2023-12-18 11:08

Aug 14 (Reuters) - Attacks on vessels in the Red Sea by Iran-aligned Houthi militants have disrupted a shipping route vital to east-west trade, with prolonged rerouting of shipments pushing freight rates higher and causing congestion in Asian and European ports. Below are some actions and comments by major shipping companies and freight forwarders, in alphabetical order: CMA CGM The French shipping group suspended most Red Sea voyages, though its CEO Rodolphe Saade said in February it was still sending some cargoes on a case by case basis when French navy escorts were possible. DIANA SHIPPING (DSX.N) , opens new tab "Suez Canal transits are running about 40% below those seen during the first half of December last year. This is partially the result of several operators including ourselves avoiding the area," President Anastasios Margaronis said in February. DSV (DSV.CO) , opens new tab The world's third-largest freight forwarder DSV (DSV.CO) , opens new tab said in July that higher freight volume boosted earnings in the second quarter. It also expects a positive impact from the disruptions in the second half of the year. EVERGREEN (2603.TW) , opens new tab The Taiwanese container shipping line said in December its vessels on regional services to Red Sea ports would sail to safe waters nearby, while ships scheduled to pass through the Red Sea would be rerouted around Africa. HAPAG-LLOYD (HLAG.DE) , opens new tab The German container shipping line decided in January to reroute its vessels around Africa until further notice. "For the moment, we plan to go around the Cape of Good Hope until the end of the year," CEO Rolf Habben Jansen said on Aug. 14. The company said in June it did not expect the industry to resume sailing in the Red Sea even if a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel was reached immediately. It has also said the disruptions and global vessel oversupply would force it to cut expenses in 2024, including adapting sailings. KUEHNE + NAGEL (KNIN.S) , opens new tab The Swiss logistics group said in March it expected the impact from the disruptions to last into the coming quarters. It said on July 23 the impact on its business was minimal, and it was ready for higher second-half demand after increased use of its Sea-Air Logistics service. MAERSK (MAERSKb.CO) , opens new tab Maersk said on Aug. 1 it expected the disruptions to continue at least until the end of 2024, as it raised its full-year outlook again partly due to the crisis. The Danish group, which has suspended Red Sea traffic, said in July it was experiencing a cascading impact from disruptions in the region, with congestions to its entire ocean network. MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) said in December its ships would not transit through the Suez Canal. NIPPON YUSEN (9101.T) , opens new tab Japan's biggest shipper by sales suspended navigation through the Red Sea for all vessels, a spokesperson told Reuters in January. OCEAN NETWORK EXPRESS The joint venture between Japan's Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (9107.T) , opens new tab, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (9104.T) , opens new tab and Nippon Yusen said in December it would reroute vessels around the Cape of Good Hope or temporarily pause journeys and move to safe areas. OOCL The Hong Kong-headquartered container group said in December it had instructed vessels to either divert away from the Red Sea or suspend sailing. It also stopped , opens new tab accepting cargo to and from Israel until further notice. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/shipping-firms-avoid-red-sea-houthi-attacks-increase-2023-12-18/

2023-12-18 11:01

A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike Dolan Despite a tentative pushback from central banks against what some see as excessive interest rate cut bets for next year, U.S. markets retained the warm holiday glow of credit easing ahead - with one wary eye on the Bank of Japan. The BOJ is the last of the G4 central banks to make its final 2023 policy decision this Tuesday - and also the most out of step. Far from the rate cut nods and winks from the Federal Reserve and others last week, there's still an outside chance the BOJ could tighten monetary policy this week. While most see an exit from negative interest rates delayed as far away as April, the central bank has been tweaking its yield curve caps all year, could nuance those again and pressure from business lobbies to 'normalize' policy soon is building. That background risk kept a pall over Japanese stocks (.N225) on Monday and Asia bourses were lower more broadly - amid yet another slide in Chinese (.CSI300) and Hong Kong (.HSI) indexes. The yen , which surged on the dollar last week on the burst of Fed easing hopes, fell back a touch today however. And yet, fresh from notching their longest weekly winning streak in six years last week (.SPX), and either at or within a whisker of record highs, Wall St stock futures looked to sustain the momentum into the new week. Despite Fed officials attempts on Friday to dampen market easing bets, futures markets are still gunning for as much as 150 basis points of rate cuts in 2024 starting as soon as March - twice what Fed policymakers indicated last week. New York Fed boss John Williams said it was premature to be talking about rate cuts yet. Atlanta Fed chief Raphael Bostic told Reuters he saw no easing until the third quarter and only two rate cuts all year. And yet the optimism is hard to contain, with the latest economic readouts showing a mixed picture of manufacturing and industry. Ten-year Treasury yields plumbed below 3.90% early on Monday, some 34bps lower compared to this time last week. Two-year yields at 3.4% are down more than 30bps over the past week too. A big week for U.S. housing data kicks off with the NAHB U.S. homebuilder December survey on Monday, with eyes also on PCE inflation updates and a 20-year Treasury bond auction. There was similar picture in Europe, where markets are also betting on 150bps of European Central Bank easing next year - starting in April - and 10-year bund yields are testing 2% for the first time since March. Even though German business morale unexpectedly worsened in December, according to the Ifo institute's latest survey, ECB officials have aped their Fed counterparts by prodding markets away from assuming rate cuts before midyear. ECB policymaker and Slovenia's central banker Bostjan Vasle doubled down on that message on Monday and said the ECB will need at least until spring before it can reassess its policy outlook and that market expectations for an interest rate cut in March or April are overdone. The euro was a little higher on Monday as a result. The dollar (.DXY) was mixed more broadly - with speculators net positioning on the dollar versus G10 currencies turning negative for the first time since September. Crude oil prices were lower amid generalised global demand concerns and despite more shipping worries in the Red Seas. Key developments that should provide more direction to U.S. markets later on Monday: * NAHB Dec housing index, New York Fed Dec service sector survey * Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee; European Central Bank chief economist Philip Lane, ECB board member Isabel Schnabel all speak * U.S. Treasury auctions 3-, 6-month bills * U.S. corporate earnings: Ark Restaurants, Quipt Home Medical https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/global-markets-view-usa-2023-12-18/

