. Focus shifts to the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) report due on Friday, delayed due to the government shutdown, which is expected to shed more light on the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut path. A 25-basis-point rate cut at next week's Fed's meeting has been almost fully priced in by investors. FEDWATCH Non-yielding bullion tends to do well in low interest rate environments. "We continue to view gold as an effective portfolio diversifier, with further gains toward our upside case of $4,700/oz still possible should adverse macro and political developments emerge," Mark Haefele, Chief Investment Officer at UBS, said in a note. Elsewhere, spot silver rose 1.3% to $49.14 per ounce, platinum gained 1.3% to $1,643.25 and palladium held steady at $1,456.98. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/gold-inches-down-dollar-firms-focus-us-inflation-data-2025-10-23/

2025-10-23 06:39

MUMBAI, Oct 23 (Reuters) - The rupee struggled for direction on Thursday, stuck in a narrow range before ending marginally higher, as inflows into local shares and dollar-selling by state-run banks offset importer demand for the U.S. currency for hedging. The rupee had opened higher at 87.8325 per U.S. dollar, buoyed by a media report that Washington may cut tariffs on Indian imports to 15%–16% from 50%. Sign up here. However, the advance was soon reversed, with the currency dropping to 87.96 intraday, before recovering again to end at higher at 87.84. It had settled at 87.9275 on Monday. Indian foreign-exchange and money markets were shut Tuesday and Wednesday for Diwali holidays. "Now we all know, 88 is the key level that needs to be protected, and whenever the central bank feels the level is close to be breached, they will make their presence felt," trader with a state-run bank said. The Reserve Bank of India has been seen selling dollars through state-run banks whenever the rupee has weakened toward 88, a move traders say is likely aimed at extending the impact of its heavy intervention last Wednesday. "We do not rule out further dollar-selling intervention in the days ahead, but unless the currency undergoes a renewed sharp move back towards 89-90 to the USD, we would expect such intervention to be more limited, going forward," Mitul Kotecha, head of FX & EM macro strategy Asia at Barclays Bank, said in a note. Meanwhile, Reuters reported that U.S. President Donald Trump is considering curbs on software-enabled exports to China — ranging from laptops to jet engines — in response to Beijing’s restrictions on rare earth shipments, which undermining demand for Asian currencies. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/rupee-set-open-higher-after-diwali-break-focus-us-india-trade-deal-news-flow-2025-10-23/

