2025-10-13 04:34
A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Wayne Cole. It's TACO time, again. At least, investors are hoping the latest sound and fury from President Trump on tariffs will signify little in the end. Sign up here. After all, he struck a different tone on social media over the weekend. "Don't worry about China, it will all be fine! Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment. The U.S.A. wants to help China, not hurt it!!!" Imagine a drinking game with a shot for every exclamation mark. Trump is joining other world leaders in Egypt on Monday to discuss the Gaza ceasefire, so there will be plenty of opportunity for fresh headlines. Beijing replied by defending its restrictions on rare earth minerals and refusing to take a call from the White House, which is all par for the course by now. Trade data spoke to China's resilience as exports jumped 8.3% y/y in September, twice the forecast, while imports handily beat estimates. Exports of rare earths fell 31% from August, presumably as it tightened the screws on Western tech and defence manufacturers. Investors seem to assume the November deadline will be extended again and it's safe to be back in the water, so S&P 500 futures rallied 1.3%, Nasdaq futures 1.8%. Expectations remain high for the Q3 earnings season that starts this week with the major banks. European stock futures are up between 0.2% and 0.5%. Asia stocks are still suffering the fallout from Friday. Nikkei futures - the cash market is shut for a holiday - have bounced 1.6% to 46,835, but that's well short of Friday's 48,088 finish. South Korea is down 1.2% and Chinese blue chips 0.9%. Currencies have steadied, with the safe-haven yen off and the risk-hedge Aussie bouncing. The euro is holding $1.1600 as markets wait to see if the new French cabinet can last longer than 14 hours, let alone get a budget through parliament. The cash Treasury market is closed for a holiday, but 10-year futures are off 5 ticks or so. Gold made another peak around $4,059 and oil rebounded more than 1%. Markets imply a 96% chance of a Federal Reserve rate cut later this month, and much the same for December. Fed Chair Powell has a chance to offer his guidance when he speaks on the economic outlook at the NABE annual meeting on Tuesday. A host of other Fed members are appearing this week, along with a who's who of central bankers attending the IMF-World Bank meeting in Washington. Key developments that could influence markets on Monday: - Central bankers speaking include ECB chief Lagarde, Fed's Paulson, BoE's Greene and Mann https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/global-markets-view-europe-2025-10-13/
2025-10-13 04:16
BEIJING, Oct 13 (Reuters) - China's crude oil imports rose 3.9% in September from a year earlier as refineries operated at their highest utilisation rates this year. The world’s largest crude importer, China brought in 47.25 million metric tons of oil in September, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Monday, or the equivalent of 11.5 million barrels per day. Sign up here. China’s refinery utilisation rates in September climbed to the year's highest, with relatively high levels of daily gasoline and diesel output, though supply continued to outpace demand, Chinese consulting firm Oilchem said. Atmospheric and vacuum distillation units at Chinese refineries used 73.45% of capacity, up 1.28 percentage points from August and 3.22 percentage points from a year earlier, Oilchem said. State-owned refineries’ utilisation rose 3.55 percentage points on the year to 81.05% of capacity, while independent refiners increased their utilisation by 3.02 percentage points to 62.17%, Oilchem added. A total of 14 refineries underwent maintenance in September, two fewer than in August, involving a combined capacity of 70.4 million tons per year, down 12.3 million from the previous month, the consulting firm said. However, China's seaborne crude oil imports fell in September on the month to their lowest since January, with shipments from Iran hitting the lowest since January, according to Kpler's data. "The month-on-month decline mainly reflected tight import quotas for independent refineries, which curbed purchases of Russian and Iranian barrels, while narrower arbitrage in June also reduced inflows from Brazil and West Africa, which were loaded in July and August," said Muyu Xu, senior crude oil analyst at Kpler. For the first nine months of the year, total crude imports were up 2.6% at 423 million tons, reflecting China’s continued stockpiling activity. Imports of natural gas, including both pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG), fell 7.8% in September to 11.05 million tons from a year earlier. China imported 92.86 million tons of LNG in the first nine months, down 6.2% on the year. (1 metric ton of crude oil=7.3 barrels) (This story has been corrected to say that China's seaborne crude oil imports fell in September on the month to their lowest since January, not May, after a senior Kpler analyst revised their statement, in paragraph 7) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/chinas-september-oil-imports-rise-39-year-drop-45-august-2025-10-13/
2025-10-13 04:10
