2024-04-23 22:48
HOUSTON, April 23 (Reuters) - The first tanker in 12 days set sail from Freeport LNG's Texas export terminal on Tuesday, signaling the resumption of gas processing after an outage this month. Freeport LNG, one of the largest U.S. liquefied natural gas export facilities, has suffered several outages this year with all processing units recently out of service, pressuring U.S. natural gas prices and adding to prices in Europe. Tanker BW Pavilion Leeara was partially loaded when it left Freeport LNG's dock late Tuesday, vessel tracking data from financial firm LSEG showed. It was the first vessel to depart the Quintana, Texas, plant since April 11. Pipeline gas flows were on track to reach .8 billion cubic feet (bcf), up from .1 bcf last Friday. Normal flow to the plant is about 2.2 billion to 2.4 billion cubic feet per day. A Freeport LNG spokesperson declined to comment. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/first-tanker-12-days-sets-sail-freeport-lng-texas-2024-04-23/
2024-04-23 22:29
April 23 (Reuters) - Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) New Tab, opens new tab said on Tuesday that it has cut its debt by $1.14 billion in the first quarter. The company in February had announced a series of capital restructuring measures that would strengthen its balance sheet and cut debt, a move that will help the Canadian miner deliver on its "operational objectives." The company's total debt as of March 31 stands at $5.99 billion, down from its previous debt of $7.38 billion. The copper miner reported a net loss attributable to shareholders of the company at $159 million for the quarter ended March. 31, as the company continues to be impacted by Cobre Panama mine closure. It had posted a profit of $75 million in the year-ago quarter. The Cobre Panama project, one of the world's largest open-pit copper mines, was forced to shut down after Panama's top court ruled that its contract was unconstitutional. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/first-quantum-minerals-cuts-debt-by-over-1-bln-first-quarter-2024-04-23/
2024-04-23 22:01
LONDON, April 23 (Reuters) - The London Metal Exchange (LME) moved on Tuesday to stop traders from taking Russian aluminium from its approved warehouses and returning it at a later date to profit from rule changes to comply with new sanctions. The U.S. and Britain earlier this month banned the LME from accepting new Russian production of aluminium, copper and nickel to restrict Russian revenues from the export of these metals. The London exchange has banned from its system Russian aluminium, copper and nickel produced from April 13 to comply with the sanctions imposed over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. For metal produced before April 13, LME rules differentiate between Type 1 and Type 2 Russian warrants which created an opportunity to tie up metal in lucrative "rent deals". Warrants are title documents conferring ownership. Type 1 contracts allow UK LME members and their clients to freely trade Russian metal warrants in existence before April 13. Type 2 covers Russian metal produced before April 13 but not yet on LME warrant, and which UK companies can only trade or take physical delivery of for non-UK clients. "When a Type 1 Russian Warrant is re-issued, the owner has the option to convert it to a Type 2 Russian Warrant," the LME said in a release to its members. "However, this does not change the fact that ... the warrant may still be cancelled (metal earmarked to leave LME warehouses) and loaded-out by UK Persons because it was on warrant as at the end of 12 April 2024." Metal industry sources said clarification of the rules was to stop rent deals or agreements that allow LME warehouses to share their fees or rental income with companies that deliver metal to them. Under rent deals, the company that delivers metal to a warehouse does not have to retain ownership, but can get a share of the rent, paid by the new owners, for as long as the metal stays in that warehouse. "The LME has made some refinements to its approach, with the aim of ensuring fairness, reducing administrative burden and facilitating the circulation of globally usable metal without compromising the protection of its market from potential breaches of UK sanctions," the exchange said in response to a request for comment. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/lme-moves-stop-gaming-russian-aluminium-sanctions-based-rule-2024-04-23/
2024-04-23 21:53
April 23 (Reuters) - Oilfield services firm Baker Hughes (BKR.O) New Tab, opens new tab beat analysts' estimates for first-quarter profit on higher international drilling demand and increased its dividend. Brent crude rose nearly 10% in the quarter on an average, prompting oil firms to drill more, creating demand for oilfield services and equipment offered by Baker Hughes and rivals. International rig count, an indicator of future production, was up 5.4% at 965 on an average at the end of the first quarter, from a year earlier, according to Baker Hughes data. Total revenue from its international segment was up at $2.79 billion in the quarter, compared with $2.59 billion a year earlier. Earlier in the day, the company said it had received an order to supply equipment for the third phase of oil giant Aramco's gas network expansion project in Saudi Arabia. Baker Hughes rounds out a quarter when the top three oilfield services companies' results were lifted by robust international activity. SLB (SLB.N) New Tab, opens new tab and Halliburton (HAL.N) New Tab, opens new tab benefited from demand in their international operations that helped offset weakness in North America. Total quarterly revenue from the North America segment fell to $990 million from $992 million, Baker Hughes said, as multi-year low natural gas prices forced operators in the U.S. to rein in activity. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to 21 cents per share, from 19 cents per share a year earlier. CEO Lorenzo Simonelli said Baker was "on-track to deliver 60%-80% of free cash flow to shareholders." The company repurchased $158 million of shares during the quarter. Baker Hughes reported an adjusted profit of 43 cents per share for the quarter ended March 31, compared with analysts' average estimate of 40 cents, according to LSEG data. Houston-based Baker's revenue rose 12.3% to $6.42 billion, topping estimates of $6.37 billion. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/baker-hughes-beats-first-quarter-profit-estimates-2024-04-23/
