2025-08-13 19:33

Aug 13 (Reuters) - British Gas owner Centrica (CNA.L) , opens new tab and Energy Capital Partners are in talks to buy the Isle of Grain LNG terminal from National Grid (NG.L) , opens new tab in a deal valued at about 1.5 billion pounds ($2.03 billion), the Financial Times reported on Wednesday. Centrica declined to comment on the FT report, while National Grid and Energy Capital did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comments. Sign up here. National Grid, which owns and operates Britain's high-voltage electricity transmission network, had said last year it was seeking to sell its Grain LNG terminal, Europe's largest such facility, as part of its efforts to streamline operations. FT said a deal could be announced shortly. Centrica announced in July it had signed an agreement to acquire a 15% equity stake in Britain's new nuclear project, Sizewell C. The company also reported a drop in its first-half profit. Hong Kong's CK Infrastructure Holdings (1038.HK) , opens new tab was among the interested parties for the terminal, but has reportedly dropped its pursuit, Bloomberg News reported earlier this month. LNG has become a vital source of gas for Europe, especially after the Russia-Ukraine conflict and as the subsequent Western sanctions on Russia disrupted energy markets. The resulting price surge continues to weigh on British consumers. ($1 = 0.7373 pounds) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/centrica-frontrunner-buy-national-grids-lng-terminal-2-billion-deal-ft-reports-2025-08-13/

2025-08-13 19:19

US inflation data in line with expectations adds to rate cut bets Trump considers lawsuit against Powell over renovations Bessent says could see series of Fed rate cuts - Bloomberg interview NEW YORK, Aug 13 (Reuters) - The dollar slipped for a second straight session on Wednesday, a day after a U.S. inflation reading increased expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut next month and renewed pressure from President Donald Trump for lower rates added to the sell-off. The dollar index , measuring the currency against a basket of peers, fell 0.2% to 97.856, its lowest since July 28, extending its 0.5% drop on Tuesday. Sign up here. U.S. consumer prices increased marginally in July, data showed on Tuesday, in line with forecasts and as the pass-through from Trump's sweeping tariffs to goods prices has so far been limited. Investors priced in near certainty the central bank would ease rates next month, according to LSEG data. On Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called for a "series of rate cuts," and said the Fed could kick off the policy rate easing with a 50 basis point cut. The day before, U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly criticised Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not easing rates sooner, had added to the pressure on the Fed. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said that the president was considering a lawsuit against Powell in relation to his management of renovations at the central bank's Washington headquarters. "I think there is quite significant pressure on the Fed from the political side of Washington to get moving on interest rates," Shaun Osborne, chief currency strategist at Scotiabank, said. Michael Pfister, FX analyst at Commerzbank, said these political developments carried echoes of autocratic countries, where heads of statistics agencies or central banks are replaced and critical data series often discontinued or manipulated. "I'm not saying that this will necessarily happen here. But the developments of the last few days and weeks do not exactly fill me with optimism about the future, or the U.S. dollar," Pfister said. Trump also hit out at Goldman Sachs (GS.N) , opens new tab CEO David Solomon, saying the bank had been wrong to predict U.S. tariffs would hurt the economy. Trump questioned whether Solomon should lead the Wall Street institution. RATE CUT RUMINATIONS Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic on Wednesday said nearly full U.S. employment offers the central bank the "luxury" of not rushing to make any policy adjustments. Meanwhile, Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee on Wednesday said the U.S. central bank is grappling with understanding whether tariffs will push up inflation just temporarily or more persistently. The dollar's recent stumble threatens the brief recovery it had made since early July, following a roughly 10% decline in the first half of the year. "We haven't seen anywhere near enough strength for the dollar generally to signal a reversal in what is still a pretty significant bear trend," Scotiabank's Osborne said. The dollar's weakness supported the euro and sterling . The single currency was last up 0.2% to $1.1698, briefly hitting its highest since July 28. Similarly, the British currency rose 0.5% to $1.3567, briefly hitting its highest since July 24. Britain's jobs market weakened again, though wage growth stayed strong, according to data on Tuesday, underscoring why the Bank of England is so cautious about cutting interest rates. The Australian dollar was up 0.2% to $0.6541, while the New Zealand dollar rose 0.3% to $0.5973. The Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday cut interest rates as expected, and signalled further policy easing might be needed to meet its inflation and employment goals as the economy lost some momentum. In cryptocurrencies, ether rose about 3% to touch a near four-year high of $4,748.77, before paring gains to trade up about 2% at $4,705.67. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/dollar-slips-further-anticipation-mounts-fed-interest-rate-cut-2025-08-13/