2023-12-18 10:36

HOUSTON, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Oil is flooding out of Texas in the final weeks of 2023, as traders find outlets abroad for record U.S. production and dodge a hefty year-end tax bill on their inventories. U.S. crude exports, nearly all of which leave from the U.S. Gulf coast, averaged about 4 million barrels per day (bpd) so far this year, according to U.S. government data, about 500,000 more than last year's record as oil production climbed to 13.2 million barrels per day. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude's wider discount to the global benchmark Brent , currently at about $4.50 per barrel, is making U.S. oil more attractive to European and Asian refiners. "Flows bound for Asia are looking to finish the year strongly, particularly for cargoes heading to China," said Matt Smith, an analyst with ship tracking firm Kpler. U.S. Gulf Coast crude inventories fell 1.2% to 247.9 million barrels last week, the third straight week of declines, in part due to strong exports. Storage utilization stood at about 63% of total working capacity along the coast, lower than average utilization in prior years. Another factor driving the exodus is an end-of-year tax on oil held in storage in Texas. U.S. crude exports will likely average around 5 million bpd in the last two weeks of the year as that tax consideration drives barrels out of the Gulf coast, according to Kpler's Smith. Those that cannot move barrels on water will look to ship oil to places where the tax is lower, like the massive storage hub in Cushing, Oklahoma. In Oklahoma, the tax rate is around 1%, while in Texas it is around 2.50% to 2.75%, according to energy research firm Energy Aspects. Inventories at Cushing have climbed for eight straight weeks this month to 30.8 million barrels from 21 million barrels. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/record-output-tax-dodge-pushes-up-crude-exports-us-gulf-coast-2023-12-18/

2023-12-18 10:14

LONDON, Dec 18 (Reuters) - The pound held steady against the dollar on Monday but eased against the euro after two straight days of gains as investors considered the likelihood of interest rates remaining higher in Britain than in most other major economies next year. The Bank of England last week pushed back against market pricing that shows investors see a strong chance of a first rate cut by May. A rate cut in June is now fully priced in. Large speculators have added to their bullish positions in the pound in recent weeks, bringing their net long position - betting on the value of sterling rising - to its largest in about three months, according to the most recent weekly data from the U.S. financial markets regulator. "Short interest has continued to fall whilst long interest has perked up, which suggests there could be further upside for the British pound in the weeks ahead," said City Index strategist Matt Simpson. Sterling was steady at $1.2673 and down 0.25% against the euro at 86.19 pence, having risen for two straight trading days. Markets, meanwhile, are pricing in a good chance of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the US Federal Reserve cutting rates as early as March, with cuts by May fully priced in. The Bank of England is also expected to cut more slowly. About 80 basis points (bps) of cuts are priced into the UK rate futures market for 2024, while 150 bps are priced into the euro zone and U.S. derivatives markets. , Inflation has proved a lot more stubborn in the UK than in the euro zone or America. Core inflation, which strips out food and energy prices, is running at 5.7% in Britain, compared with 3.6% in the euro area and 4% in the United States. The UK economy, meanwhile, is flat-lining and economic output is back at levels registered in January. But the economy has avoided recession so far and a reading of business activity last week showed a surprise pick-up in growth and a small slowdown in price pressures in the services sector in early December. Expectations that UK rates will have to stay higher for longer than those elsewhere have acted as a tailwind for the pound for most of this year. Sterling has been one of the best-performing G10 currencies against the dollar in 2023. With a gain of about 5% so far this year, it ranks second only to the Swiss franc , which has gained 6%. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/sterling-digs-vs-dollar-supported-by-uk-rate-outlook-2023-12-18/

2023-12-18 09:29

NAIROBI, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Kenya's shilling gained ground against the dollar on Monday and it was expected to get support from remittance inflows in coming days, traders said. At 0842 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 153.50/70 per dollar, compared with Friday's closing rate of 153.70/90. Trade volumes were thin before the Christmas holiday. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/kenyan-shilling-firms-thin-trade-remittances-expected-boost-2023-12-18/

2023-12-18 07:58

JOHANNESBURG, Dec 18 (Reuters) - South Africa's rand weakened against the U.S. dollar on Monday, giving back some of last week's gains as the dollar steadied. At 1434 GMT, the rand traded at 18.5250 against the U.S. dollar , about 1.2% weaker than its previous close. The dollar index was last down 0.15% at 102.470 . The greenback had fallen sharply last week after the Federal Reserve signalled the possibility of interest rate cuts next year. Global markets are expected to take direction this week from the Bank of Japan's monetary policy decision on Tuesday and the U.S. PCE price index inflation number on Friday. There are no major upcoming data releases in South Africa. The rand could strengthen in the coming week as export dollars continue to flow into the market from the mines, while importer demand dries up due to seasonal factors, said ETM Analytics in a research note. Shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange fell, with the blue-chip Top-40 index (.JTOPI) last trading about 1.2% lower. South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond was stronger, with the yield down 12 basis points at 9.650%. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/south-african-rand-little-changed-early-deals-2023-12-18/