2025-10-02 11:21

PARIS, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Favourable weather has improved the quality of champagne grapes this year, producers said on Thursday, providing some good news at a time of fading demand for the French sparkling wine. In July, the industry decided to cut this year's grape harvest by 10%, capping it at 9,000 kilograms per hectare, after a 12% cut the previous year. Sign up here. The reductions were aimed at addressing falling demand amid a global decline in alcohol consumption, economic uncertainty, and concerns over U.S. President Trump's import tariffs. Grape-picking is over in Champagne, as in other French wine regions, and this year's vintage looks set to be a good one. LOOKING FOR NEW MARKETS "We were lucky to have good weather in the right place at the right time," Maxime Toubart, chairman of champagne growers group SGV, told reporters. Sales volumes of champagne - typically a mix of several years harvests - fell 1.8% in the first eight months of 2025 to 145 million bottles, the SGV said. However, exports edged up by 0.2% over the same period, after dropping by more than 10% last year. "We sense a slowdown in the decline, though optimism remains limited," Toubart said. Exports had increased in the first months of the year as U.S. importers built up supplies ahead of tariffs on European Union wine. The U.S. tariffs highlight the need for champagne makers to find new markets, producers said. Trade deals between the EU and South American bloc Mercosur as well as India would help create new opportunities, they said. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/champagne-makers-hope-pick-up-quality-will-put-fizz-back-demand-2025-10-02/

2025-10-02 11:21

Netherlands calls on EU to sanction Houthis as terrorist group Houthis claimed responsibility for attack on Dutch-flagged ship Strike injured two sailors and forced helicopter evacuation ADEN, Oct 1 (Reuters) - (This Oct. 1 story has been refiled to clarify that the quote is from the Dutch Foreign Minister, not the ministry, in paragraph 3) The Netherlands called on the EU on Wednesday to sanction Yemen's Houthis as a terrorist group, after the organisation claimed responsibility for an attack on the Dutch-flagged general cargo ship Minervagracht in the Gulf of Aden. Sign up here. The Iran-aligned group has launched numerous assaults on vessels in the Red Sea since 2023, targeting ships they deem linked to Israel in what they describe as solidarity with Palestinians over Israel's war on Gaza. "The Houthis have long posed a serious threat to freedom of navigation," Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel said in a statement , opens new tab on X. Countries including the United States, Israel, Canada , opens new tab and Australia , opens new tab have labelled the Houthis, formally known as Ansar Allah, as a terrorist organisation. EU DECISION WOULD IMPLY ECONOMIC SANCTIONS A potential EU decision to add the group to its terrorist list , opens new tab -- which currently includes 13 individuals and 22 groups or entities -- would imply economic sanctions and the freezing of funds and assets. Monday's strike on the Minervagracht injured two sailors and forced a helicopter evacuation of 19 crew members, according to the EU maritime mission Aspides and the vessel's operator. The Houthis' military spokesperson said the attack was carried out by a cruise missile. Amsterdam-based operator Spliethoff said Minervagracht was in international waters in the Gulf of Aden when it was hit, suffering substantial damage and a fire. The Houthis said they attacked Minervagracht because its owner violated "the entry ban to the ports of occupied Palestine". It was the first Houthi attack on a commercial ship since September 1, when they targeted Israeli-owned tanker Scarlet Ray near Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port city of Yanbu. In July, the Houthis attacked and sank the Magic Seas bulk carrier and Eternity C cargo ship in the Red Sea. The last significant Houthi attack in the Gulf of Aden was on the Singapore-flagged Lobivia container ship in July, 2024. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/yemens-houthis-claim-responsibility-attack-dutch-flagged-ship-2025-09-30/

