2024-06-20 10:07

Knot says ECB can slowly take foot off brake Supports moving at projections meetings FRANKFURT, June 20 (Reuters) - European Central Bank policymaker Klaas Knot on Thursday backed market expectations for one or two more interest rate cuts this year as inflation appeared to be headed towards the ECB's 2% target. The ECB began undoing its steepest ever streak of rate hikes earlier this month but left options open as to what it would do next, also in light of stronger-than-expected inflation and wages data in recent weeks. Knot stressed inflation was still seen hitting the ECB target next year, even if the road to 2% was likely to be bumpy and services inflation remained high. "We can continue to slowly but surely lift our foot off the brake," Knot, the Dutch central bank governor, told an event in Milan. "You could say the score is one-nil – we have taken the lead," he said in a speech peppered with soccer references. Knot said the "just under three" cuts priced in by financial markets for 2024 were "broadly in line" with the optimal policy path calculated by staff at his central bank. He reaffirmed his preference for changing policy when the ECB gets updated projections from staff -- that is in September, December, March and June. Knot said the ECB should in the future "look through small deviations" from its inflation target but only "as long as we respond especially forcefully to larger" ones. He also proposed publishing "scenarios or confidence bands" around the ECB's projections to outline "different narratives about the evolution of the euro area economy". "This would require attaching some probability to the alternative inflation scenarios when taking monetary policy decisions," said Knot, the longest-serving member of the ECB's Governing Council. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/ecbs-knot-backs-one-or-two-more-rate-cuts-this-year-2024-06-20/

2024-06-20 10:05

A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike Dolan Wall Street returns from its midweek break to find record high stocks still chomping at the bit, with overseas monetary easing in focus as the Swiss cut interest rates for the second time this year and the Bank of England decision now awaited. With artificial intelligence still the dominant driver stateside, Nvidia's (NVDA.O) New Tab, opens new tab vault on Tuesday to become the world's most valuable company offers the latest twist. It's stock was another 1% higher again before Thursday's bell and S&P500 futures were up 0.4%. With the dollar buoyant across the piece, China continued to offer a nervy counter point to ebullient world markets. The offshore yuan skidded to its weakest level of the year even as the People's Bank of China left its interest rate setting unchanged and Chinese stocks once again bucked the world trend. Down again on Thursday, mainland Chinese stocks (.CSI300) New Tab, opens new tab have now underperformed the wider MSCI all-country index (.MIWD00000PUS) New Tab, opens new tab by some 8% this year. With the PBOC guiding the onshore yuan lower at its daily fixing, concern is growing that currency weakness is preventing it from easing monetary policy to address the ongoing housing bust. And it also comes in tandem with fresh weakness in Japan's yen , which hit its lowest since the Bank of Japan intervention in April despite warnings of repeat action. Putting the French political upheaval aside for the time being, European stocks (.STOXX) New Tab, opens new tab were higher - helped by the latest interest rate cut on the continent. The Swiss National Bank cut its main policy rate on Thursday for the second time this year, maintaining the central bank's position as a frontrunner in the global policy easing cycle and sending the Swiss franc lower and Swiss stocks higher. The latest quarter point cut to 1.25% has been almost 70% priced by money markets in advance and another quarter point easing is expected by yearend. Norway's central bank was not for budging, however, and held the line - more worried about spikier inflation there. Attention now switches to the Bank of England, which announces its latest decision on Thursday too. Not least with July 4's British election around the corner, the BoE is expected to stand pat for now - with a one-in-three chance of a cut at its next meeting on August 1 now seen in money markets. Even though headline UK inflation hit the BoE's 2% target for the first time in three years last month, 'core' rates remain well above 3% and services inflation is even stickier. The BoE monetary policy committee is expected to be split 7-2 in favour of holding rates - as it was last time around. Sterling was a touch lower against the pumped up dollar ahead of the decision - but up against the euro . In Europe, French stocks (.FCHI) New Tab, opens new tab were firmer and the French government debt spread with Germany steady after the European Union warned on excessive French and Italian budget deficits as expected on Wednesday - upping the ante into the snap French parliamentary elections over the next month. Back on Wall St, Treasury yields were a touch higher into the re-open on Thursday - with housing data in focus but also a keen eye on weekly jobless numbers to see if last week's outsize jump was sustained. The only number released during the "Juneteenth" market holiday on Wednesday was a weaker-than-forecast NAHB housing sentiment indicator for June. In company news and deals, Britain's Tate & Lyle (TATE.L) New Tab, opens new tab fell 6.5% after the food ingredients maker said it will buy U.S.-based CP Kelco for $1.8 billion from J.M. Huber Corporation. And UK bank NatWest(NWG.L) New Tab, opens new tab struck a deal to acquire most of the banking business of retailer Sainsbury's (SBRY.L) New Tab, opens new tab, in a deal that would increase the British lender's assets by 2.5 billion pounds ($3.2 billion). Key developments that should provide more direction to U.S. markets later on Thursday: * Bank of England policy decision * US May housing starts/permits, weekly jobless claims, June Philadelphia Fed business survey, US Q1 current account; Euro zone June consumer confidence * San Francisco President Federal Reserve President Mary Daly Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin and Minneapolis Fed chief Neel Kashkari all speak * Eurogroup meets in Luxembourg, with European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and ECB board member Piero Cipollone attending * US corporate earnings: Accenture, Kroger, Jabil, Darden Restaurants, Smith & Wesson, Aurora Cannabis, Algoma Steel, Mynaric Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/global-markets-view-usa-2024-06-20/

