2024-05-14 11:39

LONDON, May 14 (Reuters) - Oil company Chevron (CVX.N) New Tab, opens new tab was the most shorted U.S. stock in April, overtaking long-standing top target Tesla (TSLA.O) New Tab, opens new tab as short-sellers up their bets on weaker energy prices, according to a monthly report by data and tech firm Hazeltree. Chevron topped the Hazeltree Shortside Crowdedness Report list as the most shorted large cap stock in the United States, which the firm compiles based on stock borrowing data globally from about 700 asset management funds. While the oil company has occupied second place in the last three months, April saw a jump of over $500 million worth of Chevron's total stock used for shorting, to about 9% from the previous month's roughly 7%. Chevron declined to comment. Chevron, whose first-quarter results beat Wall Street consensus estimates, is feeling the pinch of weak energy prices and refining margins that have cooled in the last year. A glut of natural gas and a warmer-than-expected winter also depressed natural gas prices, eating into earnings. However, Chevron's shares gained 1.38% in April, which added around $5 billion to its total market value, according to LSEG Datastream. A short position is a bet that a company's stock price will fall. Hedge funds tracked by Goldman Sachs took much of their bets off of the table, ditching both long and short positions in the week to May 10, according to a recent note from the bank's prime brokerage. The New York Stock Exchange composite index, of which Chevron is a part, (.SPX) New Tab, opens new tab lost about 3% in April. Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment. (This story has been corrected to clarify that Chevron beat not missed expectations in paragraph 5 and to add that Chevron declined to comment in paragraph 4) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/chevron-tops-tesla-most-shorted-stock-april-says-hazeltree-2024-05-14/

2024-05-14 11:34

Sticks to 2024 oil demand growth forecast of 2.25 mbpd Switches to demand for OPEC+ crude, says reflects group unity IEA to publish updated forecasts on Wednesday LONDON, May 14 (Reuters) - OPEC stuck to its forecast for strong growth in global oil demand in 2024 on Tuesday and said it would switch to focus on projected demand for OPEC+ crude, reflecting that the wider group is now the main forum for cooperation in the market. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, in a monthly report, said it expected world oil demand to rise by 2.25 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2024 and by 1.85 million bpd in 2025. Both forecasts were unchanged from last month. This is the last report before OPEC+, which groups OPEC and allies led by Russia, meets on June 1 to decide whether to extend voluntary oil output cuts into the second half of the year. OPEC sounded an upbeat tone on the economic outlook. "Despite certain downside risks, the continued momentum observed since the start of the year could create additional upside potential for global economic growth in 2024 and beyond," OPEC said in the report. OPEC+ has implemented a series of output cuts since late 2022 to support the market. The latest cut of 2.2 million bpd is in place until the end of June unless it is extended, as some OPEC+ sources have said it could be. There is a wider than usual split between forecasters on the strength of oil demand growth in 2024, partly due to differences over the pace of the world's transition to cleaner fuels. The International Energy Agency, which represents industrialised countries and forecasts oil demand will peak by 2030, sees an expansion of 1.2 million bpd and is scheduled to update its figures on Wednesday. OPEC believes oil use will keep rising for the next two decades and has not forecast a peak. SHIFTS FOCUS TO OPEC+ OPEC also said it would stop publishing a calculation of the world's demand for its own crude - a figure watched as an indicator of market strength - and would focus on demand for oil from OPEC+. The move "demonstrates solidarity and unity" within the OPEC+ framework, OPEC said, as well as removing the "potential for misunderstanding." OPEC+ has been working together since 2016 through a pact called the Declaration of Cooperation (DoC). An OPEC+ source told Reuters, which reported on the switch last week, that the move reflected the fact that OPEC+ demand was now more relevant because the DoC nowadays was the framework for cooperation on the oil market. In the report, OPEC projected 2024 demand for DoC crude at 43.2 million bpd, compared with world oil demand of 104.5 million bpd, and said the group produced 41.02 million bpd in April, below the expected demand. OPEC itself pumped 26.58 million bpd in April, down 48,000 bpd, the report said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/opec-sticks-oil-demand-view-sees-potential-economic-upside-2024-05-14/

