2025-08-26 12:09

September 12 - Major brokerages have turned buoyant on the benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab index, betting on resilient corporate earnings and stable U.S. economy, despite companies flagging hits due to tariffs. As the gap widens between bullish targets from brokerages and cautious signals from companies, the market's trajectory may hinge on how effective tariff mitigation strategies would prove to be. Sign up here. In the past week, Barclays and Deutsche Bank became the latest brokerages to raise their year-end S&P 500 targets. Market participants expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to deliver a rate cut at next week's policy meeting that could further aid equities following soft jobs and inflation reports. The U.S. economy is expected to grow between 1% and 2% this year, according to estimates from leading brokerages. Following are the forecasts from some top banks on economic growth, and the performance of major asset classes in 2025. U.S. recession forecasts: Forecasts for stocks, currencies and bonds: Real GDP Growth: * UBS Global Research and UBS Global Wealth Management are distinct, independent divisions in UBS Group * Wells Fargo Investment Institute is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo Bank https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/brokerages-expect-global-growth-slow-late-2025-tariffs-geopolitical-tensions-2025-09-12/

2025-08-26 12:07

KYIV, Aug 26 (Reuters) - One miner was killed and three were injured in a Russian attack on a coal mine owned by Ukraine's largest energy company DTEK near front lines in the eastern Donetsk region, DTEK said on Tuesday. Russian invasion forces have in recent weeks stepped up their offensive in eastern Ukraine, where most of the country's coal mines are located. Sign up here. "The attack damaged the company's buildings and equipment and caused a power outage. At the time, 146 miners were underground, and efforts to bring them to the surface are ongoing," DTEK said in a post on Telegram messenger. It did not specify the location of the targeted mine or say how Russian forces hit it. Ukraine said this month small groups of Russian infantry had thrust some 10 kilometres (six miles) towards the main defensive line near the eastern town of Dobropillia, raising fears of a wider breakthrough that would further threaten key cities. Later, Ukrainian officials said Kyiv's troops had stabilised the battlefield in an area of the east where Russian forces had made a sudden push to pierce Ukrainian defences. https://www.reuters.com/world/worker-killed-russian-attack-coal-mine-eastern-ukraine-company-says-2025-08-26/

2025-08-26 12:01

Trump's move adds uncertainty to markets, says analyst SPDR Gold Trust holdings up 0.2% on Monday Inflation data on Friday to provide further clues on rate cuts Aug 26 (Reuters) - Gold prices hit a more than two-week high on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was removing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, a move seen by many as eroding the central bank's independence and undermining confidence in U.S. assets. Spot gold was up 0.4% at $3,378.64 an ounce at 1143 GMT, having hit its highest since August 11 at $3,386.27 earlier in the session. Sign up here. U.S. gold futures for December delivery were up 0.3% at $3,426. Trump on Monday took the unprecedented action of firing Cook over mortgage borrowing impropriety claims. Some investors are seeing Trump's move as an attempt to secure a dovish majority in the Fed's members, said Carlo Alberto De Casa, an external analyst at banking group Swissquote. He added that this raises questions about the Fed's independence and adds market uncertainty that prompts investors to buy gold. Prices of non-yielding bullion tend to perform well when interest rates are low and in times of economic uncertainty. SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose by 0.18% to 958.49 metric tons on Monday, from 956.77 tons on Friday. Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Friday signalled a possible rate cut next month, saying that job market risks were rising but inflation remained a threat. "Markets are pricing a 25 bps rate cut (in September). A jumbo cut would help gold further, but I don't see this as a likely scenario," De Casa added. Investors are awaiting further inflation data on Friday for more clues on the central bank's monetary policy path. Meanwhile, China's net gold imports via Hong Kong rose 126.81% in July from June, Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department data showed on Tuesday. Elsewhere, spot silver fell 0.2% to $38.47 an ounce, platinum was down 0.2% at $1,340.30 and palladium rose 0.5% to $1,091.25. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/gold-hits-two-week-peak-after-trump-says-he-is-firing-fed-governor-2025-08-26/