2025-08-13 19:17

Aug 13 (Reuters) - Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic on Wednesday said a U.S. job market holding near full employment offers the central bank the "luxury" of being able to avoid rushing to make any policy adjustments. The Fed should avoid policy volatility that can be troublesome to the public, Bostic said at an event in Alabama, adding that his "predisposition is to try not to do that" and to wait for "a little more clarity on where things are going." Sign up here. "Now I feel we have the luxury to do that today because the labor market has been pretty much at full employment," Bostic said. "Our maximum employment mandate is not at risk in the same way that the inflation mandate is," he said. That said, the recent employment report for July, which showed far fewer jobs created last month than expected and a historically large downward revision in job growth in the previous two months, could change the conversation. If the job market is substantially weaker than previously thought, "then maybe the risks are more in balance and we should be thinking about our ability to be patient is much less than it was before," Bostic said. "To me, that's the question we're going to try to have an answer for." Getting a better understanding of the health of the job market is "really our task for the next five weeks or so" ahead of the Fed's September 16-17 policy meeting, he added. Investors in recent days have come to fully price in the likelihood that the Fed next month will cut its benchmark overnight interest rate from the current 4.25%-4.50% range, where it has been since last December. Asked about the effects of tariffs on the outlook for inflation and Fed policy, Bostic said the textbook case argues that the levies cause a one-time price increase that the U.S. central bank should not respond to. But what's different with the tariffs that President Donald Trump is imposing is that they are broader and higher than expected and also have a larger policy goal of reorienting global supply chains. "You're going to see fundamental changes if this is successful, and if that's the case, then there's no reason you should expect that the post-tariff trajectory (for inflation) will look like the pre-tariff one," Bostic said. "It is actually a different economy." https://www.reuters.com/business/fed-can-wait-adjust-policy-because-job-market-is-near-full-employment-bostic-2025-08-13/

2025-08-13 18:34

NEW YORK, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Crude oil flows on the Seaway pipeline in Texas fell on Wednesday, four sources said, as the pipeline's operator reported a leak on the system to state regulators. The 950,000-barrel-per-day Seaway pipeline runs between Cushing, Oklahoma, and the Freeport, Texas, area and connects to the Enterprise Crude Houston (ECHO) terminal, a storage facility in southeast Houston. Sign up here. Pipeline owner Enterprise (EPD.N) , opens new tab said a crude oil leak on part of the Seaway pipeline system in Houston occurred on Tuesday, according to a filing with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. A portion of the pipeline went down on Tuesday night, three sources said on Wednesday. A separate source said the secondary pipeline that runs into the ECHO terminal was out on Tuesday night. Crude flows on the Seaway mainline and the portion running into ECHO were seen lower on Tuesday night. The Seaway pipeline is jointly owned by Enbridge and Enterprise Products Partners. Enbridge and Enterprise Products did not immediately respond to questions about the Seaway's operations. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude at East Houston , also known as MEH, traded a 95-cent a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures , the strongest since April. MEH traded as much as 130-cent a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures this morning, a trader said. Operations on the pipeline are expected to be restored later on Wednesday, two sources said. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/crude-oil-flows-enterprises-texas-seaway-pipeline-fall-leak-reported-2025-08-13/

