Latest news with #TradeDeals
Reuters
7 minutes ago
- Business
- Reuters
Oil prices ease to 3-week low as negative economic news offsets trade optimism
NEW YORK, July 25 (Reuters) - Oil prices eased to a three-week low on Friday on negative economic news from the United States and China and signs of growing supply despite optimism U.S. trade deals could boost global economic growth and oil demand in the future. Brent crude futures fell 76 cents, or 1.1%, to $68.42 a barrel by 1:44 p.m. EDT (1744 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 91 cents, or 1.4%, to $65.12. That put Brent on track for its lowest close since July 4 and WTI on track for its lowest close since June 30. For the week, Brent was down about 1% and WTI down about 3%. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will meet U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday in Scotland after European Union officials and diplomats said they expected to reach a framework trade deal this weekend. The euro zone economy has remained resilient to the pervasive uncertainty caused by a global trade war, a slew of data showed on Friday, even as European Central Bank policymakers appeared to temper market bets on no more rate cuts. In the U.S., meanwhile, new orders for U.S.-manufactured capital goods unexpectedly fell in June while shipments of those products increased moderately, suggesting that business spending on equipment slowed considerably in the second quarter. Trump said on Friday that he had a good meeting with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and got the impression that the head of the U.S. central bank might be ready to lower interest rates. Central banks, like the Fed or ECB, use interest rates to keep inflation in check. Lower interest rates reduce consumer borrowing costs and can boost economic growth and demand for oil. In China, the world's second biggest economy, fiscal revenue dipped 0.3% in the first six months from a year earlier, the finance ministry said on Friday, maintaining the rate of decline seen between January and May. The U.S. is preparing to allow partners of Venezuela's state-run PDVSA ( starting with U.S. oil major Chevron (CVX.N), opens new tab, to operate with limitations in the sanctioned nation, sources said on Thursday. That could boost Venezuelan oil exports by a little more than 200,000 barrels per day (bpd), which would be welcome news for U.S. refiners, as it would ease tightness in the heavier crude market, ING analysts wrote. In the Middle East, Iran said it would continue nuclear talks with European powers after "serious, frank, and detailed" conversations on Friday, the first such face-to-face meeting since Israel and the U.S. bombed Iran last month. Venezuela and Iran are members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Any deal that could increase the amount of oil either sanctioned country could export would boost the amount of crude available to global markets. A meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, which includes top ministers from OPEC and allies like Russia, a group known as OPEC+, is scheduled for 1200 GMT on Monday. Four OPEC+ sources told Reuters the meeting was unlikely to alter the group's existing policy, which calls for eight members to raise output by 548,000 bpd in August. In Russia, the world's second biggest crude oil producer behind the U.S., daily oil exports from its western ports are set to be around 1.77 million bpd in August, down from 1.93 million bpd in July's plan, amid the expected rise in refinery runs, Reuters calculations based on data from two sources show. In the U.S., energy firms this week cut the number of oil and natural gas rigs operating for the 12th time in 13 weeks, energy services firm Baker Hughes said in its closely followed report on Friday.
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Oil prices ease as negative economic news offsets trade optimism
NEW YORK, July 25 (Reuters) - Oil prices eased on Friday on negative economic news from the United States and China and signs of growing supply despite optimism U.S. trade deals could boost global economic growth and oil demand in the future. Brent crude futures fell 32 cents, or 0.5%, to $68.86 a barrel by 11:02 a.m. EDT (1502 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 47 cents, or 0.7%, to $65.56. That put Brent down about 1% for the week and WTI down about 3%. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said there was a 50-50 chance or perhaps less that the U.S. would reach a trade agreement with the European Union (EU), saying Brussels wanted to "make a deal very badly". The euro zone economy has remained resilient to the pervasive uncertainty caused by a global trade war, a slew of data showed on Friday, even as European Central Bank policymakers appeared to temper market bets on no more rate cuts. In the U.S., meanwhile, new orders for U.S.-manufactured capital goods unexpectedly fell in June while shipments of those products increased moderately, suggesting that business spending on equipment slowed considerably in the second quarter. Trump also said on Friday that he had a good meeting with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and got the impression that the head of the U.S. central bank might be ready to lower interest rates. Central banks, like the Fed or ECB, use interest rates to keep inflation in check. Lower interest rates reduce consumer borrowing costs and can boost economic growth and demand for oil. In China, the world's second biggest economy, fiscal revenue dipped 0.3% in the first six months from a year earlier, the finance ministry said on Friday, maintaining the rate of decline seen between January and May. The U.S. is preparing to allow partners of Venezuela's state-run PDVSA ( starting with U.S. oil major Chevron (CVX.N), opens new tab, to operate with limitations in the sanctioned nation, sources said on Thursday. That could boost Venezuelan oil exports by a little more than 200,000 barrels per day (bpd), which would be welcome news for U.S. refiners, as it would ease tightness in the heavier crude market, ING analysts wrote. In the Middle East, Iran said it would continue nuclear talks with European powers after "serious, frank, and detailed" conversations on Friday, the first such face-to-face meeting since Israel and the U.S. bombed Iran last month. Venezuela and Iran are members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Any deal that could increase the amount of oil either sanctioned country could export would boost the amount of crude available to global markets. A meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, which includes top ministers from OPEC and allies like Russia, a group known as OPEC+, is scheduled for 1200 GMT on Monday. Four OPEC+ sources told Reuters the meeting was unlikely to alter the group's existing policy, which calls for eight members to raise output by 548,000 bpd in August. In Russia, the world's second biggest crude oil producer behind the U.S., daily oil exports from its western ports are set to be around 1.77 million bpd in August, down from 1.93 million bpd in July's plan, amid the expected rise in refinery runs, Reuters calculations based on data from two sources show.
