2024-03-06 15:26

WASHINGTON, March 6 (Reuters) - U.S. job openings fell marginally in January, while hiring declined as labor market conditions continue to gradually ease. Job openings, a measure of labor demand, slipped 26,000 to 8.863 million on the last day of January, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, on Wednesday. Data for December was revised lower to show 8.889 million unfilled positions instead of the previously reported 9.026 million. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 8.9 million job openings in January. Job openings peaked at a record 12.0 million in March 2022. Hiring fell 100,000 to 5.687 million. The number of workers resigning from their jobs fell 54,000 to 3.385 million in January. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in prepared remarks to lawmakers on Wednesday that the U.S. central bank expected to start cutting interest rates this year, but cautioned that "the economic outlook is uncertain, and ongoing progress toward our 2% inflation objective is not assured." Since March 2022, the Fed has raised its policy rate by 525 basis points to the current 5.25%-5.50% range. The Labor Department is expected to report on Friday that nonfarm payrolls increased by 200,000 in February, according to a Reuters survey of economists. The economy added 353,000 positions in January. Job growth has cooled from the brisk pace in 2022, but payroll gains are well above the roughly 100,000 jobs needed per month to keep up with growth in the working-age population. The unemployment rate is forecast unchanged at 3.7% and annual wage growth slowing to 4.4% from 4.5% in January. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-job-openings-fall-marginally-january-2024-03-06/

2024-03-06 14:36

March 6 (Reuters) - U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that continued progress on inflation "is not assured," though the central bank still expects to reduce its benchmark interest rate later this year. "If the economy evolves broadly as expected, it will likely be appropriate to begin dialing back policy restraint at some point this year," Powell said in remarks prepared for delivery to the House Financial Services Committee as U.S. lawmakers prepare to face inflation-weary voters in a charged presidential election year. "But the economic outlook is uncertain, and ongoing progress toward our 2% inflation objective is not assured," Powell said. MARKET REACTION: - S&P 500 e-mini futures added to gains and were up 0.59% - The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes fell 1.4 basis points to 4.123%. The 2-year note yield ticked higher but was still off 1.9 basis points at 4.5328% vs late Tuesday - The dollar index extended a loss to -0.29% at 103.48; with the euro added to a 0.28% gain to $1.0885. COMMENTS: MARVIN LOH, SENIOR GLOBAL MACRO STRATEGIST, STATE STREET, BOSTON “Powell pretty much straight out said that they're done with rate hikes. That's a big risk the market was concerned with. Certainly, they feel that policy is restricted enough that it's going to do its job. It's just a matter of how long it's going to take. It’s very similar to what he said in January and it really was the market that overinterpreted the probability of cuts being too aggressive. “What we've seen is a committee that's not sure about inflation versus being in restrictive territory. There's a group that says that until we really get inflation moving to 2% convincingly, we need to stay tight. Then there's another group that's like, ‘you know what? We're restrictive. Our neutral rate is 2 1/2% and we're over double that. We should be in a position to start normalizing rates.’ “They're comfortable with the idea of rate cuts just to start to normalize the process. That’s the next step. But how quickly you get there really is where the market’s playing on the fringe.” CHRIS ZACCARELLI, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, INDEPENDENT ADVISOR ALLIANCE, CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA “The chairman has been consistent at least in some of the last couple meetings and the fact that Powell has reiterated that they will cut rates later this year, I think is good for the markets. “The markets went from expecting a lot of rate cuts to just starting to worry about whether or not the Fed was going to cut at all this year, and the fact that they were saying that they still want to cut, I think on balance is good news for markets.” PHIL BLANCATO, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, LADENBURG THALMANN ASSET MANAGEMENT, NEW YORK "The comments are in line with what we expect from the chair at this point. He's been very measured in what he said about the overall health of the U.S. economy. And from an inflationary standpoint, we're not there yet. His comments are going to once again support the narratives that the Fed's not ready to cut yet and that means the first cut is more likely in the fall rather than anytime sooner." RICK MECKLER, PARTNER, CHERRY LANE INVESTMENTS, NEW JERSEY “I don't think stock investors expected much different from him (Powell). It's still significant that they (the Fed) expect rates to be lowered later this year and that's really what investors have been focused on - that the end seems in sight for the really restrictive front-end rates.” “(Investors) continue to seek stocks that have high growth rates and can do well in the current economy.” KARL SCHAMOTTA, CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST, CORPAY, TORONTO "Powell clearly warned markets against expecting an imminent pivot to rate cuts, following in many of his colleague's footsteps in saying that the Fed will need "greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably to 2%" before beginning to ease. He did acknowledge that it will likely be appropriate to begin dialing back policy restraint at some point this year," but also noted that price risks - as embodied in January’s hotter-than-expected data - could mean that "ongoing progress toward our 2% inflation objective is not assured". "Odds on an upward move in the "dot plot" summary of economic projections at the Fed’s late-March meeting are firming somewhat, but Powell broadly failed to "outhawk" markets and the dollar is holding steady relative to its major rivals." https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/view-feds-powell-sees-us-cuts-2024-inflation-progress-risk-2024-03-06/