2024-05-14 11:20

SYDNEY, May 14 (Reuters) - Australia's government plans to spend billions to cut energy bills and rent, hoping to lower headline inflation and provide relief for voters grumbling about cost of living pressures ahead of an election next year. In his third annual budget since taking office in 2022, Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Tuesday pledged more money for renewables, critical minerals and defence, alongside a long planned cut to income taxes by an average A$1,888 a year for each taxpayer. "The number one priority of this government and this budget is helping Australians with the cost of living," Chalmers said in his budget speech to parliament. "Annual inflation has more than halved from its peak in 2022 ... but we know people are still under the pump. That's why we designed our cost of living policies to ease these pressures." The government estimates the proposed A$3.5 billion ($2.31 billion) in energy bill relief - equivalent to an annual A$300 rebate for every household - will reduce headline inflation by around half a percentage point for the fiscal year ending June 2025. Treasury now expects an easing in inflation back to the central bank's 2-3% target band by the end of this year. That would be a welcome surprise for the Reserve Bank of Australia, which was forecasting inflation to pick up to 3.8% by the year end from the current 3.6%, raising the risk of another interest rate hike. The ambitious inflation projections come as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's Labor government faces growing criticism over soaring consumer prices ahead of a federal election due by early next year. However, analysts suspect core inflation could still remain sticky even with the extra cost of living relief, which also runs the risk of adding to spending later in the year. Total revenue for 2024/25 is expected to be A$711.5 billion, while total expenses are seen at A$734.5 billion. S&P Global Ratings said the budget measures could be mildly inflationary as it "slightly loosens the purse strings". "Rent assistance or electricity rebates might be administered in a way that lowers measured consumer price index inflation, but they also put more money into consumers' pockets to spend on other goods and services," the ratings agency said in a note. "Consequently, the 'last mile' of the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) inflation fight could remain challenging," it said, adding it no longer expected RBA to cut its policy rate in calendar 2024. Chalmers defended the budget, saying the cost of living measures will take the edge off inflation. "I'm very confident in this budget that we're putting downward pressure on inflation, that we are being part of the solution to inflation rather than the problem," the Treasurer said in a post-budget interview with ABC News. BACK TO DEFICIT Other cost of living measures in the budget include an increase in the rent assistance programme and debt relief for students, as well as more investment to make medicines cheaper. Investing in Labor's "Future Made in Australia" subsidy programme was the other big theme of the budget, with the government pledging to pour in more than A$20 billion over the next 10 years to help domestic industries compete globally. It also includes hefty tax incentives for the production of renewable hydrogen and for the processing and refining of critical minerals, a market China dominates globally. The government will also spend A$5.7 billion more in the next four years on defence - the largest increase in decades - as it upgrades its missiles, drones and warships to counter China's rising influence in the region. All of that spending means the budget will swing back to deficit in the next few years after two straight surpluses on a strong labour market and high commodity prices. The government projects a combined A$122 billion in the red over the four fiscal years to 2028, though that will still be relatively small at around 1% of gross domestic product on average. The government trimmed its 2024/2025 GDP growth forecast to 2.0% from 2.25%, while maintaining its current year view at 1.75%. It kept its long-term commodity price assumptions unchanged in the budget, with iron ore spot prices seen falling to $60 per tonne by the March quarter of 2025, and thermal coal prices to $70 per tonne. ($1 = 1.5131 Australian dollars) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australia-doles-out-energy-rent-relief-balm-inflation-2024-05-14/