2025-10-02 11:15

JAKARTA, Oct 2 (Reuters) - The Indonesian trade ministry on Thursday urged the European Union to adopt World Trade Organization's panel ruling to remove countervailing duties on Indonesian biodiesel imports and regretted the block's move to appeal the WTO ruling. The European Union said last week it will appeal the WTO panel ruling which backed Jakarta's claim that the duties levied by the EU, the third-largest destination for Indonesian palm oil products, broke the trade body's rules. Sign up here. "The EU's decision to file an appeal on Dispute Panel DS618 decision is irrelevant," Trade Minister Budi Santoso said in a statement, pointing out that the WTO Appellate Body ceased functioning in 2019. "This EU move could be seen as an attempt to buy time," he said. The EU has imposed the duties, ranging from 8% to 18%, since 2019, saying the Southeast Asian nation's biodiesel producers benefited from grants, tax benefits and access to raw materials below market prices. The case joins a string of disputes over biodiesel tariffs and palm oil's link to deforestation, even as the EU and Indonesia finalised negotiations on a free trade deal last month. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/indonesia-regrets-eus-move-appeal-wto-biodiesel-ruling-2025-10-02/

2025-10-02 11:02

SANTIAGO, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Chile's wine exports to its top market of Brazil are booming, helping to offset a decline in sales to United States partly due to tariffs, according to export data and industry experts. Data from Wines of Chile, an association of wine producers, shows purchases from the U.S., Chile's second-biggest market by volume, have fallen 13% in the first seven months of the year as President Donald Trump's administration imposed tariffs. Sign up here. "We went from zero tariffs to 10%," said Angelica Valenzuela, Wines of Chile’s commercial director. "Every time you have a tariff, or some roadblock, there's some kind of freeze, or slowdown." Valenzuela said initially, wine producers and importers absorbed the cost of tariffs, but "since it's something that's remained longer, the cost started transferring to the consumer." "What we see now is an American market that's less dynamic and is declining," she added. Chile's exports to China have dropped by nearly 23% over the same period, but she attributed that to lower wine consumption, which has affected most countries that sell to China. In contrast, Brazil is booming, consolidating its position as Chile's top export destination, with shipments jumping nearly 10% over the period. Chile accounts for nearly half of Brazil's import market, Valenzuela said, adding there was "enormous expansion potential." The number of regular wine consumers in Brazil is growing, especially among women and consumers with more disposable income, Valenzuela said. She said Chile's marketing strategy will now focus on strengthening the country's image as a source of premium and sustainable wines. Overall, Chile's wine exports have remained steady in 2025. Canada, Japan, Ireland and South Korea all registered growth while Mexico, the Netherlands and Britain declined. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/chilean-wines-boom-brazil-tariffs-dampen-us-demand-2025-10-02/

