2024-02-28 00:51

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Indonesia's Pertamina upstream unit Pertamina Hulu Energi (PHE) is targeting to raise its oil production to 627,000 barrels per day, Chief Executive Officer Chalid Said Salim said on Tuesday. This would be up from 566,000 bpd in 2023. The state oil and gas explorer is also targeting natural gas output of 2.769 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) in 2024, Chalid told Reuters on the sidelines of an industry conference, similar to 2.766 mmscfd in 2023. Pertamina Hulu hopes to build on the momentum and raise its total oil and gas output by another 4-5% in 2025, Chalid said. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/pertamina-ceo-aims-higher-oil-gas-output-2024-2025-2024-02-28/

2024-02-28 00:16

NEW YORK, Feb 28 (Reuters) - The dollar jumped against the euro and yen on Wednesday as investors positioned for U.S. and European inflation data due on Thursday, with month-end portfolio rebalancing also likely to sway market direction. Bitcoin hit a more than two-year high, benefiting from strong overall market liquidity. Brad Bechtel, global head of FX at Jefferies in New York, noted that foreign exchange volatility picked up on Wednesday, which may be "hedging in front of the inflation data," and also because of month-end flows. The implied volatility used by banks to price three-month options on the euro against the dollar reached 6.01 on Wednesday, the highest since Feb. 15, and was last at 5.74. Volatility in major currency pairs has been declining, with the euro/dollar measure falling to the lowest since January 2022 on Tuesday. Traders are focused on data to give further clues on when the Federal Reserve is likely to begin cutting rates. Those expectations have been pushed to June, from May, on strong economic growth, sticky inflation and more hawkish commentary from Fed officials. Thursday's U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures release is expected to show that headline prices rose 0.3% in January for an annual gain of 2.4%. The core index is forecast to rise by 0.4% for the month, and 2.8% on the year. (USPCE=ECI) , opens new tab, (USPCEY=ECI) , opens new tab, (USPCEM=ECI) , opens new tab, (USPCE2=ECI) , opens new tab Consumer price data for Germany, France and Spain is also due on Thursday, ahead of euro area figures on Friday. "There's more chance of disinflation ongoing in the euro area, which perhaps could open the door for an earlier cut from the European Central Bank," said Danske Bank FX and rates strategist Mohamad Al-Saraf. "We think if inflation is stickier in the U.S. than it is in the euro area, then the dollar has to be strong." The dollar index was last up 0.12% at 103.96. The euro dipped 0.11% to $1.0832. Data on Wednesday showed the U.S. economy grew at a solid clip in the fourth quarter with robust consumer spending. New York Fed President John Williams said that even as there is still some distance to cover in achieving the U.S. central bank's 2% inflation target, the door is opening to interest rate cuts this year depending on how the data come in. Boston Fed President Susan Collins said the Fed will likely need to start cutting rates later this year. The yen also weakened against the greenback, approaching the 150.88 level reached on Feb. 13, which was the weakest since Nov. 16. Strength in the dollar against the yen is "an indicator of carry trades" and reflects "a very 'risk on,' high-liquidity type of environment that seems to be driving FX at the moment," Bechtel said. Traders will watch for any signs of intervention by the Bank of Japan and Ministry of Finance if the Japanese currency continues to weaken. The dollar was last up 0.12% at 150.68 yen . The kiwi dropped 1.23% to $0.6094 after reaching $0.6083, the lowest since Feb. 15. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand held rates steady on Wednesday, which was in line with forecasts but defied some outlying market bets for a rate rise. The RBNZ's rate forecast track and commentary were also slightly more dovish than some traders had anticipated. The Aussie fell 0.75% to $0.6493 after hitting $0.6488, the lowest since Feb. 15. Australia's consumer price inflation held at a two-year low in January despite forecasts for an uptick, reinforcing expectations that rates are unlikely to increase further. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin breached $60,000 for the first time since November 2021 and came close to $64,000, boosted by the launch of new U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded products. Bitcoin was last up 6.5% on the day at $60,334. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/dollar-firm-with-eyes-pce-data-kiwi-calm-before-rbnz-decision-2024-02-28/

