2026-02-03 22:36

WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday issued a new license authorizing the export and sale to Venezuela of U.S. diluents, a key fuel needed to produce exportable crude oil grades in the OPEC country, according to a document shown to Reuters by an administration official. The authorization, which is Washington's second general license granted so far to ease sanctions on Venezuela following the U.S. capture of President Nicolas Maduro last month, supports the administration's policy of recovering Venezuela's oil sector, the document says. Sign up here. It expressly authorizes processing of payments from Venezuela's government for the authorized transactions. The U.S. Treasury last week issued a broad license allowing U.S. companies to load, transport, store, sell and refine Venezuelan oil. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-treasury-issues-license-authorizing-us-diluent-supply-venezuela-official-says-2026-02-03/

2026-02-03 22:26

Feb 3 (Reuters) - Canada's Suncor Energy (SU.TO) , opens new tab beat fourth-quarter profit estimates on Tuesday as higher production helped offset the impact of weak commodity prices. Canadian oil sands producers, including Suncor, have remained resilient despite a global oil industry downturn, as economic uncertainty related to the U.S. tariff policy and OPEC+ pumping more barrels weighs on the sector. Years of investment have supported output and helped keep producers among North America's lowest-cost operators. Sign up here. Suncor's upstream quarterly production rose to 909,000 barrels per day from 875,000 bpd a year ago. Its refinery throughput rose by 18,000 bpd to 504,000 bpd during the quarter, while refinery utilization jumped to 108% from 104% a year earlier. U.S.-listed shares of the company were up 1.9% in extended trading. Canadian oil producers are gaining from the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline, which opens access to global markets and lessens their dependence on the U.S. pipeline system. Canada exports nearly 4 million bpd to the United States. The results are in contrast to peer Imperial Oil(IMO.TO) , opens new tab, which last week said lower global oil prices in the quarter and wet October weather caused production challenges at its Kearl oil sands mine in northern Alberta. In December, Suncor forecast lower spending in 2026, despite higher oil and gas production, as it increases output, tightens costs, and boosts shareholder returns with an expanded share buyback program. Calgary, Alberta-based Suncor expects upstream production of 840,000 to 870,000 bpd next year, up from its 2025 estimate of 810,000 to 840,000 bpd. The company reported an adjusted profit of C$1.10 per share for the quarter ended December 31, beating analysts' average estimate of C$1 per share, according to LSEG data. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/suncor-energy-beats-fourth-quarter-estimates-2026-02-03/

2026-02-03 22:13

Feb 3 (Reuters) - Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Tuesday that a power plant in Kyiv's eastern suburbs had been seriously damaged in overnight Russian attacks, prompting officials to redirect resources to restoring heating to thousands of residents. Shmyhal, writing on Telegram after a meeting devoted to energy issues, said the plant in Darnytskyi had been used strictly for providing heating for people and was heavily damaged. "This is a war crime by Russia." Sign up here. Shmyhal described the problems facing Ukraine's energy system as serious and said repairs would take "a considerable time." "Given the critical situation, the meeting discussed urgent ways to stabilise the situation," he wrote. "A redistribution is being carried out of repair crews and equipment ... and we are considering options for redirecting reserve heating supplies to buildings subject to longer outages." Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said on Telegram that 1,142 high-rise apartment blocks remained without heating in Kyiv. The mayor of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, said a local power plant had also been badly damaged. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/ukrainian-energy-minister-says-kyiv-power-plant-badly-damaged-2026-02-03/

2026-02-03 22:05

BRASILIA, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is leaning toward nominating economists Guilherme Mello and Tiago Cavalcanti to roles as central bank directors, as suggested by Finance Minister Fernando Haddad, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Lula is likely to endorse Haddad's picks despite resistance from within the central bank and some corners of the financial market, the sources said on the condition of anonymity. Sign up here. Mello holds a PhD in Economics from the State University of Campinas (Unicamp), widely viewed as a hub of heterodox economic thought in Brazil, and he currently serves as Haddad's economic policy secretary. Cavalcanti is a professor at the University of Cambridge and holds a PhD in economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Earlier on Tuesday, Haddad told BandNews in an interview that he had suggested those candidates, but stressed that Lula had not made a final decision on his nominations. The minister spoke publicly after Mello's name leaked to the press and drew criticism from some investors, the sources said, adding that Haddad agreed in a conversation with Lula that he would mention those two potential candidates publicly. Mello, Cavalcanti and Brazil's presidency did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Since early January, the central bank has had two of the nine seats on its interest-rate-setting committee vacant: one responsible for economic policy, a role seen as key to the technical studies underpinning rate decisions, and another overseeing financial system organization. Haddad did not say which candidate would fill each role, but the two sources said Mello would be tapped for economic policy and Cavalcanti for oversight of the financial system. Investors in recent days voiced concerns that Mello's potential appointment could tilt monetary policy in a more political direction, following media reports that Haddad had pitched him for a central bank role. Traders told Reuters on Monday that the reports had pushed long-term interest rates sharply higher, steepening the yield curve in Latin America's largest economy. Mello also faces resistance inside the central bank, two separate sources with knowledge of the matter said, adding that his name had neither been coordinated with nor endorsed by the monetary authority. One of them noted that candidates for the post are typically expected to have market experience, such as serving as chief economists at financial institutions - something Mello lacks, relying instead on his academic background. Haddad praised both candidates and rejected market criticism of Mello, saying the secretary had correctly forecast multiple indicators in recent years. He called Cavalcanti "a major Brazilian star" in economics abroad. Haddad, who has previously said he plans to leave the Finance Ministry this month, acknowledged he has been discussing with Lula the possibility of running for Sao Paulo state governor. He said, however, that what he most wants is to take part in Lula's re-election campaign. "It's what I think I can do best," Haddad said. Many in Lula's leftist Workers Party view the race for governor of Brazil's richest and most populous state as a key platform for the president's bid for a fourth non-consecutive term in the October election. In 2022, Haddad ran for governor but lost to right-wing incumbent Tarcisio de Freitas, who currently holds a wide lead in opinion polls. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/lula-inclined-back-haddad-nominees-brazil-central-bank-sources-say-2026-02-03/