2025-10-23 06:27

US slaps sanctions on Rosneft, Lukoil over Ukraine war Chinese state oil majors suspend Russian oil purchases, sources say Indian refiners reviewing their Russian oil purchases Sanctions could reduce global oil supply, Russia is second-biggest producer OPEC ready to offset shortages NEW YORK, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Oil prices surged around 5% to a two-week high on Thursday after the U.S. imposed sanctions on major Russian suppliers Rosneft (ROSN.MM) , opens new tab and Lukoil (LKOH.MM) , opens new tab over Moscow's war in Ukraine, prompting energy firms in China and India to consider cutting Russian imports. Brent futures rose $3.40, or 5.4%, to settle at $65.99 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $3.29, or 5.6%, to settle at $61.79. Sign up here. Those were the biggest daily percentage gains for both crude contracts since mid-June and their highest closes since October 8. "The announcement of sanctions by the U.S. on Rosneft and Lukoil is a major escalation in the targeting of Russia’s energy sector and could be a big enough shock to flip the global oil market into a deficit next year," said David Oxley, chief climate and commodities economist at Capital Economics. Russia was the world's second-biggest crude oil producer in 2024 after the U.S., according to U.S. energy data. In addition to soaring crude prices, U.S. diesel futures jumped almost 7%, boosting the diesel crack spread to its highest since February 2024. Crack spreads measure refining profit margins. The U.S. sanctions mean refineries in China and India, major buyers of Russian oil, will need to seek alternative suppliers to avoid exclusion from the Western banking system, said Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen. Multiple trade sources told Reuters that Chinese state oil majors have suspended purchases of seaborne Russian oil from the two companies now under U.S. sanctions, providing a further boost to prices. Kuwait's oil minister said that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would be ready to offset any shortage in the market by rolling back output cuts. Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, said it will take time for the global market to replace Russian oil. "This is, of course, an attempt to put pressure on Russia," Putin added. "But no self-respecting country and no self-respecting people ever decides anything under pressure. The U.S. said it was prepared to take further action as it called on Moscow to agree immediately to a ceasefire in Ukraine. "The various U.S. and EU sanctions thus far have had essentially no effect on Russia’s ability to export oil, so we doubt that this latest round will be game-changing. That said, the Kremlin may need to use more intricate methods to ship its oil covertly, thereby increasing costs," said Pavel Molchanov, investment strategy analyst at Raymond James. Molchanov noted the U.S. investment bank would "continue keeping an eye on this issue" since Russian exports account for about 7% of global oil supply. MORE SANCTIONS Britain sanctioned Rosneft and Lukoil last week and the European Union has approved a 19th package of sanctions against Russia that includes a ban on imports of Russian liquefied natural gas. The EU also added two Chinese refiners with combined capacity of 600,000 barrels per day (bpd), as well as Chinaoil Hong Kong, a trading arm of PetroChina (601857.SS) , opens new tab, to its Russia sanctions list, its Official Journal showed on Thursday. The impact of sanctions on oil markets will depend on how India reacts and whether Russia finds alternative buyers, said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo. Refiners in India, which became the largest buyer of discounted seaborne Russian crude in the aftermath of the war in Ukraine, were poised to sharply curtail imports of Russian oil to comply with new U.S. sanctions on Lukoil and Rosneft, industry sources said on Thursday, potentially removing a major hurdle to a trade deal with the U.S. Privately owned Reliance Industries, the top Indian buyer of Russian crude, plans to reduce or halt such imports completely, according to two sources familiar with the matter. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-crude-futures-up-13-after-us-sanctions-russias-rosneft-lukoil-says-more-come-2025-10-22/

2025-10-23 06:15

Majors, gulf exporters cancelling deals Yulong may pivot more to Russian oil Yulong buys 150,000-250,000 bpd of Russian oil, traders, analyst say SINGAPORE, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Several suppliers have cancelled sales of Middle Eastern and Canadian oil to China's Yulong Petrochemical after the UK imposed sanctions on the refiner, which is likely to push it to buy more Russian crude, multiple sources familiar with the deals said. The refiner, China's newest with a capacity of 400,000 barrels per day and one of the country's largest single Russian oil customers, is among the entities Britain designated last week to curb Moscow's oil revenues used to fund the Ukraine war. Sign up here. Suppliers that are unwinding supply deals include European majors TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) , opens new tab and BP (BP.L) , opens new tab as well as Saudi Aramco (2222.SE) , opens new tab and Kuwait Petroleum Corp and Chinese state trader PetroChina International, the sources said. Most of the cancellations apply to spot cargoes that were due to load after November 13, when the sanctions take effect. They include two shipments of 2 million barrels of crude each from Kuwait Petroleum and Aramco, according to three of the sources, with specific knowledge of these deals. PetroChina International and TotalEnergies each exited transactions supplying Access Western Blend, a heavy crude exported from Canada, said two other sources, who have knowledge of those transactions. BP and Aramco declined to comment. KPC, Total, PetroChina and Yulong did not respond to requests for comment. It was unclear if Swiss trader Trafigura will suspend its deals with Yulong, said sources with knowledge of the company's transactions with Yulong. Trafigura supplies Yulong with 2 million barrels a month of Omani and Abu Dhabi Upper Zakum crude under an annual contract, the sources said. "Trafigura complies with applicable sanctions and laws including the G7 Price Cap Framework," a Trafigura spokesperson said in response to a query on the supply contract. PIVOT TO RUSSIAN OIL The decision to cancel the contracts partly stems from concerns about the ability to make payments as large western banks will avoid working with sanctioned entities, the sources said. With dwindling access to non-sanctioned crude supplies, Yulong will most likely buy more Russian oil, which already accounts for about half of its intake. "We are already hearing Yulong is moving towards running predominantly sanctioned barrels, which, similar to the sanctions impact on Nayara, may necessitate run cuts," said Sun Jianan, an analyst with consultancy Energy Aspects. India's Nayara Energy, partially owned by Russian major Rosneft, has reduced its refinery runs after European Union sanctions were imposed in July. The company is importing oil exclusively from Russia after Aramco and Iraq's SOMO halted sales. While larger companies step away from Yulong, smaller companies without UK connections could continue dealings, said an executive whose company continues supplying Yulong and declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter. Yulong buys 150,000 to 250,000 barrels per day of Russian crude, according to estimates by traders and tanker tracker Vortexa. Most of Yulong's Russian imports are ESPO Blend from the country's Pacific coast that Chinese refineries favour because of the short transit period for the shipments. Recently, Yulong has also imported Urals crude from Russia's European ports, said three traders familiar with Yulong's procurement patterns. It secures most of its Russian supply from dealers linked to major Russian producers, said two of those sources. Built on a man-made island near the port of Yantai in the northeastern province of Shandong, Yulong Petrochemical is a joint venture between private aluminium firm Nanshan Group and government-backed Shandong Energy Group. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/sellers-cancel-deals-with-chinese-oil-refiner-yulong-after-uk-sanctions-sources-2025-10-23/