Daily Mail
6 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Opinion: Labour's tax trauma for growth
By Trade deals are flooding through the White House pipeline, with US-Japan done and rising optimism on a European accord. In Britain, Keir Starmer will be reannouncing his deal with India. It should eventually be good for whisky and car exports, but hackles will be raised by national insurance-free short-term contracts for Indian staff in the UK. The biggest lacuna is the failure of Starmer to secure binding accords on better access for Britain's financial and professional services, the UK's most successful export. Despite Rachel Reeves ' Mansion House musings of last week, the Square Mile is unhappy and concerned. Lloyds Bank boss Charlie Nunn warned against further taxes on the financial sector in the Budget. Lloyds' profit bonanza of £2billion in the second quarter of the year will have the Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who has proposed an additional banking levy, straining at the leash. The danger of further attacks on the City and wealth was highlighted by Goldman Sachs chairman David Solomon this week. All that stands between the UK's flatlining economy and recession is the services sector, which softened sharply in July. The S&P purchasing managers' index, among the most reliable forward indicators, sits at a two-month low at 51, barely above the tipping point into recession. The damage to confidence from a summer of speculation about taxation will be considerable. Missing in action There is a puzzling disconnect between Britain's overall economic performance and that of some of our better-run companies. The Prime Minister likes to rattle on about the UK becoming an AI champion with little recognition that in £72billion Relx, the UK's seventh-largest listed company, we already have a champion user. Relx is not helped very much by its well-remunerated chief executive Erik Engstrom who behaves like a hermit and has no public profile. The bosses of public companies, like it not, have a responsibility to explain themselves to all stakeholders. In the case of Engstrom, the best to be expected is boilerplate about success and incomprehensible language which possibly, given its lack of insight, is AI-generated. Among his latest gems is talk of 'leveraging customer understanding to combine leading content and data sets with AI and other technologies'. What that means is anyone's guess. What we do know is that revenues and underlying profit are accelerating and income from 'risk' – that means cyber protection – and legal data are the stars, and are up 9pc. It is terrific that Relx is doing so well and the FTSE 100 recognises that. Given Relx's expertise in deploying artificial intelligence and outperformance, any thoughts about relisting in New York should be extinguished immediately. Changing channels Carolyn McCall at ITV has one of the trickiest gigs in Britain. She runs a company at the heart of the UK's creative sector in a global industry dominated by behemoths such as Netflix and Sky owner Comcast. Under her, and in the face of some investors' scepticism about costs, ITV Studios has become a production powerhouse, supplying terrestrial rival the BBC as well as streaming services. Future growth is expected from Rivals season 2 for Disney, The Reluctant Traveler for Apple TV and Gomorrah for Sky. ITVX, which was greeted by shareholders with outright disdain, but broke even two years ahead of expectation, expects £760million of income next year and has concluded a partnership deal with Disney. No longer is ITV's future as dependent on often volatile linear, terrestrial TV advertising. Despite all of this and a 13.3 per cent rise yesterday to 87.8p, the shares still languish. Time for a reality check.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Canadian dollar steadies near three-week high as investor sentiment rises
By Fergal Smith TORONTO (Reuters) -The Canadian dollar was barely changed against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, with the commodity-linked currency holding near an earlier three-week high as investors weighed prospects of additional trade deals that could improve the global economic outlook. The loonie was trading nearly unchanged at 1.3604 per U.S. dollar, or 73.51 U.S. cents, after earlier touching its strongest intraday level since July 4 at 1.3576. "There has been very little CAD related news so it's moving along with the USD Index and general risk sentiment," said Amo Sahota, director at Klarity FX in San Francisco. "Traders will want to hear on trade deals with other major economies." Wall Street's main indexes moved higher after a Financial Times report that the EU and the United States were closing in on a trade deal, similar to the agreement U.S. President Donald Trump struck with Japan. The U.S. dollar edged lower for a fourth straight day against a basket of major currencies and the price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, settled 0.1% lower at $65.25 a barrel. Canadian retail sales data for May, due on Thursday, could offer clues on the hit from tariffs to the domestic economy. Economists forecast a monthly decline of 1.1%. Still, investors expect the Bank of Canada to keep its benchmark interest rate on hold at 2.75% at a policy decision next Wednesday, after recent data showed underlying inflation remaining well above target. "The potential of a BoC rate cut next week is slim so CAD traders are feeling somewhat passive on domestic drivers at the moment," Sahota said. Canadian bond yields rose across the curve, tracking moves in U.S. Treasuries. The 10-year was up 5.4 basis points at 3.557%.
Wall Street Journal
16-07-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Gold Edges Higher on Possible Position Adjustments
2340 GMT — Gold edges higher in the early Asian session on possible position adjustments. However, diminishing Fed rate-cut expectations spurred by U.S. CPI data released overnight could cap gains. Also, the U.S.' passage of the 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' and coming trade deals help reduce U.S. growth worries and weigh on gold demand, Citi Research's Kenny Hu says in a research report. 'We continue to highlight our view that we may have seen gold price highs at $3,500/oz as the market deficit is peaking soon, if not already,' the analyst adds. Spot gold is 0.2% higher at $3,330.11/oz. (