2025-08-13 18:33

USDA move affects 6,500 FSIS and 1,650 APHIS employees Termination adds to federal workers' uncertainty, says union chairperson Federal appeals court recently lifted injunction on executive order implementation WASHINGTON, Aug 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture moved to terminate union contracts with thousands of employees of its animal health and food safety inspection agencies, according to documents seen by Reuters, as one union on Wednesday challenged the firings in court. The notices sent to union leaders at the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and Food Safety and Inspection Service on Tuesday evening said the action was aligned with President Donald Trump's March executive order to exclude some federal workers from collective bargaining because their agencies have national security missions, the documents show. Sign up here. The Trump administration also has moved to end union contracts at the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Veterans Affairs and other agencies under the executive order. "USDA is optimizing our workforce and returning the Department to a customer service-focused, farmer-first agency," an agency spokesperson said. "This move will allow us to be a much more nimble as well as an attractive employer." About 6,500 food and consumer safety inspectors at FSIS were covered by the terminated collective bargaining agreement, said Paula Soldner, chairperson of the National Joint Council of Food Inspection Locals, part of the American Federation of Government Employees. FSIS employees inspect meat, poultry and egg products to assess quality and prevent foodborne illness. The termination adds to employees' uncertainty and confusion as the administration works to shrink the federal government, Soldner said. Roughly 1,500 APHIS employees who inspect plants for pests and disease will be affected by a notice terminating their bargaining agreement, according to the National Association of Agriculture Employees. The NAAE filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Wednesday challenging the termination on the grounds that their work is unrelated to national security. At least another 150 APHIS employees in a second agency union will also be affected, said a source familiar with the situation. A federal appeals court on August 1 lifted an injunction that had prevented agencies from implementing the executive order. The USDA has lost more than 15,000 employees since January due to terminations or financial incentives to leave, including more than 500 at FSIS and 1,300 at APHIS. https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/usda-moves-end-employee-union-contracts-documents-show-2025-08-13/

2025-08-13 18:26

Goolsbee cautious on assuming tariffs as one-time inflation shock Fed's next policy meeting is on September 16-17 Goolsbee says labor market solid despite slowing job growth Aug 13 (Reuters) - Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee said on Wednesday the U.S. central bank is grappling with understanding whether tariffs will push up inflation just temporarily or more persistently, which would inform its decision on when to cut interest rates. "As we go into the fall, these are going to be some live meetings and we're going to have to figure it out," Goolsbee told the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce in Springfield, Illinois. "The hardest thing that a central bank ever has to do is to try to get the timing right when there are moments of transition." Sign up here. Goolsbee said he is uneasy assuming tariffs will be just a one-time shock to inflation and wants to see more data including wholesale price data due out this week and broader inflation data next month before coming to a view on whether a rate cut is warranted. The Fed left its benchmark overnight interest rate in the 4.25%-4.50% range at its meeting last month, a decision that drew dissents from Fed Vice Chair of Supervision Michelle Bowman and Fed Governor Christopher Waller. Bowman and Waller wanted to cut rates to head off what they worried was incipient weakness in the labor market. Two days after the end of that policy meeting, the U.S. Labor Department revised its earlier estimates of job growth in May and June sharply downward and reported a smaller-than-expected job gain in July. President Donald Trump called the data rigged and fired the commissioner in charge of producing it. Even so, allies including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have seized on the recent jobs report to call for rate cuts that Trump has pushed hard for all year. Some Fed officials also feel the July jobs report bolstered the case for easing policy. Goolsbee cautioned against reading too much into slowing job growth since that may reflect the sharp drop in immigration. He said he puts more weight on data like the unemployment rate, which at 4.2% is historically low. "I think the state of the labor market is pretty strong, pretty solid," Goolsbee said. Data earlier this week showed consumer prices rose 0.2% on a monthly basis in July, a downshift from the 0.3% reported for the prior month. Goolsbee said he took note of the rise in services inflation, which is not directly related to tariffs, and would be concerned if upcoming data continued to show a broadening of price pressures. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/fed-grappling-with-impact-tariffs-it-ponders-rate-decisions-goolsbee-says-2025-08-13/