2025-10-02 10:33

LONDON, Oct 2 (Reuters) - What matters in U.S. and global markets today By Mike Dolan , opens new tab, Editor-At-Large, Finance and Markets Sign up here. With the U.S. government still shut down and China on holiday, world markets lapped up Federal Reserve easing speculation and European stocks hit record highs - riffing off the available U.S. labor market data as well as AI and trade-related themes. Wall Street stocks shook off news of a surprising drop in private sector payrolls last month and the first day of the U.S. government shutdown on Wednesday. All three major indexes finished higher again and interest rate markets priced in a 95% chance of 50 basis points of more Fed rate cuts by yearend. Stock index futures were higher again before Thursday's bell, with short-dated Treasury yields at two-week lows, the dollar softer and crude oil prices at their lowest in four months. Wednesday's stocks bid was led by healthcare after Tuesday's Pfizer-Trump pricing deal set off sector rotation, while chips extended gains. Gold hovered near record highs and Bitcoin hit its best level in almost two months. Helped by the pharma rally and this quarter's start of Germany's fiscal boost, euro zone stock indexes (.STOXXE) , opens new tab - whose 33% gains this year in dollar terms are more than twice that of the S&P500 - hit new record highs. And with China on its Golden Week break, other Asian markets took the tech cue overnight, with South Korea's Kospi index up almost 3% after Samsung and SK Hynix signed letters to supply memory chips for OpenAI's data centers. Japan's Nikkei was also up almost 1% on a chip-driven rally after four down days. In today's column, I look at the Swiss National Bank's intervention to buy euros to weaken the franc in the second quarter may mean for global reserve management and markets. Today's Market Minute * President Trump's administration on Wednesday froze $26 billion for Democratic-leaning states, following through on a threat to use the , opens new tab government shutdown to target Democratic priorities. , opens new tab * OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has reached a valuation of $500 billion, following a deal in which current and former employees sold roughly $6.6 billion worth of shares, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. * Tesla TSLA.O CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday became the first person ever to achieve a net worth of nearly $500 billion, propelled by a rebound in the EV company's shares and surging valuations of the tech entrepreneur's other startups this year. * The European Union is currently debating how and when to halt its significant energy imports from Russia. One potentially easier option, writes ROI energy columnist Ron Bousso, would be closing loopholes that currently facilitate substantial imports of niche fuels from Moscow. * As China faces a growth slowdown, the technology-driven "intelligent economy" and emerging consumption trends offer protection against slackening economic activity, but more targeted government policies will still likely be needed to sustain momentum. Read the latest from Emmer Capital Partners Ltd founder Manishi Raychaudhuri. Chart of the day The absence of official U.S. payroll statistics due to this week's government shutdown has put the focus on other cuts of the jobs market - with the Bureau of Labor Statistics showing in its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey that hiring declined in August and there are now more people looking for work than there are available jobs. The Conference Board's September consumer confidence survey showed the gap between respondents' views on whether jobs are plentiful or hard to get narrowed to a more than 4-1/2-year low of 7.8 from 11.1 last month. Today's events to watch * U.S. September layoffs from Challenger (7:30 AM EDT), US August factory goods orders (10:00 AM EDT) * Dallas Federal Reserve President Lorie Logan speaks; European Central Bank Vice-President Luis De Guindos, French central bank chief Francois Villeroy de Galhau and Ireland's central bank boss Gabriel Makhlouf all speak Want to receive the Morning Bid in your inbox every weekday morning? Sign up for the newsletter here. You can find ROI on the Reuters website , opens new tab, and you can follow us on LinkedIn , opens new tab and X. , opens new tab 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/business/finance/global-markets-view-usa-2025-10-02/

2025-10-02 10:30

Volvo Cars and Stellantis shares rise 5% and 7% respectively Stellantis posted first quarterly sales growth in US this year. Automakers continue to adjust models they sell in the US STOCKHOLM, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Shares in European automakers Volvo Cars (VOLCARb.ST) , opens new tab and Stellantis (STLAM.MI) , opens new tab jumped on Thursday after stronger than expected U.S. sales figures helped ease concerns that tariffs might dent demand. Investors have been bracing for a slowdown in U.S. car buying due to higher import duties imposed by President Donald Trump, part of his broader push to boost domestic manufacturing. Sign up here. Automakers have scrambled to adjust by, for example, focusing on higher-margin models such as SUVs and pickup trucks that are better able to absorb the impact of any tariffs. Several U.S. and some other automakers posted stronger than feared third-quarter U.S. sales figures on Wednesday and Thursday. Stellantis reported late Wednesday its first quarterly growth in the U.S. this year, with new car sales up 6% in the period, boosting its shares as much as 7% on Thursday. The French-Italian-American carmaker said its Jeep, Chrysler, Ram and FIAT brands all saw sales growth. Shares in Volvo Cars were up 5% at 0925 GMT, after posting on Thursday a 3% increase in its third-quarter U.S. sales. Non-electrified models continued to dominate Volvo Cars' U.S. sales, with nearly 70% of September volumes made up of mild hybrids - where electric power only supplements the combustion engine - and other internal combustion engine cars. The Swedish carmaker, majority-owned by China's Geely Holding (GEELY.UL), is among the most exposed European manufacturers to U.S. tariffs as most of its U.S.-bound vehicles are produced in Europe. Volvo Cars currently builds only its electric EX90 SUV in the United States but plans to start producing its popular XC60 plug-in hybrid there by the end of 2026, alongside an additional hybrid model at its South Carolina factory before 2030. In September, Volvo sold a total of 1,629 EX90s globally, and 20,496 XC60s. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/volvo-cars-sales-rise-1-september-2025-10-02/