2026-02-03 22:04

ORLANDO, Florida, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Wall Street slumped on Tuesday on concerns that tech companies could face steeper competition and lower margins as a result of AI, while precious metals rebounded sharply on renewed U.S.-Iran tensions. More on that below. In my column today I look at how President Donald Trump is shifting his interest rate focus to getting long-term U.S. yields down. The trouble is, the Fed has little control over that, no matter what it does with the policy rate. 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 * (Big) swings and roundabouts The wild price ride across a range of markets continued apace on Tuesday. Precious metals rebounded from Friday's historic losses with historic gains, as did South Korean equities, while India's rupee had its best day in six years. It's a testing time for investors, and not just traders with a typically short-term horizon. Price moves and volatility on this scale can cause serious portfolio damage. And compounding the difficulty is finding a reliable hedge - traditional safe harbors like Treasuries, the dollar and gold are not without risk either. * RBA canary in the coal mine? The Reserve Bank of Australia isn't the first G10 central bank to reverse course and raise interest rates. It follows the Bank of Japan, which is grappling with its own unique set of economic, political, FX and bond market issues. But the RBA's move is potentially significant. It raised rates because inflation is drifting further above the bank's 2-3% target range. Could the U.S. Fed be forced to do likewise later this year? After all, inflation has been above target for five years and is showing little sign of cooling. * U.S.-Iran tensions fire up again Just as it seemed like U.S.-Iran relations might be thawing, investors on Tuesday were grappling with news that the U.S. military shot down an Iranian drone in the Arabian Sea, and armed boats approached a U.S.-flagged vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. Nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran are scheduled for Friday, but developments today suggest they will be fraught. Indeed, they might not take place at all, with Iran demanding that the venue and scope of negotiations be changed. Some level of geopolitical risk premium should still be in market pricing. 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/business/global-markets-trading-day-graphic-2026-02-03/

2026-02-03 21:22

Feb 3 (Reuters) - Cadbury-parent Mondelez International (MDLZ.O) , opens new tab expects a subdued year ahead, as price increases are turning away cost‑conscious shoppers who are already wary of rising living costs and macroeconomic uncertainty. Shares of the Chicago-based company were down about 4% after the bell on Tuesday. Sign up here. Mondelez said consumers, particularly in the United States, are tightening spending and shifting toward value channels, pressuring volumes after multiple rounds of price hikes to offset sharply higher cocoa costs. Cocoa prices surged 160% in 2024 and have since dropped amid a global surplus, but the company said it has already sourced cocoa for 2026 at rates above current market levels, holding the company back from immediate price cuts on products. CEO Dirk Van de Put said U.S. consumer confidence "remains weak", with shoppers trading down and higher‑income buyers gravitating toward "better‑for‑you" snacks, especially those with protein. Europe also remains fragile, he said, though chocolate volumes there are expected to stabilize following last year’s pricing wave. The company expects its 2026 organic net revenue growth to be between flat and 2%, below analysts' expectations of a 3.84% rise, while profit is expected to grow in the range of flat to 5% on an adjusted basis, compared with expectations of a 8.3% rise, according to data compiled by LSEG. "Volumes for Mondelez decelerated sequentially as pricing accelerated - demonstrative of both a strained consumer and the need to offset input cost inflation, especially cocoa," said Michael Gunther, VP of Research and Market Intelligence at ConsumerEdge. Fourth‑quarter volumes dropped 4.8 percentage points. Meanwhile, pricing rose 9 points, contributing to a 9.3% increase in revenue to $10.50 billion, above analysts’ expectations of $10.31 billion. Adjusted profit of 72 cents per share also beat estimates by 2 cents. Mondelez said it is adjusting prices in some markets and expects that to help improve volumes. Rival PepsiCo (PEP.O) , opens new tab, which also topped quarterly results on Tuesday, said it will cut prices on core snack brands such as Lay's and Doritos by up to 15% following consumer pushback. https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/mondelez-beats-fourth-quarter-revenue-estimates-2026-02-03/