2024-03-06 13:00

LITTLETON, Colorado, March 6 (Reuters) - Italy's average wholesale power prices have been the highest among major European markets for the past three years, elevated by a substantially greater reliance on natural gas for electricity generation than rival economies. Wholesale power prices in Italy averaged 127 euros ($137.80) per megawatt hour in 2023, according to LSEG, which was a third more than the average power prices in Germany and France last year, and over 50% higher than the average price in Spain. Italy's power costs have climbed further above some key rival economies so far in 2024, with wholesale prices last month averaging nearly 40% above prices in France and 60% more than wholesale prices in Spain. Such a stiff power cost premium over regional counterparts has hurt major power consumers in Italy, especially industry and large manufacturers, some of which have been forced to cut energy use and production over the past year or so to avoid racking up steep financial losses. GAS DEPENDENCE Italy's relatively higher reliance on natural gas for electricity generation was a key driver behind the elevated power costs. The share of natural gas in Italy's electricity generation mix in 2023 was just over 45%, compared to 6% in France, 15% in Germany and 23% in Spain, data from think tank Ember shows. Such a high dependence on natural gas means Italy's utilities have had little scope to dispatch other forms of power for generation, even with annual increases in renewable power production in the country. This in turn has meant that as regional natural gas prices have soared since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and replacement supplies in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports and alternate pipelines have also jumped in price, Italy's power firms have had to pass on those higher costs to consumers. Some large energy consumers, especially industry, have balked at paying sharply higher power bills, and instead reduced total energy use - and business output. This in turn allowed power firms to cut electricity output from natural gas-fired power plants to the lowest since 2015 last year, and coal-fired output to the lowest in three years, while lifting the proportion of renewables in the overall generation mix. Going forward, however, any sustained increase in total electricity generation levels will require utilities to burn more gas in power stations, exposing them to potential further hikes in power costs. BREAKING THE FOSSIL FIX Fossil fuels have accounted for roughly 60% of total electricity generation in Italy over the past decade, with natural gas alone accounting for around 50% in recent years. Until 2019, thermal coal had accounted for an additional 12% to 15% of electricity output, but pollution reduction efforts led to the closure of some outdated coal plants which served to push coal's share of the electricity generation mix to a record low of 5.3% in 2023. However, reduced coal-fired output has forced power firms to further boost their reliance on gas as the main pillar of the country's power system, even as gas prices climbed in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war. Italy's power firms have also tried to boost electricity generation from other sources, with solar generation up by 37% and wind generation up by 34% since 2018, Ember data shows. Hydro facilities also play a key role in clean power generation in Italy, and in 2023 accounted for 15% of total electricity output. However, hydro output levels can be volatile due to droughts, such as in 2022 when total hydro generation dropped to the lowest in over 20 years and accounted for just 10% of total electricity output. Such unpredictable output from hydro plants, along with the intermittent generation from solar and wind farms, means that Italy's power firms are unlikely to be able to cut their use of natural gas for baseload generation any time soon. And that, in turn, means any further increases in regional natural gas prices may keep Italy's power prices higher than in elsewhere in Europe. ($1 = 0.9217 euros) https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/italys-power-users-pay-price-high-reliance-natural-gas-2024-03-06/