BEIJING, Oct 13 (Reuters) - China's iron ore imports in September climbed 10.6% from the month before to hit a record high for a single month, as improving demand and higher prices spurred miners to step up shipments. The world's largest iron ore consumer brought in 116.33 million metric tons of the key steelmaking ingredient last month, staying above 100 million tons for a fourth straight month, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Monday. Sign up here. The September volume, which beat analysts expectations of between 100 million and 106 million tons, was up from 105.22 million tons in August and also was 11.7% higher than 104.13 million tons in the corresponding month in 2024. Prices of the key steelmaking ingredient have gained ground and stayed above the key psychological level of $100 a ton from July, a level that could encourage high-cost miners to ramp up shipments, said analysts. The average price for iron ore rose by 5.3% in July from the previous month, and then climbed 2.5% in August and 3.6% in September, data from consultancy Steelhome showed. The gains reflected improved confidence in the steel sector stemming from Beijing's pledge to crack down on involution-style competition, or competition so fierce that it is self-destructive, in an industry battling overcapacity. Demand in top iron ore consumer China also rose after some mills resumed production following curbs for a military parade in early September. The average daily hot metal output, typically a gauge of ore demand, climbed to 2.42 million tons by end-September, from 2.4 million tons in late August, data from consultancy Mysteel showed. In the first three quarters of 2025, China's iron ore imports totalled 917.69 million tons, flat year-on-year. "Underpinning robust ore imports last month was also stronger steel demand at home and abroad," said Ge Xin, deputy director at consultancy Lange Steel. STEEL EXPORTS AT RECORD HIGH China's steel exports in September rose by 10% from August to a four-month peak of 10.47 million tons, defying expectations that a growing protectionist backlash on cheap Chinese steel would lower outbound shipments. Exports in the first nine months of the year jumped 9.2% to hit a record high for the period at 87.96 million tons, keeping the annual total on track for an all-time high. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/chinas-iron-ore-imports-hit-record-high-september-2025-10-13/
2025-10-13 03:11
BEIJING, Oct 13 (Reuters) - China's export growth picked up pace in September, expanding 8.3% from a year earlier in dollar value terms, while imports grew 7.4%, customs data showed on Monday. Outbound shipments were expected to have risen an annual 6.0%, according to a Reuters poll of economists, up from a 4.4% gain in August. Imports were forecast to have grown 1.5%, against a 1.3% increase previously. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/chinas-september-dollar-denominated-exports-rise-83-yy-imports-up-74-2025-10-13/
2025-10-13 00:07
LONDON, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Spanish energy company Moeve has become the first external supplier of sustainable aviation fuel to join Shell's blockchain-based platform for scaling SAF use, the oil major told Reuters after a deal was signed. Shell's Avelia platform is a “book and claim” system that aims to connect airlines, fuel suppliers and corporate buyers. Avelia, launched in 2022 with Amex Global Business Travel and Accenture, had facilitated over 41 million gallons of SAF use across 17 airports as of mid-2025. Sign up here. Moeve produces SAF from used cooking oil at its La Rábida Energy Park. It plans to expand overall capacity to 800,000 metric tons a year by 2030. The global SAF market has struggled to scale despite pressures to decarbonize the aviation industry. The International Air Transport Association said in June it expected the amount of sustainable aviation fuel produced to double in 2025 to reach 2 million tons. However, that would only represent 0.7% of airlines' fuel consumption. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/moeve-joins-shells-platform-scale-sustainable-jet-fuel-2025-10-13/
2025-10-12 23:48
SINGAPORE, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Portuguese utilities firm EDP (EDP.LS) , opens new tab expects to accelerate its solar and battery storage projects in Australia after securing government awards for long-term revenue generation, the company said on Monday. Its subsidiary EDP Renewables Australia (EDPR.LS) , opens new tab was awarded generation revenue schemes under the government's Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) for two projects that will add more than 1.7 gigawatts of solar and battery storage to the country's energy mix, EDP said in a statement. Sign up here. EDP expects to reach financial close for the Punchs Creek project located in the Toowoomba region of Queensland in 2026 and to commission the plant in early 2029. The project comprises 480 megawatt peak (MWp) of solar and a 400 megawatt battery energy storage system (BESS). The Merino project, near Goulburn in New South Wales, which includes 530 MWp solar power generation and a 450 MW BESS is expected to reach ready-to-build status in the second half of 2026, the company added. Australia's CIS aims to accelerate investment in renewable energy generation and clean dispatchable capacity such as battery storage by providing a long-term revenue safety net for projects. These agreements awarded by the government via tenders will underwrite revenues by offering support if market revenues fall below a set floor, and sharing upside if they exceed a cap. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/edp-accelerate-solar-battery-projects-australia-after-government-awards-2025-10-12/
