2025-08-18 11:12
ABIDJAN, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Ivory Coast's cocoa grind dropped 31.2% year-on-year in July to 39,301 metric tons, data from exporters' association GEPEX showed on Monday, with grinders citing poor bean quality and low volumes of the mid-crop. The total grind - part of the process of transforming cocoa beans into chocolate - from the start of the 2024/25 season in October until the end of July stood at 515,055 tons of beans, down 4% from the same period last season. Sign up here. "July's grinding has fallen dramatically this year compared to last year, mainly due to the quality of the beans," the director of an international grinding company based in San Pedro told Reuters. "They are mediocre this year, so we are rejecting a large quantity due to a lack of fat and a high acidity level." Between April 1 and August 17, cocoa bean arrivals at Ivory Coast's two main ports of Abidjan and San Pedro reached only 350,000 tons, down 30% from around 500,000 tons during the same period of last year, exporters said. Exporters also said grinders have no stocks left and that they will have to rebuild them in order to return to the average grinding rate during the main harvest. "We are waiting for October to get good beans to rebuild all our stocks and return to the grinding level for the period, i.e. just over 58,000 tons per month," the director of a grinding company based in Abidjan told Reuters. "This will require us to be aggressive in our purchasing from the start of the season." The GEPEX data covers six of the largest grinding companies, including Barry Callebaut (BARN.S) , opens new tab, Olam (OLAG.SI) , opens new tab and Cargill Inc (CARG.UL). Ivory Coast has a total grinding capacity of around 750,000 tons. It is the world's top cocoa producer and vies with the Netherlands for the leading spot for grinding. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/ivory-coast-cocoa-grind-down-312-year-on-year-july-exporters-association-says-2025-08-18/
2025-08-18 11:07
European stocks ease as traders await cues on geopolitics, Fed Oil market steady as Ukraine's Zelenskiy goes to Washington Dollar, yen nudge higher before Jackson Hole LONDON, Aug 18 (Reuters) - European shares wobbled on Monday ahead of what is likely to be an eventful week for U.S. interest rate policy, as investor attention turned to Washington where Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy and European leaders will meet Donald Trump. The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) , opens new tab was down about 0.2% after hitting its highest level since March on Friday, while the MSCI All Country World Index (.MIWD00000PUS) , opens new tab hovered close to the record high touched last week. Sign up here. Earlier in the Asian session, indices in Japan and Taiwan notched record peaks, while a gauge of Chinese stocks (.SSEC) , opens new tab reached its highest level in a decade. Investors were bracing for U.S. President Trump's meeting with Ukrainian President Zelenskiy and European leaders later on Monday to discuss the next steps to end the war in Ukraine, after Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. While the summit did not result in an agreement, Trump afterwards appeared more aligned with Moscow on seeking a full peace deal with Ukraine instead of a ceasefire first. "It will be a bit of a muted start to the week," said Lars Skovgaard, senior investment strategist at Danske Bank, after the Russia-U.S. talks on Friday. Skovgaard added that whether or not a deal is reached, focus was already turning to the Kansas City Federal Reserve's August 21-23 Jackson Hole symposium, where Chair Jerome Powell is due to speak on the economic outlook and the central bank's policy framework. Markets imply around an 85% chance of a quarter-point rate cut at the Fed's meeting on September 17, and are priced for a further cut by December. "We see three rate cuts in the U.S. this year, and slower GDP growth but no recession," said Mark Matthews, head of research for Asia at Bank Julius Baer in Singapore. "The combination of those two should allow the rally to continue." The prospect of lower borrowing costs globally has underpinned stock markets, and Japan's Nikkei (.N225) , opens new tab climbed to a fresh record high. