2024-08-01 20:42

BOGOTA, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Investment in Colombia's oil and gas production is forecast to decline by 7% to $3.5 billion in 2024, the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP) said in a press conference in Colombia's capital Bogota on Thursday. The government of leftist President Gustavo Petro has made a priority of weaning Colombia away from dependence on fossil fuels, especially oil and coal, despite industry warnings about impacts to the Andean country's energy self sufficiency. Earlier this year, the government's National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) reported that Colombia's proven oil and gas reserves declined at the end of 2023 to the equivalent of 7.1 years of consumption and 6.1 years of consumption respectively. The government needs to provide incentives to boost exploration and increase production, the ACP said, calling for lower pipeline tariffs and guarantees to provide security in the country's conflict-ridden countryside where many energy companies operate, among other measures. "We have a very, very tight time frame," ACP president Frank Pearl told journalists. "We have to do this now." While production spending is set to drop, the ACP forecasts investment in exploration will grow 5% during the year to $1.1 billion, some $700 million of which will go into exploration for gas, the industry group said in a presentation. The ACP also forecast Colombia's oil production would average between 780,000 and 790,000 barrels per day, while potential gas production was forecast at 1.02 billion cubic feet per day. The ANH told Reuters earlier this year that oil production would close in on 800,000 bpd in 2024. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/investment-colombia-oil-gas-production-fall-7-2024-industry-group-2024-08-01/

2024-08-01 20:37

Aug 1 (Reuters) - Coinbase's (COIN.O) , opens new tab second-quarter revenue surpassed Wall Street expectations on Thursday as trading volumes roared back to life thanks to market euphoria over easing regulatory roadblocks, sending shares of the crypto exchange 3% higher after the bell. Crypto markets have gotten a boost this year after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved an exchange-traded fund to track the spot price of bitcoin and ether , ending an almost decade-long tussle. "We are increasingly optimistic that the next administration, whether Democrat or Republican, will be constructive on crypto. The rhetoric has shifted," CEO Brian Armstrong said on post-earnings conference call. "Since we went public, we have reiterated the need for regulatory clarity." The SEC and Coinbase have locked horns over their divergent views on whether crypto tokens classify as securities and should be regulated similarly. The company has accused the top U.S. markets regulator of overreach, while the SEC has alleged the largest U.S. crypto exchange is flouting its rules. Approvals of spot bitcoin ETFs marked the entry of traditional financial heavyweights such as BlackRock (BLK.N) , opens new tab and Fidelity into digital assets, giving the sector greater credibility. In the aftermath, the total market capitalization of the sector has swelled to roughly $2.36 trillion, according to CoinGecko, powered by gains in both bitcoin and ether, the second-biggest crypto token. Coinbase's total transaction revenue surged 139% to $780.9 million in the second quarter. Revenue from Coinbase's subscription and services unit, which houses businesses outside of trading, jumped 79% to $599 million in the quarter. Quarterly custodial fee revenue climbed to $34.5 million, benefiting from inflows tied to spot bitcoin ETFs. The company's total revenue doubled to $1.45 billion, beating analysts' estimates of $1.4 billion, according to LSEG data. It posted a profit of 14 cents per share in the quarter, compared with a loss of 42 cents a year earlier. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/coinbases-second-quarter-revenue-surges-crypto-trading-resurgence-2024-08-01/

2024-08-01 20:35

TSX ends down 1.7% at 22,723.21 Posts biggest decline since Feb. 13 Technology falls 3.4% Energy ends nearly 3% lower Aug 1 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell by the most in six months on Thursday as investors worried that weaker economic data globally could be a sign that the Federal Reserve has waited too long to begin its interest rate cutting campaign. The S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) , opens new tab ended down 387.60 points, or 1.7%, at 22,723.21, its biggest daily decline since Feb. 13. On Wednesday, the index posted a record closing high as the Fed signaled it could begin cutting interest rates in September "We are seeing a big reversal and I think that is tied to growth concerns," said Angelo Kourkafas, a senior investment strategist at Edward Jones. Wall Street also ended sharply lower as manufacturers across the United States, Europe and Asia turned in a weak performance last month, raising the risk of an underpowered global economic recovery. Activity in Canada's factory sector was also downbeat. "Today the main question is if the Fed is behind the curve. Or basically, should they have cut rates already, as there are some downside risks emerging, and I think the answer to this question will possibly be given tomorrow by the jobs report that is coming out," Kourkafas said. The U.S. non-farm payrolls report, due on Friday, is expected to show the economy adding 175,000 jobs in July, which would be fewer than in June. The Toronto market's technology sector fell 3.4% and heavily weighted financials ended 1.6% lower. Energy was down nearly 3% as the price of oil settled 2.1% lower at $76.31 a barrel. Gold and copper prices also fell, while the materials group, which includes metal miners and fertilizer companies, ended nearly 2% lower. Shares of First Majestic Silver Corp (AG.TO) , opens new tab tumbled 13.3% after the company reported second-quarter results. Just two of ten major sectors notched gains, including real estate, which added 0.6%. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/tsx-futures-slip-metal-prices-fall-amid-slew-earnings-2024-08-01/