2024-03-06 12:57

WARSAW, March 6 (Reuters) - Thousands of Polish farmers protested outside the prime minister's office on Wednesday, burning tyres and throwing firecrackers as they demanded a halt to cheap imports and environmental regulations they say harm their livelihoods. Some of the protesters carried a coffin bearing a sign saying "farmer, lived 20 years, killed by the Green Deal" as they thronged the street, blowing horns and holding Polish flags aloft before they plan to march on parliament. Elsewhere in the country, they blocked roads. Television footage showed tractors on the outskirts of Warsaw being stopped from entering the city. Farmers across the European Union have been calling for changes to restrictions placed on them by the bloc's Green Deal plan to tackle climate change and for customs duties on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine that were waived after Russia's invasion to be reimposed. In Poland, this has created a delicate balancing act for Donald Tusk's government in a year where it faces both local and European elections, as it seeks to address farmers' concerns while also maintaining its staunch support for Kyiv. The farmers, who were making good on their promise to return to Warsaw after thousands of them marched through the city a week earlier, were now backed by Poland's biggest labour union NSZZ Solidarnosc, as well as hunters and forestry workers. "Miners, steel workers, automotive, food industry and many other industries are here," the union's leader Piotr Duda said through a bullhorn, addressing protesters in front Tusk's office. "The most important thing is that we are together, because we have one common demand: down with the Green Deal, down with the green venom." Tusk has said that market disruptions were not only caused by agricultural products from Ukraine, but also those from Russia and its ally Belarus. On Monday he said Poland planned to ask the European Union to ban imports of agricultural products from Russia and Belarus. The prime minister has invited farmers leaders for talks on Saturday. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/polish-farmers-burn-tyres-outside-tusks-office-return-protests-2024-03-06/

2024-03-06 12:51

OSLO, March 6 (Reuters) - Norway has reached an agreement with Sami reindeer herders that allows the country's largest wind farm to stay in operation, ending a dispute over Indigenous rights, the country's energy ministry said on Wednesday. Norway's supreme court ruled in 2021 that the Storheia and Roan wind farms in Fosen in central Norway violated Sami rights under international conventions, prompting huge protests last year over the protracted process to implement the ruling. An agreement was reached in December with one group of reindeer herders, in Fosen South, while a second group, Fosen North, had continued to oppose the wind farms. Wednesday's agreement encompassed the northern group of herders and Roan Vind, owned by Aneo, Germany's Stadtwerke Muenchen and Nordic Wind Power, the Norwegian ministry said in a statement. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/norway-ends-fosen-wind-farm-dispute-2024-03-06/

2024-03-06 12:46

March 6 (Reuters) - High levels of cancer-causing chemical benzene were detected in some acne treatments of brands including Estee Lauder's (EL.N) , opens new tab Clinique and Target's (TGT.N) , opens new tab Up & Up, independent U.S. laboratory Valisure said on Wednesday. The New Haven, Connecticut-based lab has also filed a petition with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, calling on the regulator to recall the products, conduct an investigation and revise industry guidance. Benzene, which has already been found in certain sunscreens and dry shampoo, could form at "unacceptably high levels" in both prescription and over-the-counter benzoyl peroxide acne treatment products, said Valisure. Estee Lauder shares dropped 3% following the report. Target and Estee Lauder did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. High levels of benzene were not only found in the acne products tested, but also in the air around incubated products, indicating that the carcinogen could leak out of some of the packages, posing a potential inhalation risk, Valisure said. Bloomberg News had reported the development earlier in the day. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/cancer-causing-chemical-found-some-acne-treatments-us-lab-reports-2024-03-06/