Latest news with #KatyaGolubkova
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5 days ago
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Oil slips on US stockpile build, Saudi Arabia price cuts
By Katya Golubkova TOKYO (Reuters) - Oil prices slipped in early trade on Thursday after a build in U.S. gasoline and diesel inventories and Saudi Arabia's cut to its July prices for Asian crude buyers. Brent crude futures fell 21 cents, or 0.3%, to $64.65 a barrel at 0047 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude lost 29 cents, or 0.5%, dropping to $62.58. Oil prices closed around 1% lower on Wednesday after official data showed that U.S. gasoline and distillate stockpiles grew more than expected, reflecting weaker demand in the world's top economy. [EIA/S] Adding to the weakness, Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, cut its July prices for Asian crude buyers to nearly the lowest in four years. The price cut by Saudi Arabia, key oil producer within OPEC+ - the oil producing group that includes members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia - follows the OPEC+ move over the weekend to increase output by 411,000 barrels per day for July. The strategy of OPEC+ group leaders Saudi Arabia and Russia is partly to punish over-producers and to wrestle back market share, Reuters has reported. Meanwhile, Canada prepared possible reprisals and the European Union reported progress in trade talks as new U.S. metals tariffs triggered more disruption in the global economy and added urgency to negotiations with Washington. "Uncertainty fuelled by President Trump's shifting stance on tariffs has intensified fears of a global economic slowdown," analyst Ole Hansen at Saxo Bank said in a note. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
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Oil slips on US stockpile build, Saudi Arabia price cuts
By Katya Golubkova TOKYO (Reuters) - Oil prices slipped in early trade on Thursday after a build in U.S. gasoline and diesel inventories and Saudi Arabia's cut to its July prices for Asian crude buyers. Brent crude futures fell 21 cents, or 0.3%, to $64.65 a barrel at 0047 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude lost 29 cents, or 0.5%, dropping to $62.58. Oil prices closed around 1% lower on Wednesday after official data showed that U.S. gasoline and distillate stockpiles grew more than expected, reflecting weaker demand in the world's top economy. [EIA/S] Adding to the weakness, Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, cut its July prices for Asian crude buyers to nearly the lowest in four years. The price cut by Saudi Arabia, key oil producer within OPEC+ - the oil producing group that includes members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia - follows the OPEC+ move over the weekend to increase output by 411,000 barrels per day for July. The strategy of OPEC+ group leaders Saudi Arabia and Russia is partly to punish over-producers and to wrestle back market share, Reuters has reported. Meanwhile, Canada prepared possible reprisals and the European Union reported progress in trade talks as new U.S. metals tariffs triggered more disruption in the global economy and added urgency to negotiations with Washington. "Uncertainty fuelled by President Trump's shifting stance on tariffs has intensified fears of a global economic slowdown," analyst Ole Hansen at Saxo Bank said in a note. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
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Markets ask how soon Nippon Steel will benefit from $15 billion bid for U.S. Steel
By Katya Golubkova and Anton Bridge TOKYO (Reuters) -Nippon Steel investors and analysts are asking if its $15-billion deal to buy U.S. Steel, backed but not yet approved by President Donald Trump, is positive for the near term, even if its hopes for strong U.S. demand materialise. Such a merger would create the world's third-largest steel producer by volume, after China's Baowu Steel Group and Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal, data from the World Steel Association (WorldSteel) shows. The "planned partnership" would create at least 70,000 jobs and add $14 billion to the U.S. economy via Nippon Steel's additional investments, Trump said last week. While full details of the deal remain unclear, U.S. Steel shares surged 21% on the news and Nippon Steel gained 7%. Nippon Steel did not exclude issuing new shares to fund the takeover, Vice Chairman Takahiro Mori said in December, after having already raised some funds through hybrid financing and asset sales. "If the new equity is issued, investors will rightly be asking: is this the best possible use of capital at this moment?" said Fiona Deutsch, lead analyst with Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR). The company had pledged an investment of up to $4 billion in a new coal-dependent blast furnace, said Deutsch, whose climate activist group holds less than 1% of Nippon Steel's shares. That plan, part of a wider investment commitment of $14 billion, comes "at a time when the global steel sector is shifting towards low-carbon alternatives", she added. Nippon Steel shares were up 1% by 0405 GMT, outperforming the overall Nikkei index which was up 1.6%. Unveiling the deal in late 2023, Nippon Steel offered $55 for each share of U.S. Steel, for a premium of 40% at the time. U.S. Steel shares closed at $53.3 on Wednesday. "There's a lot of immediate negative effects, even though the long-term effect may be positive," said an adviser to institutional investors on strategies for Nippon Steel. He cited the dilution as a further deterrent, besides the high offer price and additional investment commitments. Nippon Steel did not reply to a Reuters request for a comment. "In the short term, there are concerns about financing," said Shinichiro Ozaki, a senior analyst at Daiwa Securities. "Given that U.S. Steel reported a net loss for the January-March period, the stock market may worry about the limited likelihood of a short-term return on the investment." STRATEGIC GOALS Projections that domestic demand will stay weak have pushed Nippon Steel, which is Japan's largest steelmaker, and others to look to overseas expansion, while they consider shutting some blast furnaces at home. U.S. Steel is key to Nippon Steel's goal to raise its global output capacity to more than 100 million metric tons a year from 63 million tons now, as it aims to benefit from demand in India and the United States. Both markets are relatively protected from vast steel exports from China, the world's top producer, thanks to protectionist measures they have adopted, such as tariffs. In March, Nippon Steel President Tadashi Imai, who also chairs the Japan Iron and Steel Federation, warned that U.S. auto and steel tariffs could cut several million tons from Japan's annual steel output to below 80 million tons. Ownership of U.S. Steel could provide a shield for Nippon Steel from the impact of tariffs on non-U.S. operations, said Alistair Ramsay, vice president of Rystad Energy. "Should underlying demand in the United States begin and continue to recover, then we would expect the investment to pay off in good time, regardless of the duration of tariffs," he said. "But that's a big if, given how far the U.S. market has shrunk over the past few years, never mind this century." U.S. steel consumption is expected to rise by 2% this year after a drop of 1.5% in 2024, according to WorldSteel. This month, Nippon Steel said it would cut its dividend for the current fiscal year to 120 yen a share, off last year's 160 yen, and its lowest since 2021, amid a projected fall in profits, but the overall payout ratio would stay at 30%. "For the investor who cares about the share price today, you wouldn't be looking at factoring in synergies based on what you think might happen in two to three years," said the adviser, who sought anonymity as the matter is a sensitive one. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