2025-08-26 12:00

LAUNCESTON, Australia, Aug 26 (Reuters) - China's imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) are poised to rise for a fourth straight month in August, but this may not be quite as bullish as it first appears. The world's biggest buyer of the super-chilled fuel is on track to see imports of 6.04 million metric tons in August, the strongest since the same volume was landed in January, according to data compiled by commodity analysts Kpler. Sign up here. China's imports of LNG have been trending higher since hitting a five-year low of 4.48 million tons in February. But while that piece of data is indicative of a recovery in demand, there is a more important number that shows China's appetite for LNG remains muted. The last time that imports were higher than the same month a year earlier was October 2024, meaning that in the 11 months since then arrivals have been weaker on a year-on-year basis. It would be hard to claim that China's LNG demand was recovering until imports in a month exceed the level for the same month in the prior year. The question then becomes what will it take for China's LNG demand to return to year-on-year growth? The answer is most likely linked to spot prices. The LNG China is currently importing is largely volumes secured under long-term contracts, and what it is not buying is spot cargoes. The spot price for LNG for delivery to North Asia has been trending lower in recent weeks, ending at $11.40 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) in the seven days to Aug. 22. This is down from the peak so far in 2025 of $16.10 per mmBtu from mid-February, but it's also worth noting that the lowest price this year has been $11.00 in the week to May 2. The spot price has not dropped below $11 per mmBtu since May 2024, meaning LNG has been expensive in comparison to recent years, with a low of $8.30 in 2024 and $9.00 in 2023. A spot price above $10 per mmBtu means LNG struggles to be competitive in China against domestic and pipeline natural gas, resulting in utilities paring imports. INDIA SLUMP The impact of high spot prices can be seen in other price-sensitive buyers in Asia, such as India, where imports are on track to fall for a third straight month in August to 1.83 million tons, according to Kpler data. If the final figure for August remains at this level, it would be the weakest month for India since June 2023. A further question for the market is whether spot prices are likely to continue to trend lower given weakness in buyers such as China and India. So far this year demand in Europe as the continent works to refill natural gas storages has kept prices robust, but this is starting to taper as inventories reach satisfactory levels. Europe's August imports are forecast to reach 7.86 million tons, down from 8.84 million in July and a fifth consecutive monthly decline. However, Europe's LNG imports are still up strongly on a year-on-year basis, with August likely to be 22% higher than the 6.45 million from the same month last year. For the first eight months of the year Europe's LNG imports are 82.71 million tons, 22.1% higher than the 67.74 million for the same period in 2024, according to Kpler data. It's also worth noting that demand has been rising in Asia's developed economies, which are less sensitive to price movements. Japan, the world's second-biggest LNG buyer, is on track to receive 5.83 million tons in August, the most since February, amid higher demand in the northern summer. South Korea, the third-ranked LNG importer, is estimated to have August arrivals of 4.99 million tons, the most since December 2023. In effect, Europe's strong growth this year and seasonal demand in Japan and South Korea are keeping spot LNG prices at levels high enough to crimp imports by China, India and other price-sensitive buyers in Asia. Enjoying this column? Check out Reuters Open Interest (ROI), your essential new source for global financial commentary. ROI delivers thought-provoking, data-driven analysis of everything from swap rates to soybeans. Markets are moving faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn , opens new tab and X , opens new tab. The views expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/chinas-lng-imports-are-set-rise-4th-month-its-not-bullish-2025-08-26/

2025-08-26 11:56

MOSCOW, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Russia hopes that a U.S.-Russian joint venture involving Boeing in the Sverdlovsk region can resume its operations, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov told the TASS state news agency in an interview. The joint venture between Russia's largest titanium maker VSMPO-AVISMA and U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing halted operations in 2022 after Boeing decided to suspend purchases of titanium from Russia. Sign up here. Moscow did not impose any restrictions on titanium supplies to the U.S., Manturov noted, saying it was still possible for U.S. companies to buy Russian titanium. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/russia-says-it-hopes-resume-titanium-joint-venture-with-boeing-2025-08-26/

2025-08-26 11:55

Aug 26 (Reuters) - China's Sinopec said on Tuesday it has agreed to provide engineering services for Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power to build the world’s largest integrated green hydrogen and green ammonia project in the kingdom. The project, to be built in Yanbu city in Saudi Arabia, will produce annually 400,000 metric tons of green hydrogen and 2.8 million tons of green ammonia, using wind and solar power, Sinopec said. Sign up here. Commercial operation is slated to start in 2030, Sinopec said, without providing financial details. Sinopec Engineering Group, Sinopec's subsidiary, will be responsible for the front-end engineering design and convertible engineering, procurement and building of the project. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/sinopec-wins-engineering-contract-saudi-arabian-green-hydrogen-project-2025-08-26/