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) , opens new tab added 0.1%, having scaled a four-year peak last week. In Europe, Germany's DAX (.GDAXI) , opens new tab eased 0.3%. Britain’s FTSE (.FTSE) , opens new tab was down 0.1%. SOLID EARNINGS S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures eased 0.1%, though both were near all-time highs. Valuations have been underpinned by a solid earnings season as the S&P 500 EPS grew 11% on the year and 58% of companies raised their full-year guidance. "Earnings results have continued to be exceptional for the mega-cap tech companies," said analysts at Goldman Sachs. "While Nvidia has yet to report, the Magnificent 7 apparently grew EPS by 26% year/year in 2Q, a 12% beat relative to consensus expectation coming into earnings season." This week's results will provide some colour on the health of consumer spending with Home Depot, Target, Lowe's and Walmart all reporting. In bond markets, the chance of Fed easing is keeping down short-term Treasury yields while the longer end is pressured by the risk of stagflation and giant budget deficits, leading to the steepest yield curve since 2021. European bonds also have been pressured by the prospect of increased borrowing to fund higher defence spending, pushing German and French long-term yields to their highest since 2011. Wagers on more Fed easing have weighed on the dollar, which dropped 0.4% against a basket of currencies last week to last stand at 97.858 . The dollar was up 0.2% on the yen at 147.42 , while the euro slipped to $1.1682 after adding 0.5% last week. In commodity markets, gold bounced 0.4% to $3,349 an ounce after losing 1.9% last week. Oil prices edged higher as White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said India's purchases of Russian crude were funding Russia's war in Ukraine and had to stop, even as Trump backed away from threats to place more restrictions on Russian oil exports. Brent was up 0.4% at $66.08 a barrel, while U.S. crude rose 0.5% t0 $63.11 per barrel. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-wrapup-5pix-2025-08-18/
2025-08-18 11:03
SAO PAULO, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Brazilian power company Eletrobras has partnered with C3 AI (AI.N) , opens new tab to apply artificial intelligence to help operate the electric power transmission network in Latin America's largest economy, the two companies told Reuters on Monday. Eletrobras, Brazil's largest operator in the segment, will implement the C3 AI Grid Intelligence tool, which focuses on monitoring and resolving failures in real time, in all of its transmission assets. Sign up here. The value of the deal was not disclosed. The companies said in a joint statement that the use of artificial intelligence would increase the network's resilience and reliability at a large scale, by helping, for example, to correct failures more quickly. Eletrobras' investment in AI comes at a time when investments in electrical networks are gaining relevance worldwide, both as preparation for a more complex and dynamic operation of diversified electrical matrices, and as a security reinforcement in the face of extreme weather events. One of the main challenges faced by transmission companies in Brazil is fires near lines and substations. "We are modernizing critical network monitoring processes, which allows us to respond to incidents more effectively and agilely, ensuring system stability and availability," said Pablo Flores, Executive Manager of Protection, Automation and Control of Operating Systems at Eletrobras. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/eletrobras-partners-with-c3-ai-modernize-brazils-power-grid-2025-08-18/
2025-08-18 11:03
MOSCOW, Aug 18 (Reuters) - In Russia, barter is back for the first time since the chaos of the 1990s as settlement problems resulting from the conflict in Ukraine have forced at least one Chinese company to seek steel and aluminium alloys in exchange for engines. In the economic and political chaos which followed the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, spiralling inflation and chronic shortages of funds forced enterprises across the land to agree to payment in kind. Sign up here. Barter, though, sowed even more chaos through the economy as vast chains of contingent deals were set up for everything from electricity and oil to flour, sugar and boots, making pricing even harder to determine, and earning some people fortunes. More than three years into the Ukraine war, barter is back again in Russia. At the Kazan Expo business forum on Monday, Chinese companies cited settlement issues and Russian demands that they bring production to Russia as major issues hindering the development of bilateral trade. "We offer innovative cooperation models aimed at reducing settlement risks," Xu Xinjing from Hainan Longpan Oilfield Technology Co., Ltd told the forum through a translator, adding that "we offer a model of barter trade." In exchange for the power equipment, his company wants to receive Russian shipbuilding materials. "In the current conditions of limited payments, this provides new opportunities for enterprises in Russia and Asian countries, the Asian region. For example, we supply marine engines in exchange for special steel materials or aluminium alloys for shipbuilding from Russia," he said. Russia last year discussed barter deals with China, sources told Reuters at the time. Barter is most popular for trades in metals and agricultural products, which are relatively easy to price, according to industrial sources. China is by far Russia's most important trading partner as European powers cut off many of their trade links to Moscow due to the conflict in Ukraine, which the Kremlin calls a "special military operation". Delays in payments for trade with Russia's major partners such as China or Turkey where banks are under pressure from Western regulators to scrutinise transactions with Russia have become a major headache for Russian companies and banks. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/barter-is-back-russia-one-chinese-company-seeks-navigate-settlement-issues-2025-08-18/