2024-05-14 10:36

WASHINGTON, May 14 (Reuters) - U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai on Tuesday recommended higher tariffs on a range of Chinese goods and called for expanded enforcement to address China's continued technology transfer actions that harmed U.S. workers and manufacturers. Tai's office released a long-awaited four-year review of tariffs imposed by former President Donald Trump which concluded they had been effective in encouraging China to address some issues, but further action was needed. "Instead of pursuing fundamental reform, (China) has persisted, and in some cases become aggressive, including through cyber intrusions and cyber theft, in its attempts to acquire and absorb foreign technology, which further burden or restrict U.S. commerce," the U.S. Trade Representative's (USTR) Office said in a statement. The report said research showed that previous tariffs imposed on China had a minimal impact on U.S. economy-wide prices and employment, but had been effective in reducing U.S. imports of Chinese goods, while increasing imports from other countries. To bolster the impact of the recommended tariff increases, USTR also called for increased funding for U.S. Customs and Border Protection to beef up enforcement, and urged greater collaboration between the private sector and government to combat what it called "state-sponsored technology theft." The report also recommended establishing exclusions from the tariffs for certain machinery used in domestic manufacturing, including 19 specific types of solar manufacturing equipment, and continued work on efforts to diversify U.S. supply chains. USTR said it would issue a Federal Register notice next week announcing procedures for interested persons to comment on the proposed tariff changes and recommended exclusions. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-trade-chief-recommends-higher-tariffs-address-chinas-unfair-practices-2024-05-14/

2024-05-14 10:09

LONDON, May 14 (Reuters) - Sterling fell on Tuesday after Bank of England chief economist Huw Pill said the central bank might be able to consider cutting interest rates over the summer. Pill's remarks came after data showed that British wages grew by more than expected in the first three months of the year, but other figures suggested the labour market is losing some of its inflationary heat, keeping the BoE on alert about when to cut interest rates. Sterling fell as much as 0.4%, before trimming some of those declines, after the BoE policymaker's remarks in an online presentation organised by the ICAEW, an accountancy body. "I think it's not unreasonable to believe that through the summer we will begin to see enough confidence in the decline in persistence that Bank Rate will come into consideration," Pill said. Last week, he voted with the majority of the BoE's Monetary Policy Committee to keep interest rates at a 16-year high of 5.25%. Regular wages, excluding bonuses, grew by 6.0% in the first three months of 2024 compared with the same period a year earlier. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast wage growth of 5.9%. Unemployment rate rose to 4.3% in the period, however, its highest since the three months to July 2023. Vacancies fell for the 22nd time in a row in the three months to April. "This data has not shifted the dial for UK rate expectations. The market is still expecting the first rate cut to happen either in June or August," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB. "April’s increase in the minimum wage means that next month’s wage and jobs data could be more useful for the BoE. We also think that CPI data due next week will have a bigger impact on UK rate cut expectations," she said. Money markets continued to price in around a 50% chance of a cut in June, according to LSEG data. They see a 75% chance of a cut in August. The pound was last 0.12% lower at $1.2543. Against the euro, it was down 0.16% to 86.05 pence, having touched a one-week high against the single currency earlier in the day. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/sterling-falls-pill-says-boe-might-consider-summer-rate-cut-2024-05-14/

2024-05-14 07:42

MOSCOW, May 14 (Reuters) - A Ukrainian drone attack derailed a freight train and sparked a fire in a diesel tank in the southern Russian region of Volgograd, mangling several hundred metres of track, Russian media said on Tuesday. Russian Railways said simply that the derailment was caused by interference by unauthorised persons, but Russian media said the train was attacked by a drone. Footage published by Baza, a Telegram channel linked to Russia's security services, showed freight wagons strewn alongside a railway line. "As a result of interference by unauthorised persons into the operation of railway transport, cars of a freight train derailed at the Kotluban station," Russian Railways said. "According to preliminary information, there were no injuries. At this time, train traffic in the area of the Kotluban station is suspended." The storage tank and cars with lumber caught fire and the blaze was extinguished, Russia's RIA state news agency reported, citing the emergency ministry. TASS, another state news agency, cited emergency services as saying that 300 metres of track had been damaged in the incident. There was no immediate word from Ukrainian officials about the incident. Kyiv has said in the past it has carried out sabotage attacks on Russia's railway system to disrupt military logistics, including far from the front lines in the nearly 27-month-old war. Ukraine says that targeting Russia's military, transport and energy infrastructure undermines Moscow's war effort and is an answer to the countless deadly attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure by Russia. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/freight-train-derails-russia-due-interference-officials-say-2024-05-14/