2025-10-23 06:11

LONDON, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Europe's economy is walking a precarious tightrope between geopolitics and global economic power plays, which will either force it to diversify its trade and become more self-reliant or get toppled by ferocious crosswinds. The European Union has chosen to "eat" U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff sweep rather than retaliate, perhaps because of the need to keep Washington onside in the region's security standoff with Russia over Ukraine. Sign up here. But it risks indirectly eating some of the U.S. tariffs on China too. If Beijing reroutes its massive industrial overcapacity toward Europe, this could undercut the bloc's domestic manufacturers and create disinflationary risks to boot. China overtook the U.S. as Germany's largest trading partner in the first eight months of 2025, regaining the top spot it had previously held for eight years. German exports to the U.S. dropped by more than 7% year-on-year in this period, likely because of the higher U.S. tariffs. German exports to China also fell during these months and by an even larger 13.5%, but imports from China jumped more than 8%. UniCredit points to Chinese data showing that while exports to America in the six months through September have fallen 25% annually, shipments to the EU as a whole have risen by almost 10%. The EU has already threatened to impose its own tariffs on China's steel , opens new tab and autos, and it is likely to turn up the heat if Chinese goods do indeed start to flood its markets. 'US-CHINA-EU REALPOLITIK' What's more, China's close ties with Russia further complicate any EU embrace of trade with the world's second-largest economy, whether due to the bloc's own security concerns or even those of Washington. These security fears were on full display this month as the Dutch government seized control of chipmaker Nexperia, citing fears the company's technology would be taken by Chinese owner, Shanghai-listed Wingtech (600745.SS) , opens new tab. China, where most of Nexperia's chips are packaged, responded by blocking exports of the company's finished products, alarming European automakers that rely on these goods and leading to warnings of production stoppages. While this is just one vignette, it comes as China has been curbing exports of critical rare earth metals, a key bargaining chip in its tense standoff with Washington. Even if U.S. industry is the target, the export controls negatively affect Europe too. "A delicate balancing act for European policymakers has barely started," said UniCredit economist Andreas Rees, adding that the "complexity of U.S.-China-EU realpolitik has already been on full display" over the Nexperia row. Rees argues that if Europe overtightens its import and investment barriers against China, Beijing would retaliate by limiting access to its markets and further restricting access to rare earths. "EU policymakers may therefore want to act surgically and avoid blunt-force measures," he wrote. RULES AND ROW On its face, there appears to be little room for Europe's big exporting economies to maneuver, caught as they are between feuding superpowers. But one option would be doubling down on a reboot of the bloc's own domestic demand and tech capacity, key features of the EU economic reform agenda sketched out last year by former European Central Bank boss Mario Draghi. Germany has moved in this direction. Its own fiscal bazooka is now locked and loaded, though it has yet to be fired, with the earmarked money set to start flowing from this quarter through 2026. Some argue that the best solution would instead be the development of a more tri-polar world economy in which Europe concentrates its already substantial trade with smaller economies other than the U.S. and China. A working paper published by Brussels-based think tank Bruegel , opens new tab late last month points out that together the U.S. and China account for 30% of all EU value-added exports. That's a sizeable risk given the current climate, but it leaves 70% of EU value-added trade with other countries. "The EU already has an extensive network of trade agreements, covering 74% of trade with partners other than the U.S. and China. Deepening these relationships and forging new partnerships should be priorities," the paper said. "Offering a stable and rules-based trade regime can help offset losses from reduced integration with the U.S. and China," it concluded. The rules-based trading system is "at risk of derailment" according to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. For Europe to keep it on track, it may need to look beyond Washington and Beijing. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters -- Enjoying this column? Check out Reuters Open Interest (ROI), your essential new source for global financial commentary. Follow ROI on LinkedIn. Plus, sign up for my weekday newsletter, Morning Bid U.S. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/europes-economy-caught-100-mph-trade-winds-2025-10-23/