2025-08-18 10:52
PALACIOS DE JAMUZ, Spain, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Raging wildfires in Spain spread to the southern slopes of the Picos de Europa mountain range on Monday and authorities closed part of the popular Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route. About 20 wildfires, fuelled by a severe 16-day heatwave, have devastated more than 115,000 hectares (285,000 acres) in the regions of Galicia and Castile and Leon over the past week. Sign up here. "This is a fire situation we haven't experienced in 20 years," Defence Minister Margarita Robles told radio station Cadena SER. "The fires have special characteristics as a result of climate change and this huge heatwave." She said thick smoke was affecting the work of water-carrying helicopters and aircraft. The Spanish army has deployed 1,900 troops to help firefighters. Highways and rail services have been cut in the area, as well as the "Camino de Santiago" hiking route, an ancient pilgrimage path trodden by thousands in the summer. It links France and the city of Santiago de Compostela on the Western tip of Spain, where the remains of the apostle St James are said to be buried. Authorities in the Castile and Leon region have closed the path in the area between the towns of Astorga and Ponferrada, which are about 50 km (30 miles) apart, and told hikers "not to put (their) lives in danger". A firefighter died when his truck crashed on a forest path near the village of Espinoso de Compludo. Four firefighters have died so far. The Interior ministry says 27 people have been arrested and 92 are under investigation for suspected arson since June. Southern Europe is experiencing one of its worst wildfire seasons in two decades, with Spain among the hardest-hit countries. In Portugal, wildfires have burnt 155,000 hectares so far this year, according to the ICNF forestry protection institute - three times the average for this period between 2006 to 2024. About half of that area burned in the past three days. Robles said things are not likely to improve until the heatwave that has seen temperatures hit 45 Celsius degrees (113 Fahrenheit) starts easing on Monday evening or Tuesday. The heatwave is the third hottest since 1975, when the national weather agency started tracking them. Most of the country is subject to wildfire warnings. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/pilgrimage-route-cut-spanish-wildfires-spread-picos-de-europa-mountains-2025-08-18/
2025-08-18 10:43
LONDON, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Britain is suspending the previously planned introduction of extra border checks on live animal imports from the European Union to ease trade ahead of the implementation of a deal agreed in May to reduce friction, the UK government said on Monday. Extra border checks on some animal and plant goods imported from Ireland will also be suspended. Sign up here. May's sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) deal, part of a wider reset in UK-EU relations, will reduce paperwork and remove routine border checks on plant and animal products moving between the UK and EU, while maintaining high food standards. However, the deal is yet to be implemented as details are still being negotiated. In the meantime, British traders must continue to comply with the terms of the UK’s Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) that protect the country's biosecurity, including existing checks. The suspension of the introduction of additional border checks follows the announcement in June that checks on EU fruit and vegetable imports had been scrapped. A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs could not give a timeline for implementation of the SPS deal. When Britain left the EU's single market in 2021, the EU immediately enforced its rules, leading to port delays and prompting some British exporters to stop selling to the bloc. Britain was much slower implementing its post-Brexit border arrangements, and after repeated delays and confusion it started to set new rules in phases from January last year. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/britain-cancels-extra-border-checks-animals-ahead-uk-eu-deal-2025-08-18/
