2026-02-02 12:06

Increased chicken demand offsets beef losses for Tyson Foods Tyson's net sales rise 5.1%, beating analyst estimates Beef unit reports $143 million loss due to soaring cattle costs CHICAGO, Feb 2 (Reuters) - U.S. meatpacker Tyson Foods (TSN.N) , opens new tab reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings on Monday, as increased demand for its chicken products overshadowed hefty losses in its beef business. Beef prices have climbed after ranchers slashed the size of the U.S. cattle herd due to a persistent drought that burned up pastures and hiked feeding costs, prompting some consumers to eat more lower-cost chicken instead. Sign up here. The herd shrank to a 75-year low as of January 1, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Friday. Although meatpackers benefit from rising beef prices, they have paid increased costs to buy cattle to slaughter. Tyson said its cattle costs climbed about $850 million in the quarter that ended on December 27, compared to a year earlier. The Arkansas-based company's net sales rose 5.1% to $14.31 billion in the first quarter, beating the average analyst estimate of $14.09 billion. Its adjusted earnings per share of 97 cents topped expectations of 94 cents. Shares were down slightly in premarket trading. Sales in Tyson's chicken unit rose 3.7% for the quarter, though the segment's adjusted operating income slipped to $459 million from $471 million a year earlier. Tyson said it anticipates operating income of $1.65 billion to $1.90 billion on an adjusted basis in fiscal 2026, up from a previous forecast of $1.25 billion to $1.5 billion. For beef, sales volumes fell 7.3% as prices soared 17.2%. The unit reported an adjusted operating loss of $143 million, compared to income of $6 million a year earlier. Tyson revised its projected loss for the beef business in fiscal 2026 to $250 million to $500 million, compared to its previous outlook for losses of $400 million to $600 million. Retail prices for chicken legs in December were down about 3% from a year earlier at $1.73 per pound, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. By contrast, retail prices for ground beef reached a record $6.69 per pound in December, up 19% from a year earlier. Tyson has said it is closing a major beef plant in Lexington, Nebraska, and reducing operations at a beef plant in Amarillo, Texas. https://www.reuters.com/business/tyson-foods-beats-quarterly-profit-estimates-chicken-demand-2026-02-02/

2026-02-02 12:04

LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - British firm Binding Solutions has signed an agreement with a unit of Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co (8031.T) , opens new tab to turn iron ore in Western Australia's huge Pilbara region into low-carbon pellets, Binding Solutions said on Monday. The privately held company says its technology cuts energy and CO2 emissions in the production of iron ore pellets compared to the established method. Sign up here. Binding Solutions has signed a memorandum of understanding with Mitsui Iron Ore Development over the production of cold agglomerated pellets, a statement said, which use less energy to make than conventional pellets. Its CEO Jon Stewart said the progress it had already made working with MIOD to develop the pellets from Pilbara, the world's largest iron ore producing region, creates "a significant additional market opportunity" for the firm. Under the preliminary agreement, Binding Solutions will use its technology to turn lower-grade "fines" iron ore material from the Pilbara into pellets, which command a price premium. Mitsui has investments in Pilbara iron ore operations with major producers BHP (BHP.AX) , opens new tab and Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) , opens new tab. Binding Solutions has had industrial trials with British Steel and with Germany's Salzgitter (SZGG.DE) , opens new tab, and is seeking to build an industrial-scale plant. Iron ore fines have to go through a process called sintering, which uses very high temperatures and is usually highly polluting, before they can be used in a blast furnace. Pellets are also in demand because they can be used in electric arc furnaces, which many steelmakers are switching to in a drive to cut carbon emissions. In February last year, Mitsui said it would acquire a 40% stake in the Rio Tinto-operated (RIO.L) , opens new tab Rhodes Ridge iron ore project in Western Australia for $5.34 billion. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/uk-firm-signs-deal-with-mitsui-make-iron-ore-pellets-pilbara-material-2026-02-02/

2026-02-02 12:03

Feb 2 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Monday will consider a request from Danish energy company Orsted (ORSTED.CO) , opens new tab to block the Trump administration's halt on its Sunrise Wind project off the coast of New York. The preliminary injunction request is the fifth brought by an offshore wind developer since the Interior Department's December 22 pause on five offshore wind leases in federal waters. The agency stopped work on the multi-billion-dollar facilities due to national security concerns around radar interference. Sign up here. Orsted has spent or committed more than $7 billion to date to build Sunrise Wind, the company said in a court filing. If the stop-work order is not lifted by February 6, the project risks losing access to a specialized vessel needed to complete installation of an offshore cable, Orsted added. "Such delay would in turn delay revenue generation, compromise the Project's financial viability, and create a substantial risk of its cancellation," the company said in a court filing. The Interior Department has argued that the suspension is justified by new, classified information about risks to national security from the operation of offshore wind farms. Four projects, including Orsted's Revolution Wind off the coast of Rhode Island, have won court orders to resume construction while their underlying lawsuits proceed. The Sunrise Wind hearing in U.S. District Court in Washington will be before Judge Royce Lamberth, who granted the injunction for Revolution Wind in January. Offshore wind developers have faced repeated disruptions under U.S. President Donald Trump, who has said he finds wind turbines ugly, expensive and inefficient. Sunrise Wind is located 30 miles east of Long Island, New York and is about 45% complete, according to Orsted. Once built, the project will produce enough power for nearly 600,000 homes. It is expected to start operating as soon as October. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/us-judge-consider-last-project-challenge-trump-offshore-wind-pause-2026-02-02/