2025-10-23 06:10

All transactions with local distributors must be settled in yuan, sources say China unit had previously settled in foreign currencies such as US dollar Nexperia seeking alternative packaging capacity outside China, sources say BEIJING/TAIPEI, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Dutch chipmaker Nexperia's Chinese unit has resumed supplying semiconductors to local distributors, according to two people briefed on the matter, having previously halted all shipments when Beijing banned exports following an ownership dispute. But as part of the resumption, which is confined to domestic trade, all sales to distributors must now be settled in Chinese yuan, the people said, whereas transactions had previously only used foreign currencies such as the U.S. dollar. Sign up here. The Chinese unit also instructed distributors to transact with their customers only in yuan, in an apparent bid to stabilise supply in China and operate more independently from its Dutch parent, one of the people said. Nexperia, now under Dutch government control, produces large volumes of chips in the Netherlands widely used in the automotive industry and consumer electronics. The majority are packaged in China and sold mostly to distributors. Nexperia is now seeking alternative packaging partners outside China as the dispute with its Chinese subsidiary shows little sign of a quick resolution, the people said. Nexperia has also warned customers in China that it does not guarantee the quality of products sourced from its Chinese subsidiary, the second person said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. The temporary sales halt and the resumption with settlements in yuan had not been reported previously. A Nexperia spokesperson declined to comment on the actions of its Chinese unit and said its efforts to seek packaging partners outside China predated the dispute and were not part of a move away from its Chinese factory. On quality, the spokesperson said it had to inform customers of potential risks, but it had stopped short of saying they should not buy from its Chinese unit. Nexperia's Chinese unit did not respond to a request for comment. After the Reuters story about it resuming sales was published on Thursday, it issued a statement on its WeChat account that said it was operating independently and its "manufacturing and business activities are proceeding in an orderly manner". The unit also accused its Dutch parent of raising "groundless doubt" on product compliance and said it would pursue legal options. DUTCH GOVERNMENT SEIZES CONTROL The Dutch government took control of Nexperia on September 30 and removed its Chinese CEO, Zhang Xuezheng, citing concerns its technology might be appropriated by Nexperia's Chinese parent, Wingtech Technology (600745.SS) , opens new tab. Court filings showed that the seizure came after rising U.S. pressure on Nexperia after Wingtech was placed on a restricted export list, though Dutch authorities say governance shortcomings were the trigger. On October 4, China's commerce ministry blocked Nexperia from exporting chips from China. Following the order, Nexperia's Chinese unit suspended shipments from its main Dongguan factory to all distributors, the first person said. The dispute has fuelled concerns about supply chain disruptions across the global auto industry. Nexperia is one of the largest makers globally of basic chips that are not technically sophisticated but are needed in large volumes. On Thursday, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said Japanese automobile component makers had been notified by a Dutch semiconductor manufacturer that it may not be able to guarantee chip deliveries, which could seriously impact global production. The German economy ministry said on Wednesday it would have a call with automakers and suppliers to discuss developments related to Nexperia. On Tuesday, the Dutch economy minister said he had spoken with his Chinese counterpart but failed to reach a solution. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/nexperias-china-unit-resumes-chip-sales-domestic-distributors-sources-say-2025-10-23/