2024-02-28 00:00

LONDON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Funds are having a hard time navigating copper's current choppy trading patterns. They flexed out short positions in both late January and earlier this month as the copper price threatened to break on the downside only to be whiplashed in the subsequent sharp rebounds. It's not the first time it has happened. Indeed, fund positioning on the CME copper contract has swung between bearish and bullish for many months as the price gyrates in a well-trodden range. Investor positioning has moved in tandem with copper's sporadic attempts to break out of that range, suggesting a preponderance of momentum-tracking funds at work. Longer-term players looking to buy into copper's bull narrative are avoiding the daily churn, preferring to bide their time in the longer-dated options market. COPPER CHURN Funds turned bearish on the CME copper contract in January but were forced to cover as the London Metal Exchange (LME) price bounced off support at $8,250 back up to $8,705 per metric ton. They turned even more bearish at the start of February, lifting outright short positions to a four-year high of 95,825 contracts. This time the price did break lower but only to stage another sharp recovery back above $8,600 per ton. Short positions have been sharply reduced again and long positions rebuilt. The net investor short position contracted from 42,309 contracts to just 8,807 in the most recent Commitments of Traders Report. LME copper is currently trading around $8,475 per ton, back in the middle of the $7,850-8,900 range that has defined the price action for almost a year. Managed money positioning on the CME has been chopping between long and short in tandem with copper's sporadic rallies and declines within that range. There is no shortage of longer-term copper bulls looking to bet on the metal's central role in the clean energy transition but the current price dynamic is discouraging any big directional play. At least in the futures market. UPSIDE BIAS The positioning landscape is very different in the LME copper options market, where there is a clear bias to the price upside. Open interest on call options, conferring the right to buy, totals 90,309 contracts through the end of this year. That on put options, conferring the right to sell, stands at 46,685 lots as of Friday's close. The ratio is higher in 2025 with 9,137 lots of call options dwarfing 874 lots of put options. Options, like futures, are tools for the copper supply chain to hedge its exposure to copper price fluctuations and a good part of LME open interest will reflect that activity. But it's also clear there are some long-term speculative players in the mix as well. SUPER BULLS LME copper options open interest is heavily weighted towards the front end of the price curve with the exception of December 2024 and December 2025. There are 31,416 lots of options expiring in December this year, making it the second most liquid month on the curve next to fast-approaching March. Call open interest of 22,169 lots overshadows the 9,247 lots of put positions. The most popular strike price for the calls is $11,000 per ton with 4,681 lots of open interest, followed by $10,000 with 3,950 lots. Some players are aiming much higher with 2,676 lots of open interest at the $12,000 strike, 913 at the $14,000 strike, 250 at the $16,000 strike and 150 at the $18,000 strike. Topping them all, however, are the super-bulls on the $20,000 strike, where there are 400 lots of open call options. The price for December 2024 copper was valued at $8,553 per ton at Monday's close. No-one's gone quite that high in December 2025 where options positions have also been accumulating. But there is a significant position on the $14,000-per ton call strike, which has 5,600 lots of open interest, equivalent to 140,000 tons of copper. December 2025 was valued at $8,582 per ton at Monday's close. The distance between option strike and current price makes it very unlikely these positions are industrial hedges. Rather, it looks like speculators taking a long-dated punt on the copper price. OUT OF THE CHOP It's not hard to see why longer-term investors have fled the chop of the short-term futures action for the quiet of the far-dated options market. Copper is locked in an extended pattern of indecision, caught between a negative macro outlook and a more positive micro picture of supply disruption and buoyant green demand. It's that combination of constrained supply and fast growth in energy transition demand that is top of mind for funds looking for higher prices once the macro gloom lifts. And in some cases much higher prices, judging by some of high-strike call option positions taken. So if you're wondering where all the super-bulls have gone, they've not left, just moved down the forward curve, betting on a much brighter copper future. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/copper-super-bulls-bide-their-time-options-market-2024-02-27/

2024-02-27 23:58

Feb 27 (Reuters) - Agilent Technologies (A.N) , opens new tab on Tuesday beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit and revenue, helped by strong sales in its life sciences and diagnostics units, sending shares up 5% in extended trading. The equipment maker reported quarterly revenue of $1.66 billion, which was above analysts' estimates of $1.58 billion, according to LSEG data. On an adjusted basis, the company made a profit of $1.29 per share, compared with analysts' estimates of $1.22 per share, helped by cost management. Revenue at Agilent's life sciences and applied markets unit dropped 10% to $846 million, but still was ahead of estimates of $747.8 million. "While still too early to call an overall market recovery, results were better than expected," CEO Michael McMullen said on a conference call. The medical equipment maker maintained its full-year 2024 profit forecast of between $5.44 and $5.55 per share. Analysts were expecting $5.49 per share. The company sees a "slow but steady recovery throughout the year," said McMullen. Larger peers Thermo Fisher (TMO.N) , opens new tab and Danaher (DHR.N) , opens new tab have said they expect that demand from biotech customers for products and services used in drug development will remain weak for the first half of 2024. Contract drug manufacturers and equipment makers have seen sluggish demand as cash-strapped drug developers remain wary of spending in a high-interest environment. The California-based company forecast second-quarter revenue between $1.56 billion to $1.59 billion, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.61 billion. https://www.reuters.com/technology/agilent-reports-better-than-expected-first-quarter-results-shares-rise-2024-02-27/

2024-02-27 23:51

Feb 28 (Reuters) - Woodside Energy (WDS.AX) , opens new tab has inked an agreement with South Korean state-owned natural gas firm Korea Gas Corp (036460.KS) , opens new tab to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) for more than a decade, the Australian oil and gas company said on Wednesday. Under the supply deal, Woodside will supply about half a million tonnes of LNG per year for 10.5 years on a delivered basis, starting in 2026. LNG to be supplied to Korea Gas will be sourced from Woodside's global portfolio, including its $12 billion Scarborough gas project which is targeting its first LNG cargo in 2026, it said. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/woodside-energy-inks-lng-supply-deal-with-south-korea-2024-02-27/

2024-02-27 23:49

Feb 27 (Reuters) - Hess (HES.N) , opens new tab said on Tuesday that a pre-emption provision does not apply to its proposed $53-billion buyout by Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab and it remains "fully committed" to the deal. On Monday, Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab said it may preempt Chevron's acquisition of a 30% stake in a giant Guyana oil block, the centerpiece of the deal. "There is no possible scenario in which Exxon or CNOOC could acquire Hess' interest in Guyana as a result of the Chevron-Hess transaction," the company said. "We are fully committed to the transaction and don’t believe the ROFR (right of first refusal) or these discussions will prevent its successful completion." Hess said in a separate note that the preempt of a right of first refusal would not trigger a $1.7 billion break up fee if the deal falls apart. "Per the S-4 filing, the merger agreement does not provide for breakup fees relating to the right of first refusal provision." https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/hess-says-pre-emption-provision-doesnt-apply-buyout-deal-with-chevron-2024-02-27/