2026-02-02 11:58

Feb 2 (Reuters) - J.P. Morgan expects gold prices to reach $6,300 per ounce by the end of 2026, as demand from central banks and investors continues, it said in a note on Monday. The brokerage now forecasts central-bank gold purchases at 800 tons in 2026, citing an ongoing, unexhausted trend of reserve diversification. Sign up here. "Even with the recent near-term volatility, we remain firmly bullishly convicted in gold over the medium-term on the back of a clean, structural, continued diversification trend that has further to run amid a still well-entrenched regime of real asset outperformance vs paper assets," the brokerage said in a note on Monday. Bullion fell more than 9.8% on January 30, in its sharpest one-day drop since 1983, and extended its fall on Monday, as increased CME (CME.O) , opens new tab margin requirements added to selling pressure. Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank on Monday reiterated its gold price forecast of $6,000 an ounce in 2026, citing sustained investor demand for the precious metal despite an adjustment in prices. Following is a list of analysts' latest gold price forecasts (in $ per ounce): *end-of-period forecasts https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/jp-morgan-expects-gold-prices-reach-6300oz-by-end-2026-2026-02-02/

2026-02-02 11:48

Teapots draw on Iranian oil stocks in tanks, ships Iranian oil cheapest among Venezuelan replacements, sources say Venezuelan crude in floating storage in Asia nearly halves in January, Kpler data shows SINGAPORE, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Chinese independent refiners are buying discounted Iranian heavy crude to replace Venezuelan shipments that have stalled after the U.S. claimed control of the OPEC producer last month, two people with knowledge of the matter said on Monday. The drawdown of Iranian oil held in storage is making up for the drop in Venezuelan supply to the world's largest crude importer, they said. Sign up here. Venezuelan shipments to China have fallen sharply since mid-December after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a blockade on sanctioned ships, part of a campaign against President Nicolas Maduro which culminated in his capture by U.S. forces on January 3. Trump has said the U.S. intends to control Venezuela’s oil sales and revenues indefinitely. Washington has assigned global trading firms Vitol and Trafigura to sell up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil which state firm PetroChina (601857.SS) , opens new tab held off from buying as it assessed the U.S.-controlled purchases. TEAPOTS SEEK IRANIAN HEAVY AND PARS CRUDE China's independent refiners, who used to be the biggest buyers of Venezuelan crude, have snapped up Iranian heavy crude stored in bonded storage tanks in China and on ships, the sources said. The refiners, known as teapots and mostly based in the country's eastern Shandong province, prioritised purchases of sanctioned crude because of steep discounts, rather than buying Venezuelan cargoes marketed by Vitol or Trafigura, or heavy grades from Canada, traders said. The teapots are seeking more shipments of Iranian Heavy and Pars crude grades for delivery to China later in February and March, one of the two sources added. They declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter. Discounts of Iranian Heavy were about $12 per barrel to ICE Brent, making it the cheapest available substitute, the sources said. Russian Urals, another alternative, traded at a discount of $11 to $12 per barrel below ICE Brent for March delivery into China. The teapots were unlikely to take up Vitol's offer to Chinese buyers of Venezuelan crude at discounts of roughly $5 per barrel to ICE Brent for April delivery, trade sources said last month, given the sharp increase in prices from a discount of about $15. VENEZUELA SUPPLY FALLS China's imports of Venezuelan crude averaged 394,000 barrels per day for 2025, or around 4% of China's total seaborne crude imports, data from analytics firm Kpler showed. As the number of oil tankers departing Venezuela for China has fallen sharply, floating storage of Venezuela-origin crude oil in Asia slumped to 8.26 million barrels on January 28, half of the 16 million barrels at the start of 2026, Kpler data showed. Meanwhile, Iranian oil stored on tankers in Asia dipped to 41.72 million barrels from 46.25 million barrels during the same period, the data showed. Russia-origin crude floating storage in Asia climbed to a month's high above 10 million barrels last week on lower demand from India and Turkey, according to Kpler. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/chinas-teapots-buy-iranian-oil-replace-venezuelan-supply-sources-say-2026-02-02/

2026-02-02 11:48

TOKYO, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Japan's government said on Monday that it has successfully retrieved rare-earth-rich seabed mud for the first time from depths of around 6 km (4 miles) during a test mission. A Japanese scientific drill ship departed on January 12 for the remote Minamitori Island to explore rare-earth-rich mud deposits, part of Tokyo's effort to reduce its reliance on China for critical minerals as Beijing chokes off supplies. Sign up here. The month-long mission by the test vessel Chikyu near Minamitori Island, about 1,900 km (1,200 miles) southeast of Tokyo, marks the world's first attempt to continuously lift rare-earth-bearing seabed mud from such depths to a ship. After arriving at the site on January 17, the vessel began recovery operations on January 30 and confirmed the first successful retrieval of rare-earth mud on February 1, according to the Cabinet Office's national platform for innovative ocean development. Recovery operations had been completed at three locations by Monday, said Ayumi Yoshimatsu, a spokesperson for the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), which operates the vessel. Analysis of the recovered material, including its volume and mineral content, will be conducted after the ship returns to Shimizu port in central Japan on February 15, Yoshimatsu said. The mud is believed to contain dysprosium and neodymium, used in electric vehicle motor magnets, as well as gadolinium and terbium, which are used in a range of high-tech products. "Barring major issues, Japan plans to proceed with a full-scale mining trial in February 2027," she added. China last month banned exports of dual-use items that can be used for military purposes to Japan, including rare earths, amid a diplomatic dispute. Japanese components manufacturer TDK (6762.T) , opens new tab said on Monday that it is being affected by Chinese export restrictions on rare earths and is taking steps to diversify its procurement sources. https://www.reuters.com/science/japan-retrieves-rare-earth-mud-deep-seabed-test-mission-2026-02-02/