2024-04-23 21:47
April 24 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets. Investors continue to breathe life back into risky assets, paving the way for a positive market open in Asia on Wednesday as attention in the region turns to the latest interest rate decision and guidance from Indonesia. Trade figures from Thailand and New Zealand, service sector producer inflation data from Japan and consumer price inflation from Australia are the other main highlights from a packed calendar on Wednesday. Yen-buying intervention from Japanese authorities still hasn't materialized, and with the Bank of Japan opening its two-day policy meeting on Thursday, it may be that Tokyo stays out of the currency market at least until next week. That is by no means certain, and the closer the dollar gets towards 155.00 yen, the more vigilant traders will be. China's yuan, meanwhile, continues to weaken too. It slid to a new five-month low against the dollar in spot trading on Tuesday and the central bank set its official guidance rate at a seven-week low also. Indonesia's central bank is expected to leave its seven-day repo rate on hold at 6.00%, with an outside chance of a quarter point hike, according to a Reuters poll. The bank's first rate cut has been pushed out to the third quarter and the rupiah's slide has also reduced the amount of easing expected this year. The general tone across Asian markets on Wednesday should be positive, at least initially, after the S&P 500 and MSCI World index on Tuesday put in their best performances in two months, Britain's FTSE 100 hit a record high, and the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index registered its biggest rise in a month. Strong demand for a $69 billion sale of two-year U.S. Treasuries on Tuesday, lower bonds yields across the curve, and a weaker dollar all helped fuel the positive sentiment, a confluence of events that loosens financial conditions. The U.S. earnings season delivered encouraging news as well, with Spotify (SPOT.N) New Tab, opens new tab and General Motors (GM.N) New Tab, opens new tab among those reporting strong results. Tesla's (TSLA.O) New Tab, opens new tab revenue fell and earnings fell short of forecasts, but shares jumped in after hours trade after the firm said it had pulled forward the launch of new models. Could it be that the recent equity market wobble that saw major indices pull back 5% and some of the world's biggest single stocks like Nvidia (NVDA.O) New Tab, opens new tab tumble 10%, is now over? Perhaps, although there are good reasons to be cautious. Meanwhile, Sino-U.S. tensions may be bubbling up again ahead of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to China later this week. According to a U.S. official, the U.S. has preliminarily discussed sanctions on some Chinese banks as a way to curb Beijing's support for Russia. Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Wednesday: - Indonesia interest rate decision - Australia consumer inflation (March, Q1) - Japan services producer price inflation (March) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/global-markets-view-asia-graphic-pix-2024-04-23/
2024-04-23 20:59
April 23 (Reuters) - EQT Corp (EQT.N) New Tab, opens new tab on Tuesday cut its forecast for full-year sales volume and extended production curtailments through May, as the largest U.S. natural gas producer looks to tackle persistently low prices for the commodity. Natural gas prices plunged 20.4% in the first quarter on higher-than-expected output, warmer winter and outages at LNG facilities. EQT now expects full-year sales volume of between 2,100 billions of cubic feet equivalent (bcfe) and 2,200 bcfe, compared with 2,200 bcfe and 2,300 bcfe earlier. The company extended curtailments of 1 billion cubic feet per day through May, adding it could continue thereafter depending on market conditions. It had previously expected to curtail production until March. "We expect the gas E&P group could see another tailwind from EQT's decision to extend its production curtailments, and think other operators should follow suit until meaningful demand rebalances the market," said Bertrand Donnes, analyst at Truist Securities. Peers including Chesapeake Energy (CHK.O) New Tab, opens new tab, Coterra Energy (CTRA.N) New Tab, opens new tab and Antero Resources (AR.N) New Tab, opens new tab have unveiled plans to cut production. Last month, EQT agreed to buy Equitrans Midstream (ETRN.N) New Tab, opens new tab to lower costs to produce and transport its natural gas to market by adding more than 2,000 miles of pipelines. EQT reported a slump in net income attributable to company the to $103 million, from $1.22 billion in the year-ago quarter, largely weighed down by a sharp drop gain from derivatives. The Appalachian Basin-focused operator's quarterly operating revenue fell 46.9% to $1.41 billion. Still, the company reported a profit of 82 cents per share for the three months ended March 31, above analysts' average estimate of 64 cents, according to LSEG data. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/eqt-cuts-annual-sales-volume-outlook-natgas-prices-decline-2024-04-23/