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Oil prices climb as US court blocks Trump tariffs
By Katya Golubkova TOKYO (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Thursday after a U.S. court blocked President Donald Trump's tariffs from taking effect, while the market was watching out for potential new U.S. sanctions curbing Russian crude flows and an OPEC+ decision on hiking output in July. Brent crude futures climbed 81 cents, or 1.25%, to $65.71 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude advanced by 83 cents, or 1.34%, to $62.62 a barrel at 0102 GMT. A U.S. trade court on Wednesday ruled that Trump overstepped his authority by imposing across-the-board tariffs on imports from nations that sell more to the United States than they buy. The ruling buoyed risk appetite across global markets which have been on edge about the impact of the levies on economic growth, but analysts said the relief may only be temporary given the administration has said it will appeal. "But for now, investors get a breather from the economic uncertainty they love to loathe," said Matt Simpson, an analyst at City Index in Brisbane. On the supply front, there are concerns about potential new sanctions on Russian crude. At the same time, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, together called OPEC+, could agree on Saturday to accelerate their oil production hikes in July. With Russian oil so far overall showing relative resistance to the sanctions, imposed over Moscow's war on Ukraine, "it is hard to be convinced that any new U.S. sanctions on Russia will meaningfully dent Russia's oil exports," Commonwealth Bank of Australia analyst Vivek Dhar said in a note. Adding to supply risks, Chevron has terminated its oil production and a number of other activities in Venezuela, after its key license was revoked by U.S. President Donald Trump's government in March. Venezuela in April cancelled cargoes scheduled to Chevron citing payment uncertainties related to U.S. sanctions. Chevron was exporting 290,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Venezuelan oil or over a third of the country's total before that. "From May through August, the data points to a constructive, bullish bias with liquids demand set to outpace supply," Mukesh Sahdev, Global Head of Commodity Markets at Rystad Energy, said in a note, as he expects demand growth outpacing supply growth by 0.6 million to 0.7 million bpd. Later on Thursday, investors will be watching for the weekly reports from the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Energy. U.S. crude oil and distillate inventories likely rose last week while gasoline stockpiles likely fell, an extended Reuters poll showed on Wednesday. According to the market sources familiar with the API data, U.S. crude and gasoline stocks fell last week while distillate inventories rose. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
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Oil prices climb as US court blocks Trump tariffs
By Katya Golubkova TOKYO (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Thursday after a U.S. court blocked President Donald Trump's tariffs from taking effect, while the market was watching out for potential new U.S. sanctions curbing Russian crude flows and an OPEC+ decision on hiking output in July. Brent crude futures climbed 81 cents, or 1.25%, to $65.71 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude advanced by 83 cents, or 1.34%, to $62.62 a barrel at 0102 GMT. A U.S. trade court on Wednesday ruled that Trump overstepped his authority by imposing across-the-board tariffs on imports from nations that sell more to the United States than they buy. The ruling buoyed risk appetite across global markets which have been on edge about the impact of the levies on economic growth, but analysts said the relief may only be temporary given the administration has said it will appeal. "But for now, investors get a breather from the economic uncertainty they love to loathe," said Matt Simpson, an analyst at City Index in Brisbane. On the supply front, there are concerns about potential new sanctions on Russian crude. At the same time, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, together called OPEC+, could agree on Saturday to accelerate their oil production hikes in July. With Russian oil so far overall showing relative resistance to the sanctions, imposed over Moscow's war on Ukraine, "it is hard to be convinced that any new U.S. sanctions on Russia will meaningfully dent Russia's oil exports," Commonwealth Bank of Australia analyst Vivek Dhar said in a note. Adding to supply risks, Chevron has terminated its oil production and a number of other activities in Venezuela, after its key license was revoked by U.S. President Donald Trump's government in March. Venezuela in April cancelled cargoes scheduled to Chevron citing payment uncertainties related to U.S. sanctions. Chevron was exporting 290,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Venezuelan oil or over a third of the country's total before that. "From May through August, the data points to a constructive, bullish bias with liquids demand set to outpace supply," Mukesh Sahdev, Global Head of Commodity Markets at Rystad Energy, said in a note, as he expects demand growth outpacing supply growth by 0.6 million to 0.7 million bpd. Later on Thursday, investors will be watching for the weekly reports from the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Energy. U.S. crude oil and distillate inventories likely rose last week while gasoline stockpiles likely fell, an extended Reuters poll showed on Wednesday. According to the market sources familiar with the API data, U.S. crude and gasoline stocks fell last week while distillate inventories rose. Errore nel recupero dei dati Effettua l'accesso per consultare il tuo portafoglio Errore nel recupero dei dati Errore nel recupero dei dati Errore nel recupero dei dati Errore nel recupero dei dati