2024-06-20 08:01

BEIJING, June 20 (Reuters) - China may impose provisional anti-dumping measures on pork imports from the European Union as part of a year-long probe that started on June 17, its commerce ministry said on Thursday. China has opened an investigation into EU pork and its by-products, escalating tensions after the bloc imposed anti-subsidy duties on Chinese-made electric vehicles. The investigation will focus on pork intended for human consumption, such as fresh, cold and frozen whole cuts, as well as pig intestines, bladders and stomachs. The probe is expected to be completed by June 17, 2025, but could be extended by another six months if required. "If, after preliminary investigation, it is determined that dumping has been established and has caused injury to the domestic industry, provisional anti-dumping measures may be taken," He Yadong, a commerce ministry spokesperson said in response to reporters' question about the probe. Global food companies have been on high alert for retaliatory tariffs from China after the European Commission announced on June 12 it would impose anti-subsidy duties of up to 38.1% on imported Chinese cars from July. China imported $6 billion worth of pork, including offal, in 2023 and more than half of that came from the EU, Chinese customs data showed. Spain, France, Denmark and the Netherlands are the biggest EU pork suppliers to China. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/china-may-take-anti-dumping-measures-against-eu-pork-imports-official-says-2024-06-20/

2024-06-20 08:00

ZURICH, July 19 (Reuters) - Swiss engineering group ABB (ABBN.S) , opens new tab said on Friday that it had been awarded a contract by Washington State Ferries (WSF) to serve as the sole provider of propulsion units for its new hybrid-electric 160-auto ferries. The five ferries will be the first of 16 new vessels delivered as part of WSF's $3.98 billion ferry system electrification plan, ABB said in a statement. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/rates-bonds/swiss-national-bank-continues-rate-cuts-says-inflation-eased-again-2024-06-20/

2024-06-20 07:54

LONDON, June 20 (Reuters) - A Russian-American woman arrested earlier this year while visiting family in Russia went on trial for alleged treason on Thursday after authorities accused her of raising money to send to the Ukrainian army. Karelina, who was born in Russia but had built a new life as an aesthetician at a Los Angeles spa after immigrating to the United States over a decade ago, faces a sentence of 12 years to life in prison if found guilty. Her trial will be held behind closed doors, as is customary in such cases in Russia. Treason acquittals are rare there. The court in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg published a short video of Karelina sitting in a glass cage, wearing jeans and a green plaid shirt. She smiled faintly as reporters snapped photographs. A notice on the website of the court posted later on Thursday said the trial had been adjourned until Aug. 7. It did not state a reason. At least a dozen Americans are currently jailed in Russia, part of a growing list of foreign nationals who have found themselves caught up in the crisis of relations between Moscow and Washington during the Ukraine war. Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) detained Karelina in January while she was visiting her parents and young sister in Yekaterinburg. Her former mother-in-law, Eleonora Srebroski, told Reuters in February that Karelina had travelled home around the New Year after her boyfriend surprised her with a plane ticket. She had assured her boyfriend that Russia was "safe" and that he had no reason to fear her travelling there, according to Srebroski. Initially arrested under a minor "petty hooliganism" statute, Karelina was later charged with treason. Srebroski said Karelina had made a small donation to Razom for Ukraine, a New York-based nonprofit that sends non-military assistance to the country that was invaded by Russian forces in 2022 in what Moscow called a special military operation. Karelina, who is in her early thirties, arrived in the U.S. in 2012 via a work-study program and was briefly married to Srebroski's son. Her ex-husband has described her as a fun-loving woman who didn't care much for politics. Karelina's social media profiles feature photos of herself and friends on the beach and on trips, but without political messaging. One photo from November 2021 shows her in a long dress, smiling and waving a small American flag, with the caption, "Citizenship". The U.S. State Department, asked about Karelina's case, said the U.S. tries to seek access to citizens detained abroad and that consular officers seek to provide them with appropriate assistance. I It added that Russia has long taken the position that it does not have to respond to those requests for appropriate assistance when it comes to dual nationals. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller reiterated a warning that no American citizen should travel to Russia for any reason, as they run "tremendous risk" of being detained. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-american-woman-goes-trial-treason-after-donating-funds-ukraine-2024-06-20/

2024-06-20 07:45

June 20 (Reuters) - South Africa's Sasol (SOLJ.J) New Tab, opens new tab has won $344 million in damages in a High Court ruling against state-owned logistics utility Transnet which it accused of overcharging it for transporting crude oil for several years, the petrochemical firm said on Thursday. Sasol Oil in 2017 joined TotalEnergies, its joint venture partner in the Natref crude oil refinery, in a lawsuit against Transnet Pipelines over a tariff dispute. "On 18 June 2024, judgement was handed down by the High Court in Sasol Oil and TotalEnergies' favour. Damages in the amount of 3,889,475,802 rand ($216 million) plus interest amounting to approximately 2.3 billion rand ($128 million) were awarded to Sasol Oil," Sasol said in a statement. Transnet and TotalEnergies were not immediately available to comment. The dispute has its roots in a 1967 agreement between the then South African government and Total, which established an inland crude oil refinery at a time when coastal refineries were struggling to meet inland demand. To secure the participation of Total in the inland refinery Natref, the government put in place a pipeline tariff structure that would match the costs of a coastal processing facility. Sasol, which was set up as a state-owned business in 1950 and privatised in 1979, owns 63,64% of Natref, with TotalEnergies holding the remainder. ($1 = 17.9996 rand) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/sasol-wins-344-mln-damages-against-transnet-over-tariff-dispute-2024-06-20/