2024-08-01 20:33

Aug 1 (Reuters) - EOG Resources (EOG.N) , opens new tab beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit on Thursday as the oil and gas producer benefited from higher oil production. The company reported an adjusted profit of $3.16 per share for the quarter ended June 30, compared with analysts' average estimate of $2.96, according to LSEG data. Overall production for the April-June quarter was 1.05 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), higher than the 970,300 boepd in the same quarter a year earlier. Analysts on average had estimated 1.04 million boepd. U.S. oil production and demand rose to a four-month high in April, according to the Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Petroleum Supply Monthly report, boosting revenues of producers like EOG Resources. The company also forecast production of 1.05 million boepd to 1.08 million boepd in the third quarter. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/eog-resources-beats-second-quarter-profit-estimates-2024-08-01/

2024-08-01 19:54

Aug 1 (Reuters) - A fast-moving wildfire has killed at least one person in the Rocky Mountain foothills of Colorado, one of a handful of blazes burning across the state, while thousands of firefighters in California struggled to contain the largest fire in the country. The individual killed in the Stone Canyon Fire, burning about 20 miles (32 km) north of Boulder, Colorado, was found on Wednesday in one of five homes destroyed near Rocky Mountain National Park, officials said late on Wednesday. "We did also today discover human remains in one of the residences," Boulder County Sheriff Curtis Johnson told journalists. "So, I can confirm for you that we do have one fatality associated with the fire." Johnson did not provide details on the individual's identity. The Stone Canyon Fire, near Lyons, a community of about 2,000, has burned more than 1,500 acres (600 hectares) since Tuesday afternoon. It was 20% contained as of late Wednesday, the Boulder Office of Disaster Management said in a statement. About 2,000 people were evacuated from Lyons and nearby communities. Colorado Governor Jared Polis called in the Colorado National Guard to assist with the recovery. Since Tuesday afternoon, dry conditions and high temperatures have enabled the fire to spread quickly through timberland. The Stone Canyon Fire is one of multiple fires that have ripped through Colorado's Front Range mountains this week, prompting further evacuations. Across the country, more than 29,000 firefighters and support personnel are fighting 93 large wildfires, encompassing more than 2 million acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. The national wildfire season has had an intense start, raising the risk of stretching fire-fighting resources too thin. The center has already requested help from firefighters in Australia and New Zealand, who will arrive starting Aug. 7 and deploy to Oregon and Washington. Wildfire activity in California is 2,816% higher than at this time last year, with 29 times the amount of acreage burned, said the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, in an X post on Tuesday. California's Park Fire, the largest, has burned more than 600 square miles (1,550 square km) as of Thursday morning, an area bigger than the city of Los Angeles, state fire officials said. It ranks as the fifth largest fire in the state's history and could soon become the fourth. Nearly 6,000 firefighters are battling the blaze in a wilderness area in the state's Central Valley, about 90 miles (145 km) north of Sacramento, the state capital. It has destroyed 437 structures and damaged 42, Cal Fire said. One of those homes belonged to Mike Wittenberg, 41, of Forest Ranch, close to where the Park Fire started. He said his newly renovated five-bedroom house was destroyed soon after he fled with his fiancée Andrea and three children. When they were given the evacuation orders last week, he said he hesitated but eventually the family departed. "I honestly didn't think the fire would take our home," Wittenberg said on Thursday. "We lost our cars, bikes, motorcycle, my kids' toys and clothes. We have virtually nothing. It's hard to take in." The family is now sleeping on the floor of his father's home in nearby Paradise, a town that was largely wiped off the map in 2018 by a wildfire that killed 85 people, the deadliest blaze in California's history. The man charged with starting the Park Fire, allegedly by pushing a flaming car down a Butte County gully last week, was formally charged with arson on Monday, but awaits additional charges, officials said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/colorado-wildfire-blamed-one-death-california-blaze-expands-2024-08-01/

2024-08-01 19:54

Canadian dollar falls 0.4% against the greenback Touches its weakest since November at 1.3889 Manufacturing PMI drops to 7-month low 2-year yield hits a 17-month low TORONTO, Aug 1 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar weakened to a nine-month low against its broadly stronger U.S. counterpart on Thursday as geopolitical tensions and weak manufacturing data globally weighed on investor sentiment. The loonie was trading 0.4% lower at 1.3870 to the U.S. dollar, or 72.10 U.S. cents, after touching its weakest intraday level since November at 1.3889. "The moves in USD-CAD today are coming from the broad USD strength, with the general risk-off tone in markets exacerbated by the headlines in the Middle East and U.S. data downside misses," said Jayati Bharadwaj, a global FX strategist at TD Securities. The U.S. dollar (.DXY) , opens new tab rose against a basket of major currencies as rising geopolitical tensions provided a safe-haven boost to the currency, and Wall Street's major indexes tumbled. Manufacturers across the United States, Europe and Asia turned in a weak performance last month as factories grappled with tepid demand, surveys showed, raising the risk of an underpowered global economic recovery. Canadian factory data was also downbeat. The S&P Global Canada Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 47.8 in July from 49.3 in June, posting its lowest level since December. Canada is a major producer of commodities, including oil, so the loonie tends to be sensitive to the outlook for the global economy. The price of oil settled 2.1% lower at $76.31 a barrel as global supply seemed largely unaffected by worries of a wider Middle East crisis. Canadian bond yields fell across a steeper curve, tracking a sharp decline in U.S. Treasury yields. The 2-year was down 9.2 basis points at 3.360%, after earlier touching its lowest level since March 2023 at 3.354%. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/canadian-dollar-weakens-risk-appetite-diminishes-2024-08-01/